UNICEF recruits gamers to mine cryptocurrency for Syrian kids

UNICEF has launched a new fund-raising project in the same vein as SETI@Home and Einstein@home, but with a cryptocurrency spin. In an effort to raise money for the children in war-torn Syria, the organization is asking gamers, eSports fans and anybody with powerful graphics cards in their computers for help in mining Ethereum. It’s calling the new project “Game Chaingers,” and joining it is as easy as going to its website, giving it a few details about your system so it can configure the mining software and installing that software to your PC.

Game Chaingers uses your graphics card’s power to mine for cryptocurrency, which then goes straight to UNICEF’s account. Of course, the more participants there are, the more coins it can mine — if the hundreds of millions of gamers around the world help out, the organization can raise a considerable amount. UNICEF says it created the project out of a need to find new donors, since most of its benefactors are already over 50. By asking to borrow PCs’ processing power instead of straight-out appealing for cash, even those who wouldn’t usually give to charities could contribute.

When we asked the UN organization for children’s rights whether running the program will cause your PC to consume more electricity than usual, a spokesperson told us that it won’t. Your computer will still use the the same amount of electricity that it usually does, since it’s not exactly the same as mining for bitcoins on your own. UNICEF will only borrow part of your processing power and only asks “for a punctual and brief participation.” So, if the only thing keeping you from installing the software is its energy use and/or environmental impact, then it sounds like you’ve got nothing to worry about.

Source: Game Chaingers

Netflix is getting crushed in India, and it’s all because of Amazon and Hotstar

Netflix hasn’t altered its pricing structure for the Indian market, and it’s losing ground as a result.

Just over two years ago, Netflix announced that it would be vastly expanding its service globally, becoming available in 130 new markets. India was one of those markets, and with the service available in the country for well over 24 months, it’s time to see what has worked (and what hasn’t).

At the time, Netflix was the first major paid video streaming service to make its debut in India. There were local streaming platforms, but none had Netflix’s scale nor content library. Netflix’s basic tier — which allowed for 480p streaming on one device — cost ₹500 ($7.80) a month, with the two-screen HD plan costing ₹650 ($10) and the 4K package coming in at ₹800 ($12.50) a month.

Two years on, the pricing has remained the same, but what has changed is the arrival of Amazon Prime Video and local streaming service Hotstar. Both platforms have managed to make significant inroads in the country through a combination of aggressive pricing and strong content libraries.

Hotstar, for instance, has the digital rights to HBO shows in the country, and streams Game of Thrones episodes the same day they air in the U.S. That’s obviously a huge pull, as is the fact that Hotstar has exclusive rights to stream cricket and football games in the country.

Then there’s the issue of pricing: the base tier of Hotstar is free (albeit with ads), and there’s a single premium tier that costs ₹199 a month ($3). For that price, you get access to over 40 HBO shows, which in itself is a pretty great deal. The service serves over 200 U.S.-based shows in total, not to mention a dizzying array of regional programming.

Netflix costs three times as much as Hotstar and eight times as much as Prime Video.

As for Amazon, the retailer has invested over $2 billion in India over the last two years as it seeks to overthrow homegrown Flipkart. One way to attract customers is with deep discounts, and no one does it better than the Seattle-based company. Amazon continually holds sales events where it significantly marks down hundreds of thousands of products, and its Prime membership in India is the best bargain you’ll find on an e-commerce site.

While a yearly subscription to Prime is $99 in the U.S., it costs just ₹999 ($15.60) in India. That’s the new price, after Amazon doubled it at the end of last year. For the first two years, Prime cost just ₹499 ($7.50) in the country, an unbelievable offer considering what the retailer gave away with the subscription.

A Prime subscription in India doesn’t have all the benefits as its U.S. equivalent — Prime Reading isn’t available here — but you do get free one-day delivery on hundreds of thousands of items, access to deals ahead of everyone else, and unlimited streaming with Prime Video. To put things into context, a yearly Prime subscription costs about the same as two months’ worth of Netflix, and you get much more value for your money.

In a country where piracy is seen as a right, competitive pricing is the only way to get customers to switch over to legitimate streaming services. That sentiment is shared not only by Amazon and Hotstar, but also by Google and Apple. Play Music All Access launched in India last year, and the music subscription service costs just ₹99 ($1.50) per month. Similarly, Apple Music costs ₹120 ($1.90) a month in the country.

Although it costs significantly more than other streaming services, pricing isn’t my main problem with Netflix in India. In the U.S., Netflix offers a wide selection of TV shows that includes Friends, The West Wing, The X-Files, Lost, Twin Peaks, and several others. Netflix India doesn’t have any of those, and its movie catalog is also similarly diminished.

Netflix’s main problem in India is its vastly diminished content library.

Even big-ticket shows like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory — which draw huge audiences on cable — are unavailable for streaming on the platform. With Hotstar offering cricket and football matches along with a wider selection of regional content as well as more U.S.-based TV shows for a third of the cost, Netflix is facing a gargantuan challenge in India.

For what it’s worth, Netflix’s original programming is available in its entirety in the country. Shows like Stranger Things, BoJack Horseman, and House of Cards are clear favorites, but it’s a tough sell to convince Indian users to pony up solely based on the strengths of the service’s original content.

Netflix’s barrier to entry is too high for most Indians, and it’s unlikely it will ever gain mainstream acceptance. To drive home the point even further, we’ll need to look at cellular data availability. The arrival of Jio has revolutionized the way Indians consume data, with the carrier essentially giving away unlimited data for the first year of its existence. As such, India has some of the most affordable 4G plans in the world.

Airtel is the largest carrier with over 300 million subscribers, and its unlimited 4G plan — with unlimited calls, texts, and 1.4GB of 4G data per day — costs ₹509 ($8) for three months. That’s about the same as a monthly subscription to Netflix.

It’s obviously early days for streaming services in India, and with initiatives like Android Go set to bring down the cost of smartphone ownership, there’s huge potential in this segment in the coming years. For Netflix to even have a chance against Prime Video and Hostar, it needs to rethink its India strategy, and do it fast.

Coord feeds real-time transportation info into navigation apps

Google Maps might plot the fastest route to your destination, but sometimes the service doesn’t seem know about accidents or rerouted public transit. Coord wants to fix that by supplying current navigation information for companies to plug into their other apps and services using an API.

That doesn’t just mean traffic data. Ever notice some navigation apps giving you limited options — or suspiciously supplying only one ride-hailing service? Coord bundles in multiple transportation options, which will soon include those that haven’t made it into mainstream apps, like bike-sharing and car-sharing. It can also provide data to help services book transportation methods within their app.

But it also includes less common data about the city — for example, identifying legal pick-up and drop-off zones for ride-sharing drivers or provide time-sensitive toll and parking information. Ideally, a service will plug into Coord’s data hose and provide an end-to-end navigation projection that lets users sift through options and see a cost estimate for the entire trip.

Someday, services will be able to plug in to smart cities like those Google’s Sidewalk Labs wants to build. But for now, Coord could give platforms small and large holistic understanding of transit between and within urban areas.

Source: Coord

Sony CEO Kaz Hirai will step aside on April 1st

We’re only a few hours away from Sony’s latest quarterly earnings report, but Sony has announced that CEO Kaz Hirai will be replaced as of April 1st. While CFO Kenichiro Yoshida is named as his replacement, Hirai will become Chairman, just as Howard Stringer did when Hirai replaced him in 2012. Hirai will retire as CEO with Sony in a much better state than when he took over, after turning its businesses around under his One Sony strategy.

Over the last few years, Sony has cut costs repeatedly, selling its Vaio PC operation, revamping the way it makes and sells TVs and refocusing its mobile business. One incident that marred Hirai’s tenure as chief was the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures — its leader Michael Lynton left about a year ago and the studio is leading in the box office so far for 2018 with Jumanji. When it reports earnings it will likely show huge profits based on the PS4 and the smartphone camera components it sells.

Yoshida has proven himself as a key player in the turnaround since rejoining Sony in 2013, prioritizing the PlayStation business that has been a visible sign of the company’s resurgence. This change comes just after Hirai’s successor at PlayStation, Andrew House, also departed the company late last year. Under Yoshida’s leadership, Sony will announce a new plan for the future and new management structure on April 1st.

In a statement, Hirai said “As the company approaches a crucial juncture, when we will embark on a new mid-range plan, I consider this to be the ideal time to pass the baton of leadership to new management, for the future of Sony and also for myself to embark on a new chapter in my life.” According to Yoshida, “My first priority will be to finalize our next mid-range corporate plan starting in April, together with our immediate business plan for the fiscal year 2018, and then move ahead swiftly with implementation.”

Source: Nikkei, Sony

Airbus’ drone taxi takes to the skies for the first time

When Airbus first announced its plans to develop a self-flying taxi, it sounded like a fever dream of a sci-fi fan. Now, the aerospace giant has proven that it wasn’t joking: Airbus’ Vahana team have successfully flown their autonomous air taxi dubbed “Alpha One” for the first time. Sure, it only reached an altitude of 16 feet and remained in the air for 53 seconds before descending, but it did so while fully self-piloted. The team conducted another test flight the day after, and by the sound of things, that one also went well.

Airbus created the project to “democratize personal flight” by leveraging all the latest technologies, including machine vision and electric propulsion. Based on that vision, the Vahana team created Alpha One as a single-passenger electric vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) self-piloted vehicle. The company’s ultimate goal is to build an autonomous passenger drone network, similar to the ride-hailing fleet of self-driving cars Waymo is preparing to launch this year, but way more ambitious. Before that happens, though, Airbus has to develop its technology further and to perform loads more flight tests until it can transition to forward flight.

Source: Vahana

Step into the past with the best history podcasts of the present

History is an endlessly fascinating and illuminating topic that can tell us a great deal about where we came from, how we got where we are today, and even what might happen next. Too many people are turned off it by the limited scope of school history classes, but in enthusiastic and knowledgeable hands, history can be wonderfully entertaining.

In this roundup we have deep dives into popular events and characters, the past divided into digestible chunks, passionate explorations, academic vigor, and more than a touch of comedy and drama. Sit back, relax, and take a trip through the ages with the best history podcasts.

Before you begin, make sure you have one of the best podcast apps for your phone.

Revolutions

This sweeping podcast covers various revolutions that have occurred around the world. It starts with King Charles and the English civil wars of the 17th century, and then goes on to cover the complex French and American revolutions, and more. Mike Duncan mixes some anecdotes and interesting facts into his research and has a gentle narration style that makes for easy listening. If you enjoy this, then you’ll also want to seek out Duncan’s earlier podcast series, The History of Rome.

Available via:

iTunes

The Memory Palace

With a focus on interesting nuggets of American history, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more professionally produced historical podcast. The supremely talented Nate DiMeo weaves together soundscapes with engagingly concise narration to tell a wide range of intriguing tales from the past. These elegantly constructed historical snapshots are usually around 10 minutes long, sometimes longer, sometime shorter; they can be humorous or tragic, but they’re always enthralling.

Available via:

iTunes

Something True

If you love the bizarre forgotten tales of history, then this witty, sardonic podcast series should delight you. Duncan Fyfe researches and writes entertaining scripts, while Alex Ashby recites them with dramatic flair. Each episode explores a single story starting with U.S. president, Warren G. Harding’s famous dog and ending with a monstrous Victorian pie. The episodes are short, at between 10 and 15 minutes, and there aren’t enough of them.

Available via:

iTunes

Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History

If you find historians a bit too dry, then you might want to give this podcast a try. Thanks to its accessible nature, entertaining style, and the enthusiasm of the host, it’s one of the most successful history podcasts around. Carlin covers all sorts of topics, does a fair bit of research, and stirs up some interesting arguments. If you’re looking for a deep dive into topics over several hours, then Carlin’s series should please you. He’s a very entertaining storyteller.

Available via:

iTunes

Witness

Served up in easily digestible 10-minute chunks, this BBC podcast series brings us voices from the past, as people who were actually present at various major historical events talk about their experiences. It offers unique, first-hand insight into everything from submarine warfare in the First World War to the invention of the iPhone.

Available via:

iTunes

Lore

With the tagline “Sometimes truth is more frightening than fiction” this podcast transforms the darker corners of history into engaging, creepy campfire tales. Hosted by author Aaron Mahnke, the meticulously researched show mines folklore, superstition, and urban legends to uncover the roots of supernatural history and find the real-life inspirations. Amazon has turned this podcast into a TV show.

Available via:

iTunes

A History of the World in 100 Objects

This 100-part BBC series was narrated by the erudite Neil MacGregor when he was director of the British Museum and it focuses on a single object in each episode. The objects span two million years of human history, from an ancient Egyptian mummy to a Chinese bronze bell to pieces of eight, all the way through to a solar-powered lamp and charger.

Available via:

iTunes

Revisionist History

Master storyteller Malcolm Gladwell revisits events, people, and ideas from modern history that he feels “deserve a second chance.” He draws on a wide range of source material, including audio files and documents, and the opinions of experts and journalists, to weave together a fresh perspective on an eclectic mix of topics that range from secret Pentagon projects to Toyota’s self-accelerating car scandal. This isn’t objective analysis; Gladwell always puts his opinion across, but whether you agree with him or not, the stories are beautifully told.

Available via:

iTunes

Medieval Death Trip

If you ever study history and feast your eyes on primary sources, then you’ll know that many of them reveal fascinating insights about the times in which they were written. Contrary to popular belief, they’re not always dry, but can be witty, illuminating, and downright weird. Patrick Lane combines portions of source material with historical interpretations to pick out interesting characters and events from medieval times and explore them in an enjoyable, rambling manner.

Available via:

iTunes

Dan Snow’s History Hit

You’ll find explorations of all sorts of historical topics in this podcast and fascinating interviews with a laundry list of expert historians. Snow is enthusiastic and elicits a lot of insight from his guests. This podcast tackles the span of history from ancient times through to modern breaking news events, each episode is packed with information, and it often poses interesting questions and then attempts to answer them.

Available via:

iTunes

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Square’s Cash App payment application now allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin

Despite rising and falling more than a Titanic-branded yo-yo, Bitcoin is still a tempting place to invest your money. While a market with such intense volatility may not be ideal for long-term gains, anyone who has an eye on making a quick buck buying and selling in rapid succession may find a place to invest. But the problems with Bitcoin always begin with getting started. We have our own guide on how to get started, but now, getting started in the mysterious world of cryptocurrency may be getting easier, thanks to an announcement from Twitter founder and Square CEO, Jack Dorsey.

Instant buying (and selling, if you don’t want to hodl) of Bitcoin is now available to most Cash App customers. We support Bitcoin because we see it as a long-term path towards greater financial access for all. This is a small step.

We also made this! https://t.co/z3u0liDNk4

— jack (@jack) January 31, 2018

Square’s service Cash App (available on the iOS App Store and on the Google Play Store) allows users to send money to friends and family quickly and easily, and that sort of seamless experience should appeal to users looking to get into the cryptocurrency space, where time is money, and a late transaction can mean the difference between a profit and loss. In Square’s own words:

“Cash App is already the easiest way to send and receive money with friends and family. We’ve made it just as easy to buy and sell BTC straight from your Cash App balance. Unlike other apps, most of our buys and sells happen in seconds. You can even spend your proceeds from a free Visa debit card.”

Cash App’s Bitcoin page also contains a handy history of the cryptocurrency, as well as an explanation of what Bitcoin is and how it’s gathered via mining. According to Jack’s Tweet, the Bitcoin buying and selling should be available to most Cash App users now, so if you’re excited to get trading BTC, make sure your Cash App is updated and you should be good to go. As Square itself points out, like most investments Bitcoin is not without its risks, and users should never invest more than they’re prepared to lose. Square has put together a handy FAQ and post on risks for those who want to make sure they’re forewarned.

Bitcoin has had a troublesome few months recently. After prices hit record highs back in December, prices began to drop in January, and many insist that the bubble is bursting, and Bitcoin will decline and never recover to its previous heights. Still, opinion is heavily divided, and if you see a future for your finances in Bitcoin, then Cash App makes it easier than ever to get involved.

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Square’s Cash App payment application now allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin

Despite rising and falling more than a Titanic-branded yo-yo, Bitcoin is still a tempting place to invest your money. While a market with such intense volatility may not be ideal for long-term gains, anyone who has an eye on making a quick buck buying and selling in rapid succession may find a place to invest. But the problems with Bitcoin always begin with getting started. We have our own guide on how to get started, but now, getting started in the mysterious world of cryptocurrency may be getting easier, thanks to an announcement from Twitter founder and Square CEO, Jack Dorsey.

Instant buying (and selling, if you don’t want to hodl) of Bitcoin is now available to most Cash App customers. We support Bitcoin because we see it as a long-term path towards greater financial access for all. This is a small step.

We also made this! https://t.co/z3u0liDNk4

— jack (@jack) January 31, 2018

Square’s service Cash App (available on the iOS App Store and on the Google Play Store) allows users to send money to friends and family quickly and easily, and that sort of seamless experience should appeal to users looking to get into the cryptocurrency space, where time is money, and a late transaction can mean the difference between a profit and loss. In Square’s own words:

“Cash App is already the easiest way to send and receive money with friends and family. We’ve made it just as easy to buy and sell BTC straight from your Cash App balance. Unlike other apps, most of our buys and sells happen in seconds. You can even spend your proceeds from a free Visa debit card.”

Cash App’s Bitcoin page also contains a handy history of the cryptocurrency, as well as an explanation of what Bitcoin is and how it’s gathered via mining. According to Jack’s Tweet, the Bitcoin buying and selling should be available to most Cash App users now, so if you’re excited to get trading BTC, make sure your Cash App is updated and you should be good to go. As Square itself points out, like most investments Bitcoin is not without its risks, and users should never invest more than they’re prepared to lose. Square has put together a handy FAQ and post on risks for those who want to make sure they’re forewarned.

Bitcoin has had a troublesome few months recently. After prices hit record highs back in December, prices began to drop in January, and many insist that the bubble is bursting, and Bitcoin will decline and never recover to its previous heights. Still, opinion is heavily divided, and if you see a future for your finances in Bitcoin, then Cash App makes it easier than ever to get involved.

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A 4G-capable Nokia 3310 smartphone may be showcased at MWC 2018

To a certain generation, the Nokia 3310 was the mobile phone to end all mobiles. Pre-dating the smartphone revolution, the Nokia 3310 gained legendary status for its long battery life, fondly remembered Snake game, and near-legendary toughness. It’s clear to most that much of that is rose-tinted nostalgia, but that didn’t stop the world from reacting with excitement when it was revealed last year that the 3310 would be getting a tribute in the form of the Nokia 3310 (2017).

With a slight twist on the original looks, the new model retained the long battery life, toughness, and compact feel of the earlier 3310 — but also brought some old gripes that we’d forgotten about in the post-iPhone age.

One of these was the lack of 4G access, with the Nokia 3310 being restricted to 2G connections, and the later Nokia 3310 3G U.S. model only having access to (surprise, surprise) 3G. Well, that may not be a problem much longer, as China has gotten a 4G-capable version of the Nokia 3310.

The Nokia 3310 4G (creative naming sense) has much the same exterior and hardware as its predecessors, but the software has been tweaked by HMD Global, and the earlier Java-based software we saw on the Nokia 3310 has been taken out and replaced with a forked version of Android called YunOS, developed by Chinese giant Alibaba. Alongside the additional support for 4G connections, users can also expect VoLTE HD calls and the ability to use the Nokia 3310 4G as a wireless hot spot.

There are a few downsides to the upgraded phone. First, upgrading the connection to 4G has a significant impact on the battery life, dropping the talk time you can expect from the device. The original Nokia 3310 managed 15 hours of talk time on a 2G connection, the 3G variant dropped that to 6.5 hours, and the Nokia 3310 4G is expected to have a talk time of only 5 hours. Still, the 3G model’s standby time clocked in at 27 days, so the 4G model should still stand up well as a backup phone for most.

The second issue is supply. At this moment, the phone has only been confirmed for China, with China Mobile picking it up. However, there’s hope that we’ll be seeing a global version of the Nokia 3310 4G at MWC 2018, which begins February 26. You can keep an eye on all the MWC news in our MWC war room.

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LG bootloop legal saga ends with offer to customers of cash or a rebate

LG’s bootloop legal troubles may have finally come to a conclusion, with LG agreeing to make amends to device owners who were affected by the notorious bug that rendered many devices inoperable.

The infamous bootloop befell many of LG’s premium handsets, with devices becoming stuck in a never-ending cycle that initiated on a reboot and continuous loop through the start-up process, hence the name “bootloop.” There were reports that owners of multiple LG-built phones had been affected by the bug, with the LG G4, G5, V10, and V20 being among the group of flagship phones that were susceptible to the bug. The LG-made Google Nexus 5X was also liable to catching the bootloop-sniffles, and getting caught in a bootloop would often mean the end of your device, as there seemed to be no way to fix it as the part that was needed to fix the phone had been previously discontinued and could not be sourced.

Despite LG offering to refund owners who brought certain complaints, the continued issue obviously didn’t sit well with consumers, who weren’t fans of using their multiple-hundred dollar phone as a paperweight, and a class action lawsuit was filed in March 2017 on behalf of affected LG G4 and V10 owners. This was later amended the following April to also include the G5, V20, and Nexus 5X.

That lawsuit has finally ended with a generous settlement for anyone who signed up to be a part of the action, with LG agreeing to pay out either $425 in cash, or a $700 rebate toward the cost of a new LG device. The rebate is obviously more generous, but despite the lack of the bootloop in more recent LG phones, you have to wonder how many of the affected consumers will be able to trust an LG-built device again, even if the latest models are pretty good.

Only consumers who joined the lawsuit before it was settled will be able to claim the refund or rebate, and will be contacted before February 12. If you’re experiencing a bootloop on any of the affected phones and didn’t join the lawsuit, then you may be out of luck — though it’s possible that LG may extend a similar deal if you contact support with details.

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