Netflix nabs Hasan Minhaj from ‘Daily Show’ for new talk show

Today, Netflix announced that Hasan Minhaj, a correspondent with The Daily Show, will host a weekly talk show on the streaming network. The company has already ordered 32 episodes of the new show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix describes the upcoming series as an “opportunity for the comedian to explore the modern cultural and political landscapes with depth and sincerity.”

It’s not the first The Daily Show correspondent that the streaming service has poached. Just last month, Netflix announced that fellow correspondent Michelle Wolf would be moving to the streaming network. Minhaj has a previous relationship with Netflix; his hourlong comedy special, Homecoming King, debuted on the network. Minhaj will stay with The Daily Show until he starts production on his show this summer.

“I’ve been a big fan of Hasan’s for many years,” Netflix’s VP of Content Bela Bajaria told The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s a phenomenal writer with a distinct point of view [and] he is a brilliant performer, who is hilarious both onstage and off. And more importantly, he isn’t afraid to share his thoughtful voice and unique perspective.” The move is another signal that the streaming service is serious about appealing to global markets, such as India.

Via: Variety

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Pico C review: Making homebrew beer easy for beginners

PicoBrew has made a name for itself with a range of beer-making appliances that promise a “set it and forget it” experience. The company covers the gamut of brewing levels, from the Zymatic (now Z Series) for pros to the Pico Pro and Pico C for intermediate folks and beginners, respectively. While PicoBrew’s entire product line offers WiFi connectivity for remote monitoring of the process, its PicoPaks make the whole process even easier by bundling all the ingredients into a simple, self-contained pod. However, as I found with the $499 Pico C, that simplicity has one big trade-off.

If you’re not familiar with PicoBrew’s gear, every model works more or less the same. The devices are the size of kitchen appliances (think Instant Pot for the smaller C and large convection oven for the Zymatic) and have a clear drawer that holds all the ingredients and works as a mash tun to create your wort. Each connects to a keg that serves as both boil kettle and fermentation tank. Once you put in your ingredients and add the proper amount of water, you select the recipe and hit start — the machine does the rest. And a couple hours later (when your wort has cooled), you add your yeast and start turning that sugar water into beer through the magic of fermentation. It’s this type of all-in-one setup that makes PicoBrew’s line of products a compelling option — at least for those who don’t like tending to a brew kettle during the whole process.

The Pico C’s all-black exterior won’t look too out of place if you leave it on your kitchen counter all the time. I actually prefer it to the silver/chrome combo on the Pico Pro, but I have black appliances, so it fits right in. The only real issue with leaving it out is that it takes up quite a bit of counter space: It’s 16 x 12 x 14 inches (H x W x D). However, it did fit under my cabinets, so that means you can tuck it in a corner between brew sessions. You’ll likely want to store the kegs and other gear elsewhere.

Setup

Once you unpack everything, setting up for your first brew takes about 15 minutes. You’ll have to connect to your home WiFi and register the unit before you do anything else. Then you run a 10-minute rinse cycle with distilled water and a brew keg. When it’s complete, drain the water from the reservoir on top of the Pico C, dump it and rinse both the clear drawer (Step Filter) and brew keg. The system is now ready.

PicoPaks

In order to make beer with the Pico C, you’ll need a PicoPak. These prepackaged-ingredient containers debuted on the Pico Pro, and they make the process super easy for someone just wading into homebrewing. However, they can be incredibly limiting for someone with a bit of experience like myself. Yes, they are super convenient, but you have to order them from PicoBrew or a licensed retailer and wait for them to arrive. Depending on your shipping method, this could take about a week. That may not sound like a long wait, but it does mean you can’t have a spur-of-the-moment brew day.

Since the Pico C doesn’t work with loose grains and hops, you can’t just run out to your local homebrew shop on a Saturday morning. PicoBrew says “a limited number” of physical locations stock PicoPaks, but unless your local Best Buy has them on the shelf, you’re out of luck. A few other retailers — Bed, Bath & Beyond, Home Depot and more — sell the PicoPaks online, but if you’re having them shipped, you might as well order direct from the source.

Basically brewing with the Pico C requires you to plan ahead — something I’m not good at.

If you’re ordering from PicoBrew’s website, you can choose from a selection of more than 100 packs based on recipes from professionals and homebrewers. There are versions of commercially available beers like Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale and 21st Amendment’s Brew Free or Die IPA, just to name a couple. You can also use a recipe of your own to create a so-called Freestyle PicoPak. Or if you need a jumping-off point, you can pick a base beer and adjust the hops and grains as you see fit. For example, if you wanted to make a single-hop IPA with Citra, you could start with the American IPA base and tweak the hops before ordering.

There are some constraints though. I’m a big fan of Mosaic hops, so I initially wanted to use that base IPA recipe to make a single-hop beer when I hit a snag: PicoBrew doesn’t offer Mosaic for the Freestyle option. In fact, there are only eight hop varieties available for those going the DIY route. I understand not being able to stock every type of hops, but the lack of popular ones like Chinook and Mosaic is disappointing. The company says it is constantly adding new recipes and will add to the Freestyle option as well. New brewers will eventually want to experiment, though, so expanding those DIY packs will be key.

Brewing

When you’re ready to brew, all you have to do is turn the machine on and place your PicoPak in the Step Filter (the clear drawer). The Pico C automatically recognizes the Pak and pulls in the proper times and temperatures for that recipe. PicoBrew’s instructions are clear and easy, but the device itself will walk you through the steps on the digital display, just in case. It’ll even guide you through the cleanup process.

Once everything is in place, simply hit start. The display will keep you updated on which step it’s on and how much time is left. You can also track the process on PicoBrew’s web-based BrewHouse interface. It isn’t quite as handy as a mobile app, but it works just fine. The company says it’s working on a dedicated app, but the software is currently in the testing phase, so there’s no word on a release date yet.

One thing you need to be aware of when brewing with the Pico C is how loud it is. During the brewing process, the machine is about twice as loud as my dishwasher. This means if I’m watching Electric Dreams in the next room while brewing in the kitchen, I have to really crank the volume on the TV. It’s certainly not a dealbreaker, but it’s something you should know before investing in the device. Once the brewing is complete and you’ve pitched your yeast, the fermentation process and the wait begin.

Fermentation and the PicoFerm

The PicoFerm is an optional $59 WiFi sensor that attaches to the top of a brew keg so that you can monitor progress remotely. You don’t need this to make beer with a Pico (it’s only available for pre-order right now), but it does allow you to track temperature and air pressure (attenuation) in your keg using the web app. The site will also tell you how many days are left in the fermentation process, though since it doesn’t monitor gravity, there’s some room for error.

I used the PicoFerm on two of the three batches I made. If you don’t use the sensor, you lose some of the guidance of the PicoBrew system — and a big part of its appeal. You can still hit “ferment” on the website and it will estimate when the process is complete, but it’s not actually monitoring anything. For some, that peace of mind is worth the extra cost. I will say that the PicoFerm worked well for me, consistently sending data while the beer was fermenting. The only time I had an issue was when I forgot to reconnect to WiFi after a couple weeks between batches, but that was pure user error.

Kegging and bottling

When the beer is finished, which takes about 7 to 14 days depending on the recipe, it’s time to keg or bottle. The Pico C comes with a three-liter serving keg that makes packaging your brew super easy. Just select the correct mode in the menu and the device will pump your beer into the mini keg or bottles for you with the included tools. If you’ve homebrewed before and used a racking cane and bottling wand, this is similar but a lot less messy.

There’s a force-carbonation kit that you can use to infuse your beer with CO2 in about 36 hours, or you can go old school and use priming sugar to condition your beer naturally over the course of about two weeks. Carbonation can be fickle, and even after a few batches, I wasn’t able to dial in the levels I wanted. Both methods worked okay but weren’t precise. That’s not necessarily a knock against PicoBrew; sometimes these things just need to be fine-tuned over time, especially when you’re using a new package size and brewing system.

I’ll admit I was skeptical of what the Pico C could produce in terms of overall quality, but I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted the results. Each batch was pretty solid, but the batch based on Tallgrass Brewing’s Buffalo Sweat Oatmeal Cream Stout and my Freestyle PicoPak single-hop Citra IPA were the standouts. The Pico C makes brewing easy, but most importantly it makes good beer.

Competition

The Pico C is limited, though, and the initial $499 investment is pretty steep. For as little as $60 you can put together a beginner’s brewing kit of your own or buy a prepackaged one. Yes, it’s a bit more labor intensive to brew in your kitchen or on a burner in the garage, but you could certainly use that extra money to buy more ingredients or expand your system to make more beer or higher-quality beer. Of course, if you’d rather not futz around with it, there are plenty of semiautomated options.

If you have a draft setup, consider splurging for the $799 Pico Pro. Instead of a proprietary Pico Keg, the Pro uses the more standard cornelius kegs (ships with two). But it brews the same amount per batch as the C and still requires you to use PicoPaks.

If you’d rather not bother with the PicoPaks, the Zymatic (which will soon be replaced by the Z Series) will cost you. The Zymatic is priced at $1,999, and the modular Z Series will start at $2,500 (discounted to $1,499 during the pre-order phase). Both options whip up 2.5-gallon batches, but the Z Series can scale up to 10 gallons total in 2.5-gallon increments.

If you’re a little more serious about brewing but still want some automation, there’s the Grainfather. You’ll have to supply your own fermenter, but glass carboys are cheap and even a bucket from Home Depot will do in a pinch. But otherwise the Grainfather is an all-in-one setup where you can mash, boil and cool your wort with precise temperature control. You can make batches up to 25 liters (6.6 gallons) and control everything from an app. You can even set a timer: Fill it up with water before bed and wake up in the morning ready to start brewing. But at $1,000, it’s definitely targeted at experienced homebrewers. Brewie is another automated all-grain option that lets you use whatever ingredients you like, but it too is very expensive ($1,900), so it’s made for serious homebrewers as well.

Wrap-up

PicoBrew set out to make a Keurig-like device for brewing beer, and it has largely succeeded. The Pico C is an easy-to-use machine that makes good beer on your kitchen counter while you watch TV or work on other things. Beginners will definitely appreciate the simplicity and hand-holding, but if you get the urge to experiment, the C could get frustrating. Currently, the PicoPaks have a very limited selection of ingredients, especially hops. Plus you have to really plan ahead. If you’re good at that, then you won’t have too many headaches. I, however, am not, so relying on PicoPaks is a major inconvenience. Even though the machine works great and it consistently made good beer, I just couldn’t get past that limitation.

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Detail Plans for ‘Next-Generation Mobile Authentication Platform’

Last September, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile announced a team-up with the mission of developing a mobile authentication solution for both businesses and consumers. One of the main reasons the carriers created the “Mobile Authentication Taskforce” was to help users who have to manage “dozens of difficult-to-remember passwords” for numerous apps.

Today at Mobile World Congress, the taskforce has revealed more details about its upcoming platform, and set a launch date for later in 2018. AT&T said the solution will create a cryptographically verified phone number and “unique profile” that’s specific to the user’s smartphone or tablet, strengthened by processing attributes such as a network verified mobile number, IP address, SIM card attributes, phone number tenure, phone account type, and more. The solution will only work with apps authorized by the taskforce, and at the consent of the user.

The companies’ combined resources will further analyze data and activity patterns on a mobile network to predict, “with a high degree of certainty,” whether the user is who they say they are.

Formed last year to develop a mobile authentication solution to help protect enterprises and consumers from identity theft, bank fraud, fraudulent purchases and data theft, the Mobile Authentication Taskforce has dedicated resources developing a highly secure and trusted multi-factor authentication platform powered by the carrier networks. The taskforce vision includes interoperability with GSMA’s Mobile Connect technology.

To confirm a user’s identity and allow them entry into their own secure data, the solution will also use machine learning, advanced analytics, and run a risk assessment engine with AI to confirm that all of this data matches — or doesn’t match — the main user’s identity. VentureBeat reported that the Mobile Authentication Taskforce’s platform is expected to be “simpler and more secure” than current heavy-duty password and data protection solutions, like two-factor authentication.

According to the GSM Association, which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, the solution will not only provide mobile device owners with an easier way to manage passwords, but also help to “decrease fraud and identity theft, and increase trust in online transactions.” With the four largest U.S. network carriers working together, AT&T said that the taskforce will bring “significant capabilities and insights” to build a modern security and identity protection system.

“As mobile becomes the remote control for day-to-day life, mobile identity is key to making things simpler and more secure for consumers,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. “The GSMA has been working with operators around the world to bring a consistent and interoperable, secure identity service and this taskforce will strengthen that effort by enabling a simple user experience quickly and conveniently in the US market.”

Ahead of the launch, registered developers will be able to submit to the taskforce and begin ensuring that their applications will be compatible with the new mobile authentication platform. This submission process itself will be highly secure as well, using “private and permissioned blockchain technology to help ensure application integrity.”

Developers and other service providers will be able to sign up to participate as an application developer when the taskforce’s website launches “later this year,” and in the next few weeks internal trials of the system will begin.

Tags: Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon
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Apple Watch Outsold All Competing Smartwatches Combined Last Year

Apple Watch continues to be the world’s most popular smartwatch by a significant margin, according to analysts.

IDC estimates Apple Watch shipments totaled eight million units worldwide last quarter, which also makes it the best selling wearable device during that period.

The research firm says one in every five wearables shipped last quarter was an Apple Watch, on the strength of new Series 3 models launched in September.

By comparison, Fitbit reported sales of 5.4 million wearables last quarter, while Xiaomi shipped 4.9 million units over that time, according to IDC. An estimated 41 percent of smartwatch shipments came from smaller vendors grouped into an Others category.

The wearables market includes several inexpensive fitness trackers from the likes of Fitbit and Xiaomi, while the Apple Watch starts at $249 for Series 1 models, so it’s really an apples to oranges comparison.

For that reason, MacRumors also reached out to IDC for data specific to smartwatches, which it defines as wearables that can run third-party apps natively.

The data shows that Apple Watch accounted for an estimated 61 percent of worldwide smartwatch shipments last quarter, with no single competitor coming anywhere close. Samsung’s market share was just 8.4 percent, according to IDC, despite the quarter encompassing the lucrative holiday shopping season.

For perspective, the estimated 17.7 million Apple Watches shipped in 2017 was more than all competing smartwatches combined last year. Samsung, Garmin, Fossil, Chinese kids smartwatch maker Continental Wireless, and other vendors shipped an estimated 15.6 million smartwatches cumulatively last year.

“Consumer preferences have shifted to more sophisticated devices and towards well recognized brands,” like the Apple Watch, said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at IDC. “It’s due to this that the wearables market has seen healthy double-digit growth in average selling prices since 2016.”

Apple doesn’t break out Apple Watch sales like it does with iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Instead, it groups the wearable under its “Other Products” category, alongside Apple TVs, AirPods, Beats, iPods, accessories, and soon HomePods.

On an earnings call last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the Apple Watch had its best quarter ever during the fourth quarter of 2017, with over 50 percent growth in revenue and units sold for the fourth quarter in a row, and strong double-digit growth in every geographic segment that Apple tracks.

Cook added that sales of Apple Watch Series 3 models were also more than twice as high as Series 2 models in the year-ago quarter.

Apple analysts, who closely examine Apple’s earnings reports and other clues to estimate Apple Watch sales, have similar totals as IDC. Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies estimates Apple Watch shipments totaled 17.4 million last year, while Horace Dediu of Asymco comes in at 17.7 million.

Apple Watch shipments outpaced all Swiss watch brands combined for the first time last quarter, according to IDC’s Francisco Jeronimo.‏ In other words, Apple is now the biggest watchmaker in the world.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4Tag: IDCBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Logic Pro X Updated With Several Important Bug Fixes

Logic Pro X, Apple’s software for professional audio editing, was today updated to version 10.4.1, with Apple introducing several important bug fixes to address issues discovered since the release of the major 10.4 update.

According to Apple’s release notes, the update fixes an issue that could cause the app to quit when opening projects created with an earlier version of Logic Pro X, it ensures plug-in settings are properly installed, it prevents CPU usage spikes caused by ChromaVerb, and it fixes a few other bugs. Full release notes are below:

What’s New
– Fixes an issue that could cause the app to quit when opening projects created in an earlier version
– Plug-in settings are properly installed for Step FX, Phat FX, ChromaVerb and the Vintage EQ collection
– Logic no longer quits unexpectedly when pressing play after automation has been copied to another track
– Resolves an issue where ChromaVerb could cause unexpected spikes in CPU usage
– Zoom key commands now work as expected in the Audio File Editor
– Control-clicking on a note in the Piano Roll Editor no longer causes other notes to deselect

Logic Pro X 10.4.1 comes a little over a month after the release of Logic Pro 10.4, a huge update that introduced a new Smart Tempo system, new plug-ins including ChromaVerb, Step FX, and Vintage EQ, additional drummers, and more than 800 new loops.

Logic Pro X can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $199.99. [Direct Link]

Tag: Logic Pro X
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Cat S61 hands-on: See like the Predator

Most of the devices that come to market nowadays try to appeal to a wide range of people. But a beautiful glass phone might not be for everyone, and some people need a device that’s more durable in their day-to-day life. Luckily, Cat has been filling that niche with durable smartphones that can survive more than just a drop from your bedside table. The company is probably best known for its large, yellow construction vehicles, but who better to make a phone built to last than a company that specializes in gear made to take a beating? At MWC 2018, Cat announced the Cat S61 smartphone, a follow-up to the S60.

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If you’re looking for a slim and sleek smartphone, look elsewhere. The S61 is built like a brick and feels just as solid. It’s a large hunk of plastic and metal that reminds me more of an old Game Boy than a smartphone, only with some really cool tech inside that sets it apart. We’ll get to that in a bit.

The S61 has rounded aluminum edges and a grippy black plastic that makes it super easy to hold, though it also feels huge and would probably have taken up my entire pocket if it wasn’t tethered to the table.

The front has a 5.2-inch display covered with Gorilla Glass 5, with capacitive buttons sitting below the display. The back, home, and multitasking buttons are raised slightly above the body of the phone and feature a nice, tactile clickiness. You should have no problems finding the buttons if you’re wearing gloves. The right side of the phone houses the textured power button and two volume buttons, while the multifunction and SD/SIM card slots are on the left.

The phone is IP68 certified for dust resistance and can be submerged in up to three meters of water for an hour. Under the hood, the S61 features a big 4,500 mAh battery, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and microSD expansion. It’s also running Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box, which Samsung can’t even say about its brand new Galaxy S9. Cat promised the S61 would receive an update to Android P when it’s released, too.

The previous S60 was the first smartphone with a thermal camera built-in, and the S61 continues down that path by improving on image quality. It can now measure temperatures up to 400 degrees Celsius. As cool as it was to play with at the event, my experience with the software wasn’t the greatest. The interface wasn’t as snappy as some of the other flagships we’ve seen, but at the same time that’s to be expected as I can only imagine that the FLIR thermal imaging camera is resource intensive.

This is all powered by the Snapdragon 630 SoC, so don’t expect top-tier performance when running more resource-intensive tasks. When I was trying to start the camera, the camera app actually crashed twice before I was able to finally start seeing the world like a snake person. The phone isn’t coming out until Q2 however, so we’d expect Cat to iron out some of these bugs before launch.

Speaking of the camera, the Cat S61 sports a 16 MP shooter that can shoot up to 4K video. It also has an 8 MP selfie camera. All of these sensors are packed into a small hump on the top-right side of the phone. This small hump sticks out like a sore thumb, but that’s okay — this phone isn’t trying to win any design awards.

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Aside from the thermal camera, the Cat S61 also has a built-in laser distance measurement and an indoor air quality sensor. It’s an interesting feature to have in normal conditions, but can be downright life-saving in extreme work environments. There’s also a slew of other useful applications built in like vehicle diagnostics and asphalt monitoring, but we obviously couldn’t test that out on the show floor.

Overall, it’s great to see a phone fill a niche that isn’t being filled by many other manufacturers. For people that work in extreme conditions, this is a good option (or even if you’re just tough on your devices). It isn’t pretty and it will cost a whopping 899 Euros ($999 USD) when it launches in Q2, but this might be in the running for one of the best rugged phones out there.

Next: Cat S41 review

ExpressVPN review

 
ExpressVPN is easily one of the most recognizable third-party VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and for good reason. It claims to offer fast speeds, impressive security, complete privacy, competitive pricing, and everything else you’d expect from a VPN.

How does it actually perform though? let’s find out.

See also: IPVanish review 

ExpressVPN review – Getting started

Creating an account

ExpressVPN requires an e-mail address to sign up. They guarantee this information won’t be shared — only used to provide anything you may need relating to customer service. If you are looking for complete anonymity, the best option here will be to set up a dummy email account just for this. 

Payment and pricing

ExpressVPN plans start at $12.95 per month with a monthly billing cycle. You can also opt for a 6 month or annual plan to enjoy a discount. The six month plan is priced at $59.95 ($9.99 per month), while the annual plan will set you back $99.95 ($8.32 per month). Both plans bill once within their allotted subscription periods. ExpressVPN is definitely one of the pricier options around, but everything they offer makes it worth the cost. 

Special offer: Right now ExpressVPN is offering fifteen months of service for just $99.95. Basically you pay up front for the annual package and you get an additional three months for free. This is a limited time offer so grab it while it’s here!

Multiple payment options are available like credit and debit cards, Paypal, and Bitcoin. There are also regional wallets are also compatible, like UnionPay, WebMoney, GiroPay, AliPay, Yandex Money, SOFORT, iDeal, MINT, and OneCard. 

There’s no trial period, but ExpressVPN will provide a no-questions-asked refund in the first 30 days for those unhappy with the service. 

Get ExpressVPN now!

Installation

ExpressVPN is compatible with most devices and operating systems. Easy to download and install apps are available for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and even the aging BlackBerry OS. It also offers helpful installation guides for setting up the VPN directly on Wi-Fi routers, Linux systems, and media and gaming consoles like the Xbox, PlayStation, Amazon FireTV, and Apple TV. Browser extensions are also available for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. 

You can find all the links and guides here, and the Android and iOS apps can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and Apple app store respectively. In this review, we will be taking a closer look at the Windows and Android apps. 

ExpressVPN review – Setup and settings 

Windows

Once you download and log in to the Windows app, you will see a large on/off button. The app will automatically pick a “smart location” for you — either the closest server, or one the app decides offers the lowest latency and highest speed. If you don’t want to mess around with the settings and server selection, it’s very easy to connect and get started. 

Tapping the Choose Location button brings up the full list of servers available. Tabs include Recommended, whichlists the most common servers users connect to, All, the full list of servers, and Recents, which shows the servers to which you have recently connected. A search bar at the top is available if you know exactly what you’re looking for. Once you figure out what the best servers are for your needs, you can favorite them so they show up at the top of the Recommended page. 

A hamburger menu will open when you click on the menu button at the top left corner. This menu provides a way to launch the VPN locations list, Express VPN’s speed test, a help section, diagnostics, and a quit button. The help section includes a Contact Us page and lets you test security features with the IP Address Checker and the DNS Leak Test. 

The Options button will open the Settings page, which has a number of choices:

• General – Here you can set up startup behavior and enable features like Network Lock. Network Lock ensures if the VPN connection ends unexpectedly, the internet connection is completely shutdown as well to avoid any leaks. 
• Protocol – You can choose which security protocol to use when using the VPN. All options like OpenVPN (UDP and TCP),  L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP are available. We recommend using either of the OpenVPN protocols for the best combination of security and speed. Of course, if none of these terms make any sense, you can always set it to Automatic, and the app will decide on the best protocol to use. 
• Account – You can see your account information, the days remaining, and the expiry/renewal date of your plan here.  
• Browsers – You have the option to set up and enable any browser extensions here. Since this is running on Windows, browser extensions are available for Chrome and Firefox. 
• Advanced – Advanced options include the ability to set up IPv6 leak protection and select whether to only use ExpressVPN DNS servers while connected. Having both enabled is definitely the best way to go. 

Android

The Android app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store here. The Windows and Android apps are largely the same, so there is no learning curve here. You get the same large button and Smart Location pre-selected when you open the app. Tapping on the Choose Location button opens the list of servers, and tapping on the hamburger menu gives you access to the Settings and other app information. 

Ease of use

Both apps are extremely easy to use. The settings menus are simple and there are useful explanations for every setting and feature to avoid any confusion. Connecting to a VPN takes just one click or tap, and once you decide on the best servers, both apps make it very easy to reconnect to them.

ExpressVPN easily scores higher than IPVanish in the ease of use department. Granted, the latter isn’t difficult either, but those apps just feel a lot more complicated than they should. ExpressVPN manages to take all the complications and confusion away. 

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ExpressVPN review – Security and privacy 

ExpressVPN provides a lot of security and privacy features. The service guarantees zero connection or activity logging. ExpressVPN also runs their own DNS servers. Features like DNS leak blocking, the Network Lock Kill Switch, DNS/IPv6 leak protection, and more are huge security positives.

Every encryption protocol is also available, including the best right now: OpenVPN. OpenVPN uses 256-bit AES encryption, with SHA-256 for authentication, and RSA 2048 for handshaking purposes.

We tested for IP leaks, WebRTC detection, and DNS leaks using ipleak.net and found no issues. ExpressVPN’s own DNS leak test also found zero problems. Along with its zero logging policy, you get a very secure service. Unlike IPVanish (which is based in the U.S.), ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, which has liberal data retention laws. 

ExpressVPN review – Speed

(top) Actual speed – Bangalore (Row 1 – left to right) India (closest server), Singapore, Germany (Row 2 – left to right) U.K., U.S., Australia

To test the speed, I used the Ookla Speed Test. For server selection, I used the one closest to me and locations around the world like the U.S., Australia, U.K., Germany, and Singapore, to show the range of connection speeds.

Speed and ping time are key factors when using a VPN and ExpressVPN certainly impressed in this regard. While I saw a significant drop in speed and increase in ping time when using IPVanish, ExpressVPN managed to keep things a lot closer when connected to the servers closest to me, in India and Singapore. The speed was also plenty fast when connected to locations much further away like Australia and the U.S.. I’ve connected to a U.S. server to stream video and there was no lag or buffering at all. 

Connecting to a server took an average of 8 seconds, which is quite fast, and faster than IPVanish. However, while the latter provided an extremely stable connection, that wasn’t always the case when using ExpressVPN. The VPN disconnected a few times and had to reestablish connection, which it did automatically. Network Lock kicked in immediately though, so there was no risk of any leaks. I also haven’t dropped connection since a recent update for the Windows app. 

(top) actual speed – Rockford, IL (Row 1 – left to right) U.S., U.K., Australia (Row 2 left to right) Germany, India, Singapore

Android Authority‘s own Jimmy Westenberg also ran the same tests I did to see how the VPN performed in a different part of the world. As you can see, the results are the same. The best performance and speed are obviously available when connected to servers closest to you, but the speed is more than usable even when connected to various distant locations around the world. 

ExpressVPN review – Key features

• Allows up to three concurrent connections. 
• Zero activity and connection logging. 
• Over 148 server locations around the world. 
• Torrenting works fine, but remember to respect your country’s copyright laws. We do not condone or encourage any illegal activities. 
• You can unblock or circumvent geolocation restrictions for over 25 sports streamers, media streamers, and social media sites. You can find the full list here. Unlike a lot of other VPNs out there, Netflix works as well! Only a couple of servers work though, so you will have to find the right one. 
• Lots of security features like Network Lock, Ipv6 and DNS leak protection, and more. 
• 24/7 customer service available. 
• Comparatively expensive. 

ExpressVPN review – Final thoughts 

ExpressVPN ticks all the right boxes for a VPN. The simple, easy-to-use apps are available across almost every platform. The overall performance is very impressive. The speed is excellent. Security isn’t a concern. Reliability could use some improvement, but recent app updates have brought positive changes. 

You can comfortably use ExpressVPN to watch videos on all media streaming services, which isn’t possible on quite a few other VPNs. While Express VPN is one of the more expensive options out there, it’s definitely worth every penny. 

We’ll have a better picture of how it stacks up against the competition as we continue this series of VPN reviews. However, from the two that I’ve done so far, ExpressVPN is a better choice than IPVanish.

If there is a particular VPN you would like us review, let us know in the comments!

Get ExpressVPN now! 

Why does battery life get worse over time?

The chemistry that can provide power from metals makes those metals degrade over time and there’s not much we can do about it.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that you see a noticeable difference in how well a phone battery holds a charge after a year or so. If you keep a phone long enough, its battery may not even have enough charge to survive a whole day. Have you ever wondered why?

Batteries: How do they work?

Electricity isn’t magical. In fact, it’s a pretty boring subject for most of us and we only want it to be there when we need to use it. But to understand why your phone needs charged more now than it did when you first got it, you need to know a little bit about how a battery works. Don’t worry, we’re going to stick with the basics here.

Electricity, like any sort of energy, isn’t a thing you can create. All the things we think of as “making” electricity are really only converting one form of energy into another, and a battery uses a chemical reaction (energy) to build an electrical charge that can be metered out over time. Different materials can be used to build this charge and they will produce different results. In our phones, we use lithium-based batteries because they provide a decent level of output for a reasonable cost.

The estimated life of a phone battery is just that — an estimate.

Inside a phone battery, you’ll find three components that are important for what we’re talking about: a negative electrode (called an anode and typically made of graphite), a positive electrode (called a cathode and made from a mix of lithium and other metals), and an electrolyte solution. The chemistry between these three things is simple at its base and is why they can be used to store energy. : when you apply a charge to the electrodes (from your charger) lithium ions are positively charged and are attracted to the negative electrode. When you pull a charge away from the battery these lithium ions lose their positive charge and are no longer attracted to the negative electrode. The longer you pull the stored energy away from a charged battery, the number of lithium ions that are no longer charged increases until there just isn’t enough of them left to produce any output and the battery is dead. Plugging it into a charger resets this cycle.

“Cycle” is an important word here. Because batteries are designed to store a charge it’s difficult to measure their usable life as a unit of time. A battery that lasts two years for you may only last six months for someone else because they are being used differently. So that we can have an estimate of how long to expect them to last, battery longevity is measured by charging cycles. A phone battery is typically designed to last around 500 to 600 cycles, and a cycle is defined as charging a completely dead battery to 100% then draining it to zero again. Charging a battery that has 50% charge left on it, then draining it back to 50% is a partial cycle, which is why you’ll hear it recommended to charge your battery before it gets low and also hear that you shouldn’t as ways to game the system and stave off that 500th cycle. Of course, it doesn’t work that way because the battery doesn’t actually count the number of charge cycles. Five hundred is just an estimate.

But longevity can be measured in cycles because of what happens when you charge a battery and how it affects future charging cycles, the among of energy that can be stored and the potential (think the number of volts) of the stored charge.

Oxidation and efficiency hate each other

Because electric vehicles are a real thing and the batteries they use are insanely expensive, plenty of studies have been done about why lithium-ion batteries degrade during their lifetime. Thankfully, this also applies to the less-expensive (but still expensive!) batteries inside our phones, and it’s because of chemical changes that happen during charging the batteries.

We know that charging a battery positively charges lithium ions which are then magnetically (electricity is magnetism) attracted to the negative electrode. As more and more charged ions are attracted, the difference of potential between the negative electrode and positive electrode increases. That’s how you measure voltage — the difference of potential energy between two electrodes. Once it reaches a specific reading the battery is considered fully charged. The opposite is true while discharging a battery and the difference of potential decreases until it reaches zero because no more positively charged ions are present at the negative electrode. But that doesn’t mean the negative electrode is clean and the same way it was before you started.

Electrodes oxidize. The same way water and air can cause iron to rust (which is where the word oxidization comes from), lithium, graphite and electrolyte salts will cause an electrode to oxidize. When every positively charged ion is stripped away from the anode in a battery a microscopic layer of particles is left behind and has been chemically bonded to the graphite anode. These particles are made from lithium oxide (lithium bonded with oxygen) atoms and lithium carbonate (lithium bonded with carbon) atoms, neither of which has the same chemical or electrical properties as graphite. This layer interferes with the charge/discharge cycle and both the difference of potential (voltage) and the number of charged ions that can be attracted changes, and eventually, the changes are enough to notice. If you continue to use the battery and charge it as you normally would, a point happens where there isn’t enough electrical energy being stored to power your phone.

Charging a battery essentially changes the composition of the electrodes and affects the way it will charge in the future.

Different types of lithium-compositions, as well as different salts used in the electrolyte solution, have an effect on how much of these deposits are left behind on the electrode, but the materials that make for a cleaner cycle aren’t necessarily the best because they can’t provide as much stored power. We want high-capacity, low-power batteries in our phones because they are safer than high-power batteries and cost less and we want them to provide power to our phone as long as they can. An electric vehicle can use high-capacity, high-power batteries because they are protected by a solid frame and aren’t as likely to be damaged and a car needs to be able to go long distances between charges. But the cost of a replacement battery for a Tesla Model S is $12,000, too. Part of that cost comes from the expensive materials used to build a lithium-nickel-cobalt-aluminum-oxide battery as opposed to the basic lithium-cobalt batteries used in a phone that don’t last nearly as many cycles before they degrade.

Voltage matters

One of the biggest factors that can influence how many cycles a lithium-ion battery will last is its voltage. Because phones and cars aren’t the only things designed to run on rechargeable lithium batteries, in 2015 the U.S. Department of Energy spent a lot of money and time to see exactly what causes problems and how to mitigate them because satellites use lithium-based batteries and solar chargers. After the composition of the battery itself, the next biggest culprit that can affect battery longevity is the charging voltage and the voltage of the held charge.

The chemistry that makes a lithium battery work naturally degrades the anode, and that’s what we talked about above. But if you charge a battery with more than 3.9 volts, or store a charge with a difference of potential higher than 3.9 volts the same sort of degradation happens to the cathode (positive electrode) which cuts the longevity of a battery in half. Charging voltage and held voltage are essentially the same thing because you’re exciting all the components of a battery except that charging also introduces heat, and the higher the charging voltage the hotter it will be. Heat applied when a battery is excited higher than 3.9 volts worsens the degradation of the cathode.

There is no secret cabal of battery makers who are trying to fleece us; it’s all chemistry.

In other words, the voltages necessary to power a modern phone and quickly charge its battery mean it’s almost impossible to “fix” things. Anyone with a battery-powered drill has seen this in action. The 12 or 14-volt batteries used in a tool don’t last nearly as many cycles as the ones in our phones. They store and operate at a higher voltage, charge at a higher voltage and much hotter, and can be noticeably affected after just a few charging cycles. They use the same basic lithium-based batteries as a phone because using the sorts of materials we see in a Tesla S battery would make them more expensive, and they just don’t have a very long lifetime. Thank goodness we can recycle most of the materials in them and we’re not drowning in a sea of discarded Makita and Porter-Cable batteries with lithium being more expensive than gold.

The good news is that all the companies who make lithium batteries are working on making things better. Whoever can come up with the first battery that lasts significantly longer will make a lot of money from it. All we can do is charge our phones when they need to be charged, and know that there isn’t some conspiracy between battery manufacturers to get us to buy new products more often.

These Android phones have the best battery life

Grab this $17 Anker wireless charging pad or another charger on sale today only

Give your electronics the juice they crave!

The Anker PowerPort Wireless 10 for $16.99 on Amazon is one of the best direct price drops we’ve ever seen for the Qi-certified wireless charging pad. It has sold around $26 since September.

The charging pad is compatible with any modern smartphone using wireless charging, including the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, the Galaxy S9, and others. It has a fast-charge mode, LED indicators, and safety features to ensure short-circuit prevention, surge protection, and temperature control. It also comes with an 18-month warranty.

This deal is part of Amazon’s Gold Box deals of the day. The prices are good for today only, but it includes several other Anker devices also on sale:

• PowerPort Wireless 5 Qi-certified charging pad – $14.99 (from $21)
• USB-C with Power Delivery 30W wall charger – $17.99 (from $28)
• 5-port 60W USB wall charger with USB-C – $32.99 (from $50)

See the full sale on Amazon

Galaxy S9 crowned as having the best smartphone display ever

Are you really surprised?

It’s no secret that Samsung makes some of the best smartphone displays on the market, and as expected, its new Galaxy S9 comes equipped with the company’s latest and greatest in this department. Just a couple days after the S9’s unveiling, DisplayMate has crowned it has having the “best performing smartphone display” it’s ever tested.

As a quick refresher, the Galaxy S9 comes equipped with a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED Infinity Display with a resolution of 2960 x 1440. That’s technically the same panel we saw on last year’s Galaxy S8, but the S9 outperforms it with better color accuracy, increased brightness, and improved visibility outdoors.

Some of the highlights from DisplayMate’s testing include:

• Color gamut of 113% DCI-P3 and 141% sRGB
• Peak brightness level of 1,130 nits – 10.7% brighter than the Galaxy S8’s screen
• Reflectance level of 4.4% – The lowest DisplayMate has found on a smartphone (meaning the S9’s screen looks great in a variety of different environments/lighting conditions)
• UHD Alliance certification for 4K HDR output

If none of the above numbers mean much of anything to you, the tl;dr is that the S9’s screen is bright, vibrant, and probably one of the best you’ll see on a phone in 2018. That’s not entirely surprising, but there you go.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ is the best smartphone camera DxOMark has ever tested

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. iPhone X: Metal and glass sandwiches
• Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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