Apple orders drama series from director of ‘La La Land’

Apple’s pattern of ordering shows with top-flight talent continues. Variety has discovered that Apple has secured a drama series from Damien Chazelle, the director of the Oscar-winning La La Land. The production is so mysterious at this point that even the basic premise isn’t available, but Chazelle would both write and direct every episode. Unlike his work on the upcoming Netflix show The Eddy, he’ll always be heavily involved.

There’s still no mention of when Apple will release this or any of its other original shows. It’s also unclear just how Apple will offer these productions, although a dedicated subscription video service would make the most sense.

No matter what, it won’t be surprising if you hear about more coups like this. Apple is believed to have $1 billion to spend on its initial roster of original shows, and that gives it a lot of headroom even when shows from the likes of Steven Spielberg are on the cards. The question is just when Apple will have its first slate ready to go, and whether or not it expects to increase that budget over time. Netflix believes it could shell out $8 billion for content in 2018 — it could be a long while before Apple can compete on sheer variety.

Via: The Verge

Source: Variety

Atari wants your help to make ‘RollerCoaster Tycoon’ for Switch

How badly do you want a version of RollerCoaster Tycoon for the Nintendo Switch? Bad enough that you’d be willing to claim a direct stake in the game’s success? If so, Atari has a sales pitch for you. The company’s Game Partners division (tasked with making money from classic franchises) has launched a crowd investment campaign to raise money for a Switch port of the theme park construction title. Pour at least $250 into the project and you get a pro rata (proportionate) share of 50 percent of profits until you recoup 120 percent of your investment, and then a pro rata 25 percent share of profits for the 18 months following the game’s worldwide launch. Ideally, you’d actually make money from backing the game’s release.

If all goes according to plan, the game would ship sometime in 2018. Atari is shooting for $2 million in overall funding.

The question is whether or not the game will fare well enough. Kotaku points out that the Switch port would come from Nvizzio Creations, the company that developed the mediocre RollerCoaster Tycoon World. The title may be based on the more successful RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch for smartphones and would likely preserve the core gameplay as a result (hopefully minus micro-transactions), but this isn’t a guaranteed hit based on its pedigree.

However well it fares, the crowd-based investing continues a series of unusual money-making strategies under the Atari brand, including a retro gaming system and a speaker hat. Why not opt for conventional crowdfunding, which would rake in less per person but would be much more affordable for fans and wouldn’t require sharing profits? It implies less-than-strong confidence in the success of the title, and that the company wants to be absolutely sure it won’t lose money even if sales are modest. This may well be a quality port — it’s just a tough sell when it’s not clear that there’s a large audience.

Via: Kotaku

Source: StartEngine

Robinhood will let users trade cryptocurrencies for free

Robinhood, the app that lets you make zero-fee stock trading and tracking, is moving into a new market: Cryptocurrencies. Next month, users in select US states will be able to buy and sell bitcoin and ethereum without having to pay transaction fees, with support for more currencies coming later.

Obviously, no-fee trading is a valuable advantage Robinhood trading holds over other exchange sites; Coinbase, for example, charges 1.5 percent to 4 percent. This isn’t a ploy for more revenue: The app-based service hopes this will lure more users to its platform.

“We’re planning to operate this business on a break-even basis and we don’t plan to profit from it for the foreseeable future” Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev told TechCrunch. “The value of Robinhood Crypto is in growing our customer base and better serving our existing customers.”

Cryptocurrency prices are notoriously volatile. To counter that, Robinhood Crypto gives users an estimated price, and once users confirm a buy or sell order, they scan a gamut of trading venues, exchanges and market centers to find the lowest offer, TechCrunch explained. To account for wild price fluctuations, the service puts a ‘collar’ around your order; If it can’t find a price within this margin, it will wait until one surfaces to execute your order or inform you.

Once February rolls around, users will be able to trade bitcoin and ethereum in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Hampshire, though Robinhood Crypto will expand to more states ‘soon’ according to a press release. After launching with bitcoin and ethereum, Robinhood Crypto will eventually support over a dozen other currencies. These include: Bitcoin Cash. Litecoin, Ripple, Ethereum Classic, Zcash, Monero, Dash, Stellar, Qtum, Bitcoin Gold, OmiseGo, NEO, Lisk and Dogecoin.

Users will be able to trade cryptocurrencies around the clock on Robinhood, and the platform will allow you to instantly transfer up to $1,000 from your bank to your account expressly to buy cryptocurrency. (Any funds over that amount will follow the slower ACH transfer process.) User will also be able to monitor and track currencies, as well as set up limit commands to automatically buy or sell if one hits a certain number.

Source: Robinhood

Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $50 on an Ecobee4 smart thermostat

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

Aukey Mohawk Drone

Street Price: $65; Deal Price: $38 w/ code 5H86P2FT

Use code 5H86P2FT to knock over $25 off the price of the Aukey Mohawk, our sub-$100 drone pick for more experienced pilots. We’ve seen this drone hit $50, then $40, both with similar promo codes, but this is a new low at $38 after the code is applied in cart. This deal is slated to last until 1/31, but there’s no telling if stock will last that long.

The Aukey Mohawk is our experienced pilots pick in our guide to the best sub-$100 drone. Signe Brewster wrote, “If you’ll accept a more difficult learning curve in exchange for faster flying, or if you’re already a capable drone pilot, the Aukey Mohawk might be the right drone for you. In our tests, it responded nimbly to flight controls, performing the best of the larger drones we flew through our obstacle course. It also has a few autonomous features, such as returning to home and flipping.”

Anker PowerDrive 4

Street Price: $16; Deal Price: $12 w/ code ANKER312

Use code ANKER312 to drop the price of this 4-port USB car charger to $12, the lowest price we’ve seen for it in a few years. As this car charger typically goes for $16, this is a nice savings. If you’re tired of running out of USB ports for charging, the PowerDrive 4 may be a nice option for you, especially at this price.

The Anker PowerDrive 4 is our more ports for more gadgets pick in our guide to the best USB car charger. Nick Guy wrote, “It might seem crazy to some people, but if you really need to charge more than two devices at once in the car, the Anker 4-Port USB Car Charger is a great pick. It puts four USB-charging ports that can handle a total of 9.6 amps in a package that’s of course much larger than the PowerDrive 2 and ReVolt, but still impressively compact.”

Ecobee4 Smart Thermostat

Street Price: $250; Deal Price: $200

At $200 (price reflects in cart), this matches the pricing we saw during the holidays and again in early January for our upgrade smart thermostat, the Ecobee4. While we anticipate the price falling further eventually, right now this is as low as we’ve seen this new generation’s pricing go. This deal is slated to end 1/27.

The Ecobee4 is our upgrade pick in our guide to the best smart thermostat. Grant Clauser wrote, “Thanks to a built-in Alexa, the Ecobee4 can play music, relay the news, and control your home’s smart lights as well as adjusting the heat and air conditioning. Like other Ecobee thermostats, the 4 also works with remote sensors, which is useful if your thermostat isn’t in the best part of your house to measure the temperature: Ecobee4 uses the remote sensors’ readings, along with occupancy detectors, to achieve the target temperature in multiple occupied rooms, rather than just wherever the thermostat is installed. (One sensor comes with the unit, and you can add up to 32 more.) Because it has Alexa built in, you don’t need a separate Echo to control it by voice, and if Alexa isn’t your smart-assistant choice, Ecobee4 also works with Google Assistant and (via Apple’s HomeKit) Siri. However, it doesn’t have the level of intelligence of the Nest Thermostat E for automatically figuring out your schedule, and it’s worth spending the extra money on only if you have real issues with cold spots in your home, or really want an Alexa in your thermostat.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to thewirecutter.com.

SEC is ‘looking closely’ at companies that dabble in blockchain

The Securities and Exchange Commission has had it with companies throwing around words like crypto and blockchain in order to bump up their stock prices. There have been quite a few instances of that lately and the SEC says it will be looking more closely at public companies that suddenly shift their interests to cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology.

During a speech given earlier this week at the Securities Regulation Institute, SEC Chair Jay Clayton said, “I doubt anyone in this audience thinks it would be acceptable for a public company with no meaningful track record in pursuing the commercialization of distributed ledger or blockchain technology to (1) start to dabble in blockchain activities, (2) change its name to something like “Blockchain-R-Us,” and (3) immediately offer securities, without providing adequate disclosure to Main Street investors about those changes and the risks involved.” He added, “The SEC is looking closely at the disclosures of public companies that shift their business models to capitalize on the perceived promise of distributed ledger technology and whether the disclosures comply with the securities laws, particularly in the case of an offering.”

Among the companies with a sudden interest in the crypo field is Kodak, which announced an initial coin offering earlier this month and attached its name to a bitcoin-mining business. Another company, Long Island Iced Tea, changed its name to Long Blockchain Corp. and announced it would begin mining bitcoin. Its stock had a nice surge before the company later said that it couldn’t guarantee its mining future and pulled its common stock offer. Other examples include a company called LongFin Corp. that purchased a supposed cryptocurrency microlender and saw a 2,600 percent rise in its stock prices, an e-cigarette company that changed its name from Vapetek Inc. to Nodechain, a biotech company called Bioptix Inc. that changed its name to Riot Blockchain and began investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain, a tea company called Ping Shan Tea Group Limited that renamed itself as Blockchain Group Co Ltd. and a gaming company called Veltyco Group that only had to mention that it was interested in blockchain and cryptocurrency in order to see a jump in its stock price.

The SEC has begun to put a bigger focus on cryptocurrency. It formed a Cyber Unit last year that’s focused on online financial crimes and has already brought fraud charges against some individuals, as has the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Clayton and CFTC Chair Christopher Giancarlo said, “The SEC is devoting a significant portion of its resources to the ICO market. Through statements, reports and enforcement actions the SEC has made it clear that federal securities laws apply regardless of whether the offered security — a purposefully broad and flexible term — is labeled a “coin” or “utility token” rather than a stock, bond or investment contract. Market participants, including lawyers, trading venues and financial services firms, should be aware that we are disturbed by many examples of form being elevated over substance, with form-based arguments depriving investors of mandatory protections.”

Via: TechCrunch

Source: SEC

State senator wants to regulate loot boxes in Washington

Despite its long-awaited single-player story and gorgeous graphics and sounds, Star Wars Battlefront II will likely be remembered for one thing: Loot boxes, or the mismanagement of. The game’s rewards took so long to earn that players were incentivized to buy crates of randomized extras that could speed the process up…or not. That uncertain outcome paid with real money, which is becoming increasingly common in games, sounds like gambling to some legislators, and Belgium moved to ban SW Battlefront II-style loot boxes outright. This month, a Washington Senator introduced a bill that would require the state’s gambling commission to determine whether loot boxes are, in fact, gambling — and suggest how to regulate them across gaming.

“What the bill says is, ‘Industry, state: sit down to figure out the best way to regulate this,’” the bill’s author state Senator Kevin Ranker told The News Tribune. “It is unacceptable to be targeting our children with predatory gambling masked in a game with dancing bunnies or something.”

The bill’s text (PDF) includes loot boxes ‘and similar types of mechanisms’ on online titles and mobile apps, expanding the inquiry across all of video gaming. It would require the Washington state gambling commission to consult with the industry and commit a near year-long survey before submitting their findings by December 1st. The commission’s report will also recommend how to regulate loot boxes and restrict the sale of games that include them, especially to young players.

Rankin believes loot boxes and similar mechanisms are especially harmful for children who don’t know better.

“If (parents) realized how predatory these game are then they wouldn’t want them under their Christmas tree, they wouldn’t want them going to their kids,” Ranker told The News Tribune.

While not a requirement for the final results, Rankin and his coauthors wrote their concern in the bill that games don’t disclose loot box odds for receiving particular items. Loot box games rarely volunteer this information, and their studios are extremely coy about publishing the drop chances for, well, obvious reasons. Last month, Apple finally required games on the Apple Store to list their loot box odds, while China forced EVERY developer across all platforms to disclose theirs a year ago. That’s the only reason we know the odds in every Overwatch, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm loot box drop, incidentally — since Blizzard won’t reveal them publicly.

Via: Glixel

Source: The News Tribune

Blu R2 Plus review: The budget line gets a timely and worthwhile refresh

Arriving roughly eight months after the R1 Plus, Blu’s newest phone, the R2 Plus serves as a worthy update with improvements in a handful of key spots. While it’s not an outright successor with spec change across the board, it’s timely and worth your attention.

As we approach the second anniversary of the “$50 phone”, the R1 HD, we’ve seen the line evolve a little. It has now become quite clear that this isn’t just an Amazon or Amazon Prime series of devices. In other words, we don’t expect that an “R” model phone will be cheap or offered as an Amazon exclusive.

Even before spending time with the phone we were impressed at the speed at which Blu released a follow-up device. As customers we are conditioned to look for successors roughly once per year. On the other hand, we wondered whether there would be enough “new” here to justify its launch.

Similar to its predecessor, the R1 Plus, the R2 Plus puts the entry level experience squarely in its sites. Specifically, it takes on the likes of Motorola and its G5 Plus. For the 2018 iteration we have a $179.99 price tag ($129.99 at launch) so it’s definitely on the less expensive side of things.

As an unlocked handset, the R1 Plus works with either AT&T or T-Mobile’s networks as well as any of their respective MVNO brands. For those of you living outside of the US, the globally unlocked device works with Orange, Vodafone, and many others. This is  a dual-SIM device which means you can actually pull service from two carriers at once. It’s also a bit of breathing room for when you might travel to another country and need a local SIM card for a short while.

General Impressions

As was the case with its R1 models, Blu has cut the corners in a couple of places, but nothing that gives us pause for concern. The packaging isn’t glamorous but you don’t care about what is on the box so much as to what’s inside.

Getting into the box we find there are no headphones but there is a microUSB charger, a silicon protective case, and a screen protector. Again, nothing special or noteworthy but they are a nice gesture; most consumers buy these things anyhow.

Hardware

Whereas the R1 HD was a good 15-18 months behind the curve for low end devices, the R2 Plus continues to close the gap. It builds on things in a few key areas and comprises an all around solid package for those not looking to spend much money.

First time smartphone users may not realize it, or likely even care all that much about the hardware, but these are what you’d get in a mid-range and upper end phone from 2016. Seasoned users coming from a higher end or flagship phone from the last year or two might consider this one more of a sidestep than a step forward.

Those of you who have ever owned, or spent a moderate amount of time, with a flagship phone from the last few years will likely be familiar with the “premium” experience. This is generally comprised of, but not limited to, glass on one or both sides, metal housing, and/or expensive build materials.

Despite Blu’s billing of the sleek metal body housing, the R2 Plus is not a premium device.  You’ve still got a protective shell to remove for access to the SIM card(s) and microSD card slot. On a more positive note, the case itself doesn’t feel as pliable or plastic as what you might have seen in cheaper phones from days gone by. Indeed, the R2 Plus is rather utilitarian by today’s standards and probably won’t draw the admiration of others.

Key Specifications

• Android v7.0 Nougat
• Mediatek 6753 | 1.3GHz Quad Core Processor with Mali-T720
• 32GB Internal Storage with microSD (up to 64GB)
• 3GB RAM Memory
• 5.5-inch 1920 x 1280 pixel display
• 13-megapixel rear camera
• 5-megapixel front-facing camera
• 4,000mAh battery
• Network:
  • 3G: 850/900/1700/1900/2100
  • 4G LTE: 1/2/3/4/7/12/17/28

Build & Design

The R2 Plus delivers the same 5.5-inch display as its predecessor; however, this time the resolution has been bumped from 1280 x 720 pixels to 1920 x 1080. It’s somewhat noticeable when you compare the two, but it’s hard to truly discern much higher than this. Would a 2K screen be great? Sure, but we like money, too. The target user will appreciate the display here and text, pictures, and video look just fine for our needs.

We’ve said it many times, but you truly don’t see the differences or where corners are cut as much until you compare it to a pricier or bigger named counterpart. On their own, phones like the R2 Plus are perfectly good for most, especially the buying demographic. Shine a light on them, though, and you can see where someone like Samsung or LG might command a bigger price tag. Blu’s first phone of the year is nothing special on the outside, but it never pretends to be anything more, either.

Whereas last year’s model felt a little thicker than some of the other 5.5-inch phones of the time, this year’s model doesn’t. Perhaps this is due to having a battery that’s 1/4 the capacity: R1 Plus has 4,000mAh, R2 Plus has 3,000mAh. Whatever it is, the phone feels good to hold, even with a smaller, single hand.

The curved display is something we’ve come to expect in phones in 2018 so it was nice to see that present on the Blu R2 Plus. It’s a nice aesthetic choice that rounds off the overall experience and also helps in the event of an accidental drop.

Holding the phone and spending a few minutes taking things in, you don’t get the impression that you have a “no-name” or “off-brand” device. We’ve liked watching Blu evolve over the years; its phones tend to keep pace well with most OEMs and never try to punch above their weight. Suffice it to say, this certainly doesn’t feel cheap or inexpensive.

The model we were sent is black, however you can also purchase the R2 Plus in gold. We suspect it looks a little more polished and eye-catching but that’s not to suggest the black is ugly. The aluminum battery cover has a flat, almost matte finish but it does register fingerprints and oily touches rather easily. Not to worry, though, as it’s easy to clean up.

As for the general configuration of the phone, the volume rocker and power buttons are on the right side of the display. The power button carries over the knurling from its predecessor, as do the volume buttons. It’s very minor, but you can feel it nicely when fumbling for the phone in the dark. All three deliver feedback and response in line within our expectations.

The headphone jack is found at the top side, toward the left of the phone and the microUSB port is at the top, too. Yes. At the top. And it’s still microUSB. Given the overall packager here we’re okay giving a pass on the charging port, but the placement leaves us scratching our head. For the R3 Plus we expect to see USB Type C.

One of the biggest missing pieces from last generation is present for the 2018 model. Since Android 6.0, the platform has supported fingerprint readers at the OS level. And, while it was not in the R1 Plus, it’s here. We like the added layer of security and verification and certainly recommend using it where possible.

Our review unit was responsive and picked up fingerprints quickly. Surely there’s some chart somewhere that ranks response times and measures them in fractions of a second. Let’s just say that there was never a problem with registering touch and leave it at that.

Battery

The rear cover is removable, opening up access to the microSD card slot and dual microSIM card slots. It’s worth noting that the battery is not removable. At 3,000mAh it’s in line with most devices on the market, but it’s actually quite a step down from the R1 Plus.

We tend to charge phones at night out of habit just to be safe; we never really ran into a problem with battery that wasn’t solved with a few (10-15) minutes on the charger.

We were really happy to see that Blu didn’t keep the same type of battery cover that was found on last year’s model. That was truly one of the hardest cases we could get to remove. The R2 Plus is much easier and comes off without much fuss.

Camera

Like the R1 Plus, the R2 Plus features a 13-megapixel rear camera but this time we get a slightly better f/2.0 aperture. This was noticeable right away when we started shooting pics in the dreary Ohio winter evenings. The R2 Plus handled indoor and low lighting conditions better and the shutter responded quicker.

Around front we have another 13-megapixel camera, and again the same aperture settings. This is remarkably better than the 5-megapixel selfie camera on the previous edition. Both cameras include an LED flash and a handful of shooting modes.

There’s not a lot happening in the actual camera app so we might suggest downloading something else from the Play Store. It’s okay to get you started, but you will want to spread your wings if you’re looking for additional settings and configurations.

Given the cost of the R2 Plus, we were pleased with the pictures. As we’ve noted in other reviews, a lot of what we do with our photos tends to live in the cloud or are often viewed from mobile devices, it’s really tough to find fault with the quality. A lot of people just throw a filter on a pic, upload to social media, and call it a day. The R2 HD works more than sufficiently.

HDR pictures took a little bit longer to snap and process so keep that in mind when selecting your subject. If you’re shooting still images, nature, or slow moving subjects, it’s fine. But, throw a cat or a child in the mix and you’re not going to keep up very well. Toggle off HDR and grab those sort of shots, just be prepared for lesser quality color, vibrancy, or accuracy.

Software

If you’ve ever read our reviews on Blu, one of things we’ve come to appreciate in its devices is that they’re pretty much unadulterated versions of Android. In most cases this means almost strictly Google apps with a small mix of apps sprinkled in. Other than that, it’s just about the same look and feel that you’d get directly from Google.

The R2 Plus keeps the tradition alive and doesn’t have much at all. Our review unit had Amazon, Prime Video, Opera, and Next Radio. There’s a full suite of Google apps and services present, too. Titles include Drive, Calendar, Gmail, Messages, Maps, Photos, YouTube, Play Music, Play Movies & TV, and the Play Store.

Interestingly enough, Blu doesn’t offer the same software experience from one phone to the next. Be it tiny changes in what can be configured, the pre-loaded apps, and/or the camera application, it’s always a surprise. By and large, though, Blu does stick to a pretty lean UI and configuration.

The R2 Plus runs Android 7.0 Nougat, which is technically only one full version behind what’s available today. We’re seeing quite a few new models running 8.0 Oreo out of the box so it would have been nice to have here. How much does that matter to the target demographic? Probably not as much as it does to fanboys and loyalists.

One feeling we often echo for low-cost devices, or those from Blu, is that you might want to consider the device “as is” when it comes to software. More specifically, you ought not look for Android updates.

In most cases, the users for these sort of phones is not demanding and cares little of the actual version of Android so much as to how it works. And, given that the overall look and feel has not changed drastically in the last generation or two, this works in Blu’s favor. Still, we would have liked to see Android 8.0 Oreo; it’s been available for more than a few months to OEMs.

Android 7.0 means still have some of the latest in protection from Google, plus all of the recent design principles. The stuff in 8.0 is more finely tuned and a little more customizable, sure, but it’s not necessary. Truth be told, it’s still newer than what a lot of current Android users have today.

For what it’s worth, we noticed that this had the Android security patch dated from October 5, 2017. As long as security, malware, and other threats are dealt with in a timely or orderly fashion it shouldn’t prove to be much of an issue.

Performance

We didn’t use the R2 Plus as a daily driver as much of our time over the last ten days (post-CES) has been hectic. But, we did throw on a handful of games that we’ve been playing and we did sync up a few of our accounts.

We’re used to having phones with 4GB of memory and a generally more robust set of hardware. Does this make the R2 Plus noticeably slower or laggy? Not for what we threw at it.

The R2 Plus handles typical daily tasks without any issue. Be it browsing Facebook and other social media, Reddit, casual gaming, messaging, and daily tasks, it took things in stride. Having said that, the R3 Plus will need 4GB RAM if it hopes to catch our eye next generation.

Conclusion

Blu continues to walk the line of affordability and performance, especially along the lower end of the spectrum. The R2 Plus is a solid unit that should work well for its intended uses.

For someone who is just getting into smartphones and doesn’t want to commit to long-term financing or expensive devices, this is a good start. Likewise, it’s a decent sidestep or “band aid” phone should you have dropped or lost your current phone.

We have no issues with recommending the R2 Plus. There are a few quibbles and questionable choices, but nothing to the point of telling you to avoid the phone. Why is a microUSB charging port on the top of the phone? Why are we still using microUSB? Why doesn’t Blu have the exact same software suite and configuration on all of its phones?

You can purchase the R2 Plus through Amazon for $179.99 starting immediately. As an incentive, you can save $50 with an early adopter discount. At $129.99 this is an really interesting device and one to consider for your GSM needs.

Security flaw in Prime Exclusive Moto G5 allows access to anyone

There’s no doubt in many people’s minds that the Amazon Prime exclusive version of certain smartphones offers a pretty good bargain — but it has been reported that a security flaw is affecting its Moto G5 version.

If you’re already an Amazon Prime member (or have access to the free trial), then you have the option of picking up certain mobile phones with a hefty discount on the recommended retail price. What’s the catch? You have to deal with lockscreen ads and “offers” from Amazon.  So if you can live with your recent Amazon searches popping up on your lockscreen when you use your phone, then you’ve got a bargain.

That’s the way it is with the Moto G5, which can be picked up for just $240 with Amazon’s Prime Exclusive deal, a bargain for most. However, some users have noticed that Amazon’s lockscreen ads have created a pretty significant security hole that means anyone can access your phone — even if you’ve enabled the fingerprint scanner.

Hey @amazon @MotorolaUS. I found a security flaw in my Amazon motot g5. Hit fingerprint sensor (it says fingerprint not recognized), then press power button, then click view ad on the lockscreen. This gives you 100% access to the phone. pic.twitter.com/eqLWLn34pD

— Jaraszski Colliefox (@jaraszski) January 22, 2018

In the example above, one Twitter user shows how his Moto G5 can be accessed by tapping on a lockscreen ad after the phone’s screen is awoken. The ad then bypasses the fingerprint scanner, taking him straight to the ad’s target page. From there, accessing the device’s home page — and the rest of the phone’s info, pictures, and personal data — is as simple as hitting the home button at the bottom of the screen.

Reddit users on /r/Android were quick to try and replicate the flaw, and it was discovered that Moto Display needed to be turned on, and the flaw doesn’t replicate if the phone has been turned off for a significant amount of time. The description of a replication video says that duration is around 30 seconds, which doesn’t sound too bad until you realise that’s 30 seconds during which anyone can access your phone. There’s some paranoia fuel for you right there.

At this moment, it seems that other Prime Exclusive phones are immune to the bug. Android Police has reported that its Prime Exclusive Nokia 8 can’t be accessed in the same way, so the flaw is likely rooted in some of Motorola’s software on the Moto G5 and G5 Plus.

We contacted Motorola to find out when a fix is likely. Motorola’s Support page said “our developer is currently coordinating with the developer from Google to address this issue.” While Motorola wasn’t willing to share a timeline on the fix, it said that it would be keeping members of the Motorola Community forum updated, and that a fix would be published on the Motorola website as soon as it was ready.

Apple’s 32-bit app warnings are death rattle of aging standard on MacOS

Apple is moving forward with its plan to phase out support for 32-bit applications on MacOS, beginning with the upcoming High Sierra 10.13.4 update. Beta testers now using it,and mainstream users in the near future, will find a warning appear about future compatibility problems whenever they launch a 32-bit app on the operating system.

32-bit applications differentiate themselves from more modern, 64-bit apps by their support for a shorter data width. In practical terms, it means they can’t leverage as much memory, which, as applications become more complicated, can limit performance.

In many ways, 32-bit applications have been on their way out since the early 2000s, with the introduction of the first 64-bit consumer processors. However, legacy software support has meant they have been maintained by modern operating systems and hardware. Apple is now taking steps to reduce that in the future, with plans to eventually phase them out entirely.

That begins with High Sierra 10.13.4, where users launching 32-bit apps will be informed that it will be the “last MacOS release to support 32-bit apps without compromises.” It will only be shown one time for each application, according to MacRumors, but future warnings will double down on the advice that 32-bit apps’ days are numbered. Apple suggests messages will become increasingly “aggressive,” before support is cut entirely.

Alongside the warnings, Apple has also begun restricting its App Store, where any new application must be submitted in 64-bit form. 32-bit iterations will no longer be accepted. When MacOS does officially drop support for 32-bit apps, existing applications built on that standard will no longer be able to function, forcing users to find an alternative means of completing those tasks.

None of this is unprecedented on Apple systems. It previously took similar steps when phasing out support for 32-bit applications on iOS. iOS 10 began the warnings, with Apple officially cutting the cord for the aging standard with iOS 11.

Other changes coming with the High Sierra 10.13.4 update to MacOS include an updated version of Safari, version 11.1, which adds a number of new features including new web APIs and security improvements, according to MacRumors. The browser will also automatically convert animated GIFs into silent videos in order to cut back on data usage.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Nvidia will no longer publish new drivers for 32-bit systems
• BenQ PD3200U review
• Want the best MacBook for your money? You can forget the Touch Bar
• How to replace your iPhone’s battery
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You can now mute more annoying ads with Google’s new ad controls

There’s not much worse than a specific ad following you around the internet. We’ve all been there; you search “left handed weed wackers” once, for your great uncle at Thanksgiving, and suddenly you’re seeing them on every website you visit. Thankfully, your weed-whacking hell may be over, as Google is rolling out even more ways for users to control the ads they see, and to mute annoying ads from specific advertisers.

Announced via a post on Google’s safety & security blog, the Mute This Ad feature launched way back in 2012 has been buffed up, giving users the option to mute specific “reminder” ads — the ones that remind you to go back to a store you’d previously visited. While those ads may function well when someone does genuinely need reminding of a purchase, it can also be rather annoying to be constantly reminded of something you have no intention of buying. From today, users will be able to mute specific ads from specific advertisers to ensure unnecessary ads won’t inflict themselves on you again. And thanks to another small change, your preferences will be carried over to any other devices, so any ads you mute on your laptop also won’t show on your tablet, smartphone, or desktop PC.

It’s the latest in Google’s ongoing drive to ensure that users are only seeing the ads that they want to see. While an ad-free existence might be tempting to some (and attainable), Google would obviously prefer it if we choose to live with them. For that reason, the search giant has been quite liberal with ad preferences, launching Google Dashboard back in 2009, and consistently improving it so everyone has access to the same data that Google holds on them. From the dashboard, users can view and turn off access to Google searches, viewed YouTube videos, and more — it all comes down to how happy you are to let Google have your data.

It’s a win-win for Google — more relevant ads means that Google’s ad algorithms can really zero in what each user really wants, which means a better return on investment for anyone looking to invest in Google’ ad services. Because the only thing worse than an unwanted ad, is an unneeded ad.

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