Google may launch Android P’s developer preview in mid-March

You might see a glimpse of Google’s next mobile platform very, very soon. Evan Blass, a well-known source of tech leaks, has tweeted that Mountain View is targeting a mid-month release for Android P’s first developer preview. We don’t know what “P” stands for yet, but since March 14th is Pi Day, some people are speculating that Android’s upcoming flavor is “Pie.” According to previous reports, Android P will have the power to prevent idle apps from being able to access your camera and mic. That added security measure can protect you against against malware that can record background noise or take images without your consent.

It will also reportedly support notches, which are cropping up on more and more Android phones ever since the iPhone X came out, and multiple screens. However, it apparently won’t have a dark mode like earlier rumors said and will instead feature a toggle that makes it easier for developers to test a night mode for their app. Once P’s first developer preview comes out, we’ll know for sure whether those are real and what other features it can offer.

Android P Developer Preview 1 is targeting a mid-month release.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) March 3, 2018

Source: Evan Blass (Twitter)

Free Pluto VR chat and messaging app for gamers enters Early Access on Steam

A Seattle start-up has just launched Pluto, a virtual reality app currently in Early Access that lets gamers communicate with each other via headsets while connected to the Steam service. Much like the Discord app, which lets gamers chat and message each other whether they’re playing together or not, Pluto runs alongside existing SteamVR games.

Using the app control panel, you can design your own avatar, choose the opacity of other avatars, and mute mics. Using the app’s overlay icon, you can adjust the settings on they fly while still in your game. Friends can even call and see what you’re up to while you’re playing. While it doesn’t currently allow real-time sharing, you can grab a screenshot and pass it along.

Forest Gibson, co-founder of Pluto VR, told GeekWire that they want to make online social interactions more like real life. “Ultimately, we’re focused on shaping the future of face-to-face interactions in artificial spaces,” he said. “We want all kinds of multi-user VR experiences to be more interactive, more collaborative, and ultimately less lonely,”

Currently, the app only shows avatars made of floating heads and hands, which are tracked by the headsets and controllers. As tracking technology improves, Pluto VR hopes to add things like eyebrow movements.

Calling it a social network is somewhat of a misnomer, however — the app is not designed to help you find new people to play with. There are no meeting rooms or public chat spaces; its purpose is to virtually connect with people you already know.

The founders of Pluto have an impressive resume, with experience at places like Disney, PopCap Games, Valve, and Microsoft. The company raised $13.9 million in its latest round of funding. There are other communication apps for VR, but Pluto aims to become a familiar presence across a variety of platforms.

Some publications have dubbed Pluto the “Skype of VR,” but former PopCap founder John Veschy doesn’t like the comparison. “We’re not big fans of the ‘this for that,’” he explained. “How do you make a simple comparison of a brand new form of communication? What was the this for that of the telegram?”

Pluto is now available free in Early Access on Steam, with all the normal caveats that accompany a pre-release version. It works with Rift, Vive, and Windows VR alongside existing SteamVR games.

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First Android P developer preview tipped for mid-March release

Android P could be here sooner than we thought.

Android Oreo is a joy to use, but that hasn’t stopped a lot of us here at AC to look forward to what the next version of Google’s mobile OS will have to offer. Thankfully, at least according to one report, we won’t have to wait too much longer before we can start playing with it.

Per Evan Blass on Twitter —

Android P Developer Preview 1 is targeting a mid-month release.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) March 3, 2018

That mid-month time-frame puts Android P’s first developer preview on track for a release at some point during the middle of March. Blass doesn’t get any more specific than this, but it means we should keep an eye out for a dev preview on or around March 15.

A public launch for Android P likely won’t happen until around August or September, and the release window Blass is suggesting isn’t too far off from what we saw with Android Oreo (its first preview came out on March 21, 2017). We still aren’t quite sure what to expect from the next version of Android, but assuming Blass is correct with his reporting, we won’t have to wait too much longer to get up close and personal with what Google’s working on.

Android P wish list: What I want Google to add

Recommended Reading: The dark past of Jessica Jones

The creator of ‘Jessica Jones’ serves up a dark mirror for our moment
Joy Press,
The New York Times

Jessica Jones returns to Netflix in less than a week, and thanks to a couple of trailers, we know it’s going to be dark and angry. The New York Times sat down with the creator of the show, Melissa Rosenberg, who has also penned the doom and gloom for Dexter and Twilight. Rosenberg opens up about how her own past helped her craft the show’s protagonist.

Pornhub’s owner reveals its age verification tool for the UK

Pornhub owner Mindgeek has unveiled what might become the default gatekeeping tool for porn in the UK. AgeID will ask porn site visitors to create an encrypted login that verifies their age across any compatible site, saving them from having to prove they’re 18 or older every time they want to view some racy material. The system will draw on third-party age verification companies, but Mindgeek promises that AgeID won’t store any personal info — it’ll only keep “standard technical data” to prevent fraud as well as that protected login.

The technology will be available to every porn site available inside the UK. It’ll be free for independent UK porn studios, producers and bloggers, and will cost a flat fee for others depending on their volume of British traffic. It should be available when the Digital Economy Act, the law mandating age checks in the UK, takes effect in April.

This isn’t the very first implementation of AgeID. It’s been in use in Germany since 2015. However, there are questions about the control it would hand over to Mindgeek and its brands (which include RedTube, YouPorn and Brazzers, among others). If there isn’t a major viable alternative, one porn distributor may effectively determine how everyone else checks ages. And it’s not clear what constitutes an “independent” studio. Is there a fixed metric, or will Mindgeek use subjective criteria? While there’s no immediate indication that it intends to abuse its first-mover advantage (it could have charged everyone), there’s a lingering concern that it may have the power to decide which porn sites succeed — and that the government may have trusted too much of its regulatory power to a private firm.