Razer Phone gets Netflix HDR, camera fixes, and Meltdown, Spectre patches

New improvements for the camera and Netflix HDR give the Razer Phone its edge.

Razer is pushing out a new firmware and patch update for its gaming-focused Razer Phone.

Coming in at 249MB, the update brings Netflix HDR and Dolby 5.1 audio playback through a new customized Netflix application for the Razer Phone (which is now baked into the ROM).

Announced at CES 2018 Razer is currently the only phone in the world that supports Netflix HDR, which when combined with the 120Hz display and easily the loudest speakers on the market make for an excellent movie watching experience.

Also, Razer (as promised) is continuing to tweak its camera, which was heavily criticized when initially launched. While the camera hardware is solid, the software and algorithms need work. Today’s update builds on an earlier one to keep improving that camera.

Finally, there are the usual Android security fixes, which jumps from October’s security patch to January’s keeping the phone up to date. The Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities are also patched as those affect ARM processors as well.

Here is the full changelog:

Razer Phone January update

Netflix Enhancements

• Netflix now included with Razer Phone!
• Enabled HDR content playback support.
• Enhanced Dolby 5.1 audio playback support.

Camera improvements

• Fixed an issue where some images would appear yellow.
• Tuning and image quality improvement.
• Crushed bugs and performance improvements.

Security fixes

• January 2018 Android security patches.
• Fix for Meltdown and Spectre vulnerability.

The Razer Phone is still running Android 7.1.1, but Razer is committed to delivering 8.0 this quarter.

Razer Phone review by Windows Central

To update the Razer Phone merely head to Settings > About phone > System update to get started. The process should take about 20 minutes. Owners will also want to get the corresponding Camera app update from the Google Play Store to go with the new firmware.

See Razer Phone at Amazon

Some Alcatel phones had the default gallery app replaced with spamware

We’ve reached out to Alcatel for a statement, but either way, this is bad news for the company.

There are a lot of contenders in the budget Android space, and one of them is Alcatel. I’ve used and recommended Alcatel phones over the years, and while I’ve mostly been happy using gadgets from the company, a new light’s been shed on a security issue that’ll likely prevent me from doing so going forward.

Like a lot of phones from companies that aren’t Google, Alcatel devices come with their own default gallery app that isn’t Google Photos. Alcatel uploaded its gallery app to Google Play to allow for faster updates, but an update that came in around mid-November replaced this with something pretty nasty.

As Android Police notes, the real app from Alcatel is simply titled as “Gallery” and was uploaded by mie.alcatel.support. However, after that mid-November update, it was replaced by an app called “Candy Gallery -Photo Edit,Video Editor,Pic Collage” from developer Hi Art Studio. Unlike the real gallery app from Alcatel that only asks for file access permissions, this one from Hi Art Studio has access to Device ID, SMS messages, Wi-Fi connection info, your location, phone call history, and plenty more.

I reviewed the Alcatel Idol 5 back in October, and sure enough, the Candy Gallery app is installed on it.

We’ve reached out to Alcatel for more information about what in the heck is going on, and if you own an Alcatel phone with this installed, make sure you go to the app, hold down on it, drag it to app info, and tap on the button labeled “Disable.”

It’s impossible to say at this time how or why this happened, but either way, this is not a good look for Alcatel and has the potential for serious repercussions going down the road.

Razer Phone gets Netflix HDR, camera fixes, and Meltdown, Spectre patches

Pentagon reviews policy after fitness app reveals military locations

Yesterday, reports surfaced that a heat map released by fitness app company Strava showed the locations of US and other countries’ military. While most of the locations spotted, including Afghanistan and Syria, are known to host US military bases, it still highlights the fact that information the Department of Defense would prefer remain under wraps could find its way out into the open. It also demonstrates that fitness apps could pose a security threat if location information isn’t correctly handled. Now, Reuters reports, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has ordered a review of the situation.

Strava released their global heatmap. 13 trillion GPS points from their users (turning off data sharing is an option). https://t.co/hA6jcxfBQI … It looks very pretty, but not amazing for Op-Sec. US Bases are clearly identifiable and mappable pic.twitter.com/rBgGnOzasq

— Nathan Ruser (@Nrg8000) January 27, 2018

In a statement, the Pentagon said, “We take matters like these very seriously and are reviewing the situation to determine if any additional training or guidance is required, and if any additional policy must be developed to ensure the continued safety of DOD personnel at home and abroad.” Colonel Robert Manning said during a news briefing today that to his knowledge, no US bases had been compromised by Strava’s Heat Map.

In the past, the US military has questioned the use of both Kaspersky software and DJI drones with some believing they pose security threats. It’s no surprise that the military would want to look into how its personnel use a fitness app that can collect and broadcast its users locations.

Via: Reuters

Sony patents detail VR motion controller concepts

Earlier this week, the eagle-eyed VR Focus caught wind of two patents filed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which look suspiciously like motion controllers. It’s too early to tell whether these are our first looks at an entirely new one for PlayStation VR. But it’s been eight years since the Move controllers first hit the market, so these may inform the design of the models Sony eventually develops to follow up on its aging VR wands.

The first patent includes figures that look like a vertical grip controller with a thumbstick at the top, buttons splayed out on top of that, and a trigger on the other side nestled under the index finger. A hand strap pokes out over the side, but it’s the guts of the controller that show promise: Interlocking gears under the ‘grip’ expand and contract to give immersive feedback ‘capable of imparting a tactile sense to a user,” according to the patent.

The other patent is for tracking a user’s individual finger placement solely using the head mounted display (HMD), i.e. a headset. This would work differently than the current PSVR setup, which uses the PlayStation Camera to follow the position of Move controllers. In other words, we’d need a new HMD to take advantage of this design.

Whether these make it into a future Sony VR setup is anyone’s guess, but it’s worth noting that PSVR is leading the nascent high-end VR gaming market with over 2 million units sold.

Via: VR Focus

Source: IP Force patent No. 2018-735, IP Force patent No. 2018-500674

Study says e-cigarettes may lead to cancer and heart disease

Regulators may have had a change of heart about the danger of using e-cigarettes, but scientists would beg to differ. A newly published New York University School of Medicine study indicates that vaping may put you at a “higher risk” of cancer and heart disease. Mice subjected to the equivalent of “light” e-cigarette smoking for 10 years (12 weeks in reality) suffered DNA damage to their bladders, hearts and lungs, in addition to limiting both DNA repair and lung proteins. In short: nicotine can become a carcinogen in your body regardless of how it’s transmitted.

The study isn’t completely shocking when researchers have identified other harmful chemicals. And it’s not conclusive, either. While the testing shows that e-cigarettes are harmful, the highly compressed smoking exposure is far from what you’d see in real life — tumors don’t grow that quickly. You may not see more definitive results until additional animal testing in a year, and much longer than that for humans. Study author Moon-shong Tang also noted to Bloomberg that it’s not clear whether conventional cigarettes or e-cigarettes would be more harmful.

Still, the data casts doubt on the often-repeated claims that vaping is a safer alternative to cigarettes. While there have been studies suggesting that e-cigs are probably less harmful, this indicates that you’re still facing some of the same dangers. Any ‘safety’ may come from the level of exposure. The findings also support bids to regulate e-cigarettes based on their tobacco-like effects, such as the FDA’s former approach.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: PNAS

Lenovo’s fingerprint manager left passwords vulnerable

A slew of Lenovo devices have left users’ systems vulnerable to a breach. Fingerprint Manager Pro software installed on any of some three dozen ThinkPad, ThinkCentre or ThinkStation devices apparently features weak encryption that allows someone to bypass the fingerprint scanner and take advantage of a hardcoded password in order to gain access to the system. It also exposes users’ logon credentials and fingerprint data. Lenovo described the vulnerability in a security update and released a patch for the bug last week.

There is some good news. The software was only used on devices running Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. Windows 10 didn’t require the software, so systems using it won’t need an update. Also, the vulnerability couldn’t be exploited via the internet, only with local access, which limits users’ exposure quite a bit.

The patch was released on the 25th. You can get it here along with more information and a list of the affected devices.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Lenovo

What is a ‘Game of the Year’ edition, anyway?

Every year, game publishers put out Game of the Year editions, typically chock full of all the downloadable content that’s come out since the initial release along with new packaging to proclaim its “of the year” status. Some titles even get new content to entice customers into buying an older game.

But what, exactly, does it mean to be a Game of the Year? And according to who exactly? Is there a regulating body that protects consumers from games that were not, in fact, that good? You might think of the “Game of the Year” term as an implication of quality, right? It turns out that — like most marketing — it’s largely meaningless. And countless gaming outlets name their own “Games of the Year,” further confusing things.

Even more confoundingly, The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) hands out its own award to a title, regardless of platform, that best entertains users. The AIAS award isn’t the one you’ll see on a Game of the Year Edition, though. “The award honors the single title that captured the hearts and minds of the global game community and distinguished it as the best of the best,” AIAS president Meggan Scavio told Engadget in an email. “To be even more specific, it could be due to impressive storytelling, technological innovation that really impacts the future of game design or even immersive world building that awes our membership,” she said.

The AIAS Game of the Year award is like a seal of approval or badge of quality, says Scavio. It’s like an Oscar or Emmy, only for video games. That’s what publishers want you to think of when you’re buying a repackaged Game of the Year Edition, of course. These products may indeed have received an official Game of the Year award from organizations like AIAS, but they just as likely may have been named such by a random website or journalist.

It’s hard to take the concept of a Game of the Year Edition seriously when mediocre titles like Operation Flashpoint and AFL Live get these editions in years where there are far better games on the market, like Grand Theft Auto III and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, respectively.

Case Study: Dead Island

When Dead Island was released in 2011 after a hefty delay, one of the only outlets that gave it any attention was GameCritics. “The game was troubled by releasing too early before it was ready for prime time,” the site’s EIC Brad Gallaway told Engadget in an email, “and it left a lot of reviewers with a very bad taste in their mouths, (which) was understandable. We played a more finished version later on and we really loved it. In fact, we named our game of the year.”

Gallaway said that the site got a lot of heat for the pick, but that he still stands by the choice. “I think that eventually we were proved correct because it had an incredibly successful run with fans despite the trouncing reviewers gave it,” he said.

Shortly thereafter, Dead Island‘s PR team got a hold of GameCritics and said they wanted to work together to promote a Game of the Year Edition repackage. “We were the only website on earth that gave it top honors from what I understand,” said Gallaway. “We were happy to oblige and we had talked about doing a contest, giving away a bunch of copies, and all that sort of stuff.”

That’s the last Gallaway recalls talking to anyone from Dead Island. The Game of the Year Edition did end up on retail shelves, though, but GameCritics was not credited on the packaging. “My guess is that PR didn’t realize how much of a joke people thought we were for choosing the game,” he said. “They probably didn’t think our website had enough cred to slap our name on the box, although they were still using our endorsement to justify this edition.”

Which means that, at least in this case, publishers wanted an actual “Game of the Year” designation from an actual outlet, even if they didn’t admit which one on the packaging. “That’s pretty much where it ends,” Gallaway said. “PR never brought up the subject with us again and they never responded to our requests for clarification about the situation, or about crediting us on the box. Kind of sucks that these guys got to put the label on their product and sold a ton more copies, while we got ridiculed and couldn’t even get credit where credit was due.”

Definitive Editions as a sidestep

We spoke with indie game developer Mike Bithell (Thomas Was Alone, Subsurface Circular) about his perspective on releasing Game of the Year Editions. While Bithell has sold repackaged boxed editions of his games, they’ve never been called “Game of the Year,” mostly because he hates tooting his own horn. “We’re often perhaps too modest in hyping our own games,” he said during a phone call, “but a boxed definitive edition, with included DLC and such, can really help our games get out to a new audience.”

Digital-first games like the ones Bithell makes tend to get purchased by gamers with Steam or other services like it. Packaging them into a physical copy — whether its a collector’s edition or just a repackaged “definitive” edition — helps find customers who might only buy games at Walmart or GameStop.

Publishers get more exposure for a game this way, too, and customers get a more complete game that includes DLC they don’t actually have to download. “I love being able to call a game finished (with a definitive boxed edition) so I can move on to the next,” said Bithell.

The final cut

Ultimately, titles that get Game of the Year Editions may or may not be very good. Even while most of these repackaged titles have been legitimately named a Game of the Year, you never know who made that decision. While the AIAS provides specific artwork for games it’s given its own award to, not all publishers are going to back up their claim with proper credit. Sure, you’ll get some fun extras for the game that might have cost extra if purchased nearer to the actual release, but it may or may not be truly worthy of the Game of the Year moniker.

‘Robotic Habitats’ imagines a self-sustaining AI ecosystem

As artificial intelligence advances at an unprecedented pace, we tend to see its arrival in emotional terms — usually, either excitement or fear. But Noumena, a collective of designers, engineers and architects, is looking at AI and robots more practically. What form will they take, how will they survive and develop, and where will they live? It aims to explore those idea with an exhibition entitled “Robotic Habitats.”

Noumena’s project assumes that deep learning systems will grow out of their narrow Go-playing abilities and soon match humans at many, if not most, tasks. While that would put them on par with us, it doesn’t mean they would live the same way, though. “Society will need to develop a framework for both to thrive,” explains Neumena on its website. “A new form of artificial life will emerge, finding space at the peripheries of humanity in order to not compete for human-dominated resources.”

In order to imagine what this AI society might be like, Noumena first needed to design the robots themselves, so they created rovers that are part biologic and part artificial. They have DC motors, an Arduino main board, and Kinect motion sensors to guide their movements. On the “nose” is a peristaltic pump that can inject material stored in a central “spine” into the sandy landscape.

The external, 3D-printed tortoise-like skin has a slightly creepy Alien vibe, but there’s a reason for the grooves. They harbor mycelium, a fungus material made up of bacteria colonies that will allow the robots to “grow.” It also feeds energy to the motors, gears and electronics that are embedded in the bots’ frames.

The robots can then head out into the 16 x 16 foot sandy terrain, based on a 3D map created from the Kinect sensor from previous excursions, and inject mycelium into the environment. That forms a network of lines consisting of bacteria and aggregating material, creating a bizarre landscape that is artificial and biological at once. It’s then collected by central, pod-like columns, which use the materials to fabricate new rovers, making the whole thing self-sustaining.

The installation is meant to be thought-provoking, showing that machines may not live in a gleaming Matrix-like world, but rather “a natural landscape robotically manipulated,” Noumena explains. At the same time, similar technology might be necessary for machines that go to Mars and other worlds, paving the way for humans to arrive.

Noumena figures that this robot society would “trigger the need for robots to evolve into different species, each performing specific tasks.” That in turn will create an even more advanced infrastructure, that guarantees the whole thing will continue. The final result? “A new robotic habitat shaped by autonomous species driven by hidden, inaccessible forces.”

Source: Noumena, Design Boom

Americans are using less energy by staying at home

Americans are using less energy — paradoxically, by spending more time indoors, according to a new study in the journal Joule. But researchers point out that keeping more lights on was offset by lifestyle changes that kept people inside instead of roaming around offices and retail stores — like, say, online shopping and working from home. Despite energy consumption worldwide increasing every year, this slight uptick in American hermitage reduced national energy demand by 1.8 percent over a year.

Via: The Verge

Source: ‘Changes in Time Use and Their Effect on Energy Consumption in the United States’ — Joule

Razer Phone now streams Netflix in all its HDR glory

Looks like Razer’s latest update for its first smartphone should be worth installing. The new software enables support for Netflix HDR videos as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, so you can better immerse yourself in your favorite fictional universe. This makes the Razer Phone one of a handful of smartphones available that can render the streaming giant’s HDR content, and the first to offer both HDR10 and Dolby Digital 5.1 support.

That’s thanks to the handset’s 5.7-inch Sharp IGZO display, which our senior editor Chris Velazco found gorgeous in his review. The Razer Phone’s 120Hz refresh rate will also make for smooth playback, although not many games can take advantage of that yet.

According to Razer’s tweet, the update will also improve the camera and theme store, as well as deliver a security patch for January. All told, if you own a Razer Phone, this is clearly a download to look out for.

Source: Razer (Twitter)