PSA: The Galaxy Note 8’s S Pen won’t give you cancer

Seriously, people?

In early 2018, it’s hard to go about your life without hearing someone talk about “fake news.” This is something that’s mostly debated in the political realm, but it can also find its way into the tech world, too.

Most recently, user D13H4RD2L1V3 took to the Android Central forums to debunk a video that some of you have likely seen making its way around various sites. The video claims that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s S Pen can cause cancer as a result of electric signals, and this is nothing but 100% baloney.

As D13H4RD2L1V3 points out:

D13H4RD2L1V3
02-03-2018 08:14 AM

“

So, you may or may not have seen a video where it is claimed that S Pen causes cancer due to the phone detecting the S Pen when it is close to the display, issuing concerns about radiation.

Well, let me debunk this.

First of all, all mobile communications devices produce a form of radiation that is considered to be non-ionizing. Compared to ionizing radiation, which can cause cancer when…

Reply

Following this, some of our other forum users responded with the following:

trucksmoveamerica#AC
02-03-2018 08:20 AM

“

This is what happens when iPhone sales drop, fear advertising starts. You are correct, the signals are all around us all day long every day.

Reply

Mooncatt
02-03-2018 08:58 AM

“

It may give you cancer… If you ate the S-pen, or some silly thing like that.

Reply

Rukbat
02-03-2018 12:50 PM

“

1. Electromagnetic radiation is still radiation, but it’s the non-ionizing kind. (The light from a light bulb is more dangerous – it’s just that the amount is so small that a lifetime under a 100 Watt light bulb won’t even give you a tan.)

2. Non-ionizing radiation isn’t just a weaker form of radiation, it’s a different type of radiation. It’s like eating arsenic. Chemicals can kill you. …

Reply

Along with letting this serve as a reminder to be smart about where you get your news from, we’d also like to hear from you — What’s the craziest tech-related fake news you’ve come across?

Join the conversation in the forums!

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The Morning After: Intel attempts smartglasses

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Good morning! Interested in a three-wheeled EV? How about a Han Solo origins movie? Ah, okay, how about Intel trying to make smart glasses a thing? We also take a closer look at how a US Paralympian designed Team USA’s snowboard prosthetics for this year’s Winter Olympics, while we get ready for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch planned for this afternoon.

A low-powered laser beams images into your eye.
Intel’s smart glasses are subtle enough that you might want to wear ’em

Intel has launched an impressively light, regular-looking set of smart glasses called Vaunt, confirming last week’s rumors. Seen by The Verge, they have plastic frames and weigh just under 50 grams, a bit more than regular eyeglasses but much less than Google Glass, for example. The electronics are crammed into the stems and control a very low-powered, class-one laser that shines a red, monochrome, low-fi image into your eye. Perhaps crucially, the glasses contain no camera, eliminating the big brother vibe from Glass and other smart glasses. Vaunt is mainly aimed at giving you relatively simple heads-up notifications. Intel says the glasses are more stealthy than a smartwatch, allowing you to check notifications while doing other activities. But would you want a pair?

He’s as overconfident as ever.
Solo: A ‘Star Wars Story’ trailer reveals Han’s roots

The troubled spin-off production finally manages a trailer.

From pro snowmobiler to Paralympic athlete.
A US Paralympian designed Team USA’s snowboard prosthetics

Mike Schultz was a professional snowmobile racer, but in 2008, his life’s course took a turn after a competition accident shattered his left knee and left him clinging to life. When his injuries began causing his kidneys to shut down, doctors decided to amputate the leg just above the knee.

“I spent a total of 13 days in the hospital and was able to get back home on Christmas Eve to a whole new world of challenges,” he explained. “Later that spring, after learning how to walk on my everyday prosthetic leg, I realized pretty quickly that I needed a plan B to get back into sports and the fun activities that I wanted to do.” That plan B turned out to be designing his own prosthetic leg — one purpose-built to handle the rigors of extreme sports — and starting a fabrication company, Biodapt, to produce it. Thus, the Moto Knee was created.

Jay Y. Lee was meant to spend five years in jail, however…Disgraced Samsung boss walks free from prison

The heir to South Korea’s largest company has avoided a lengthy spell in prison after a court suspended his sentence. Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee was meant to spend five years behind bars after being found guilty of bribing public officials. Now, after spending close to a year in detention, he has been released and will spend the next four years on probation.

Lee was arrested as part of the corruption scandal that brought down South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, herself awaiting trial.

The nation is trying to battle a big uptick in road deaths.
France bans smartphone use in cars even when you pull over

Road deaths have been on the rise lately in France and with nothing much else to pin it on, authorities are going after scofflaw drivers who text or call. It’s now illegal to hold your phone on public roads even when you’re pulled over to the side, whether you’re blocking traffic or not. The high-court ruling means that taking what some consider to be a safe step — pulling over to talk on the phone — could still result in points and a fine of 135 euros.

The company just has to make more than one.
Sondors’ three-wheeled EV is affordable and stylish

Starting a new car company is tough. In fact, it’s nearly impossible. Then Tesla pulled it off. As we transition from the internal combustion engine to electrification, startups and even a few established players are taking a chance on EVs. Building a three-wheeled autocycle isn’t revolutionary, exactly. But making an EV starting at $10,000, with all the usual amenities, makes it a car worth watching. Plus, it looks spectacular. Three wheels, c’mon!

But wait, there’s more…

• ‘The Cloverfield Paradox’ would be doomed without Netflix
• SpaceX animation shows the ideal outcome for the Falcon Heavy launch
• Google flips on Pixel 2’s HDR+ feature for Instagram, Snapchat and more
• SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch gets a spacesuit-clad ‘Starman’

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Samsung’s dual camera ‘bokeh’ tricks are coming to budget phones

Dual-camera smartphones with improved low-light photos and fancy, defocused “bokeh” behind subjects are pretty new and until now, have been reserved for high-end smartphones. Showing how fast things can move nowadays, however, Samung has revealed a new “Isocell dual” camera module for lower-priced mobile phones. With built-in software and algorithms, they specifically allow two features: shooting in dim light, and blurring backgrounds to create “bokeh” after you’ve taken a photo.

Isocell Dual tech can be set up in a couple of different configurations, either for one feature or the other. For low-light shooting (LLS), Samsung marries its algorithms with a set of two 8-megapixel sensors, and for bokeh, uses a 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel image sensor set. According to an presentation last year, the modules can also enable optical smartphone zooming, but Samsung might be keeping that trick for its own smartphones.

Samsung is offering the new module to other smartphone manufacturers, much as it does with its processors, memory and flash storage. Because it’s a complete solution, OEMs can integrate dual cameras without much difficulty, rather than enduring time-consuming and costly hardware and software optimization.

At the same time, it’s likely to integrate the tech in its own products, much as it did with the mid-range J7+ (above) sold in Asia. It could take while, but smartphones packing the tech from Samsung and others will likely start rolling out sometime this year.

Source: Samsung

NYPD Rolls Out iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Handsets to Manhattan Officers, Replacing Windows Phones

The New York Police Department is making good on a promise made last year to dole out iPhone handsets to its officers, replacing around 36,000 Windows Phones as part of a new hardware upgrade strategy, reports the New York Daily News.

The NYPD has been rolling out hundreds of the phones since Christmas to Manhattan cops, who can choose between iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. The platform switch comes at no cost to the police department because the handsets are filed as upgrades under the agency’s contract with AT&T.

Image via New York Daily News
“We’ve been giving out about 600 phones a day,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Information and Technology Jessica Tisch. “We’re seeing a lot of excitement.”

Police in the Bronx and Staten Island have already received their new phones, with officers in the Queens and Brooklyn boroughs next in line to make the switch to iOS.

Armed with Apple’s smartphones, the NYPD has seen its response times to critical crimes in progress drop by 14 percent, according to Tisch. The iPhones also allow cops to get videos and surveillance pictures of wanted suspects within minutes of a crime.

“I truly feel like it’s the ultimate tool to have as a patrol cop,” said Police Officer Christopher Clampitt. “We get to the location a lot quicker,” he said. “By the time the dispatcher puts out the job (on the radio) we’re already there.”

Before the rollout, NYPD’s smartphones of choice were Nokia’s Lumia 830 and Lumia 640 XL, released in October 2014 and March 2015 respectively. The discontinued devices run Windows Phone 8.1, which Microsoft ended support for in July 2017 to focus on its newer Windows 10 Mobile platform and cloud-based services.

In October 2014, New York City officials announced plans to roll out handheld devices to every NYPD officer for the first time ever, along with tablets for every patrol car. The $160 million initiative was part of a plan to bring the department into the 21st century.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7Tag: Windows PhoneBuyer’s Guide: iPhone 8 (Neutral)
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Apple Sending Ad Spend and Install Reports to the Wrong Developers

Apple this morning has apparently sent several developers report emails for Search Ads Basics that belong to other developers.

The reports, which relate to promoted ads that show up in App Store search queries, have been received in error by several developers this morning, as noted on Twitter.

Um Apple you might want to check why Search Ads is emailing me some other developer’s ad spend details pic.twitter.com/hfBcsqpCiy

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) February 6, 2018

Introduced late last year, Search Ads Basic works so that developers only pay out if a user installs the app. It includes suggestions on how much a developer should pay based on historical data pulled from the App Store based on the type of app being marketed, and uses App Store trends to target the ideal audience.

Today’s communications error harks back to a similar issue Apple had with iTunes Connect that occurred two years ago, when users were shown someone else’s session after attempting to login to their own account.

TechCrunch contacted some of the developers who said they had gotten the emails, and confirmed that the mis-sent message currently appeared to be the only issue. We’ll update this article when we learn more.

Tag: App Store
Discuss this article in our forums

Google+ for Android gets rebuilt for the few that still use it

Remember Google+? The search giant’s take on a social network, complete with ‘Circles’ for organising contacts and ‘Communities’ for connecting with like-minded people? Well the site is still up and running, even if its active user base remains low. If you’re a holdout, however, good news — Google is working on a “brand new” version of the Google+ app for Android devices. Though it “closely resembles” the current app, the underlying rewrite means the team should be able to build new features “on a modern tech stack.” That’s according to Leo Deegan, anyway, an engineering manager for the Google+ team, who explained the changes in a public post.

The update will roll out “over the next several days” and includes some subtle tweaks, such as improved scrolling, a redesigned lightbox and a new animation for comment options. If all of that sounds tame to you … that’s because it is. But maybe, just maybe, this is a precursor to some larger, more meaningful changes. It’s unlikely that Google+ will ever rise up and match Twitter and Facebook’s influence. But if Google can carve out a corner of the internet that’s free from spam, harassment and everything else that plagues other social networks — while maintaining a half-modern design and feature set — that’s something we should all be interested in.

Via: Android Police

Source: Leo Deegan (Google+)

France bans smartphone use in cars even when you pull over

Road deaths have been on the rise lately in France and with nothing much else to pin it on, authorities are going after scofflaw drivers who text or call. It’s now illegal to hold your phone on public roads even when you’re pulled over to the side of the road, whether you’re blocking traffic or not, Le Figaro reports. The high court ruling means that taking what some consider to be a safe step — pulling over to talk on the phone — could still result in points and a fine of 135 euros.

Rather create a new law, the ruling has clarified exactly what it means to be “circulating in traffic.” Now, it’s not enough to pull over and cut the motor in order to use your phone; you have to be parked in a designated spot. When you’ve had an accident or breakdown, however, you are allowed to call or text.

France, a country with a well-deserved reputation for crazy driving, has introduced new laws to try to stem an accident rate that has been slowly rising after decades of steady decline. It recently reduced speed limits on two-lane roads from 90 to 80 km/h (55 to 50 mph), upsetting motorists across the country.

The nation’s equivalent to the AAA has a problem with the new cellphone ruling, implying it may do more harm than good. “I think we should encourage motorists to stop when they’re using their phones,” spokesperson Yves Carras told Le Figaro.

Via: The Local

Source: Le Figaro (French)

NYPD starts replacing cops’ Windows Phones with iPhones

Microsoft will soon lose 36,000 of its remaining Windows Phone customers, as the NYPD starts distributing iPhones to its officers. The department, which first announced its decision to replace cops’ Windows Phones last year, is now rolling out 600 iPhones a day in Manhattan. Once it’s done upgrading the phones of all the cops in the borough, it’ll start the rollout in Brooklyn and then in Queens. According to New York Daily News, the transition started just before Christmas, and officers can choose between the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus.

Although New York’s finest aren’t getting the newer iPhone 8 or its more expensive bezel-less sibling, the iPhone X, NYPD IT Deputy Commissioner Jessica Tisch said they’re seeing “a lot of excitement.” The department decided to use Windows Phones in 2016, apparently because it also used Microsoft software for a video surveillance program. Unfortunately, Redmond officially ended support for its mobile platform last year, so while the cops’ Lumias worked as intended, they’re no longer ideal.

Smartphones allow New York’s officers to get dispatches through the 911 app way before they’re announced on the radio. Tisch said that ever since they used phones for the job, response times to ongoing incidents dropped by 14 percent. The officers will also use their iPhones to fill out summonses, as well as to file accident reports, aided cards and domestic violence reports. If you’re wondering, the NYPD won’t be paying extra for the iPhone 7s, since it’s considered an upgrade under its contract with AT&T. It’ll even make some money from the transition, since it’s wiping the cops’ old Windows Phones and selling them back to the company.

Via: 9to5mac

Source: New York Daily News

The Amazfit BIP smartwatch promises 45-day battery life, costs just $99

The Amazfit BIP offers a laundry list of features for just $99.

Xiaomi ecosystem partner Huami has rolled out its latest product in the smartwatch segment, the Amazfit BIP. The smartwatch made its debut in China last year, and is now available in the U.S. for $99. While most Android Wear smartwatches tout a two-day battery life, the Amazfit BIP promises up to 45 days of usage between charges with minimal notification support. With everyday use, you’ll still be able to get 30 days on a full charge.

When it comes to the design, the Amazfit BIP looks an awful lot like the Apple Watch. You get a 1.28-inch always-on color display with a resolution of 176 x 176 backed by 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It uses standard 20mm lugs, and comes with an optical heart rate sensor.

The smartwatch connects via Bluetooth 4.0 LE to either Android or iOS devices (you’ll have to install the Mi Fit app), allowing you to receive calls, texts, emails, and other notification alerts on your wrist. And at 31g, it is one of the lighter options available in this segment.

The feature list doesn’t stop there either, as the smartwatch also comes with GPS and GLONASS, IP68 dust and water resistance, a barometer, compass, 3-axis accelerometer, and 190mAh battery. In addition to tracking activity like running, walking, and cycling, the Amazfit BIP also analyzes your sleep patterns, displaying the data on the Mi Fit app.

If you’re interested, you can pre-order the smartwatch direct from Amazfit’s website for $99. There are four color options to choose from — White Cloud, Onyx Black, Cinnabar Red, and Kokoda Green — and orders are set to ship from March 2018.

See at Amazfit

New Jersey governor orders ISPs to uphold net neutrality

New Jersey has joined Montana and New York in the growing list of states fighting back against the FCC’s decision to repeal net neutrality. Governor Phil Murphy has signed an executive order prohibiting ISPs from blocking, throttling or taking payment to prioritize one web content over others if they sell internet service to state agencies. The order (PDF), which is pretty much identical to the ones signed by Montana Governor Steve Bullock and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, doesn’t cover ISPs that don’t count state agencies among their customers.

As Gov. Murphy said, “New Jersey cannot unilaterally regulate net neutrality back into law or cement it as a state regulation” — the FCC made sure states can’t enforce their own broadband laws when it repealed net neutrality. It can, however, “exercise [its] power as a consumer to make [its] preferences known.” Although the order can only cover some ISPs, it can also benefit ordinary customers, as long as they’re subscribed to a provider that does business with the government. Any ISP that signs a contract with New Jersey on or before July 1st will have to comply with the order, so keep your eyes peeled if you’re an NJ resident.

In addition to signing the order, New Jersey is also joining the lawsuit filed by a group of states that want to restore net neutrality. NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said they “are committed to taking whatever legal action [they] can to preserve the internet rights of New Jersey consumers and to challenge the federal government’s misguided attack on a free and open Internet.”

Source: The Hill, New Jersey (PDF)