Android P will let Autofill automatically work within web browsers

Autofill’s no longer restricted to app logins.

With Android P’s developer preview out in the wild, everyone’s running around like a chicken with its head cut off to find new features that Google didn’t explicitly announce. We knew that Autofill was being upgraded, but Google didn’t exactly say how. However, thanks to a blog post from password manager Dashlane, we now know at least one feature that’s being added – official support for web browsers.

As it stands in Android Oreo, Autofill only works by default within apps. Most password managers let you force Autofill to work in web browsers by enabling accessibility services, but this requires an extra step and isn’t the most user-friendly thing.

Per Dashlane’s Android Lead Developer, Stan Kocken:

The reason is that Chrome (like Microsoft Edge, Samsung Browser or Firefox, for example) uses a custom render for the web pages you view. This custom render allows high-performance, but prevents the Autofill Engine embedded in Android O from telling identity managers (like Dashlane) certain information, like when the page changes.

However, with Android P, Autofill will work within web browsers by default. Android P enables accessibility services in the background so the user doesn’t have to, and this results in a much more seamless experience across the board.

In addition to Dashlane, any other password managers already using Autofill (such as LastPass and 1Password) will be able to update their apps with similar functionality.

Android P: Top 6 things you need to know!

Immerse yourself in ‘Ready Player One’ with HTC’s VR experiences

The upcoming Spielberg-directed nostalgia orgy Ready Player One depicts a run-down future where the only escape is diving into a fully immersive cyberspace. Soon, you’ll be able to visit that digital world, too, when HTC’s Vive Studios releases a slew of VR experiences created by a variety of developers. They’ll be available to download later in March, but first they’ll come to events and ‘VR Arcades’ across the US — including at South By Southwest.

The series of experiences are pretty diverse, from an avatar creator to player-vs-AI horde mode games to several 3D reboots of old 80s classics (including Gauntlet and a faux-Breakout). One of them recreates Ready Player One’s zero-gravity dance club scene in virtual reality, with 80s music and custom avatars — and if you’re at SXSW, you can experience it there with a live in-VR DJ set by the film’s star Tye Sheridan.

Source: HTC

‘PUBG’ roadmap includes new maps and more stable gameplay

PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds left beta this past December, adding a second map and instant replay feature to the 1.0 release, which also came to Xbox One in the same month. Since then, developer Bluehole has made various improvements, like spawning players in different locations to cut down on server load and pre-match mayhem and easier ways to report cheaters. Now, creator Brendan Greene has published the game’s roadmap for the next year, promising a much more realistic and stable game with major updates set for every two months.

The developers plan to open an “Experimental Test Server” which would serve as a test bed for all the new features ahead of integrating them into the game itself, letting players give the company feedback on each new system or change. There will be a new, smaller 4X4 map to play on first, offering higher player density and faster matches, with an 8X8 map set for later in the year.The emote system will also be released on the test server, with plenty of laughing, dancing and raging animations on offer.

Greene says that the team has some new Game Modes for the title, though he won’t be specific about what those will be. New vehicles and new weapon attachments are also on deck, and should show up sometime this year as well. You’ll see new achievements, in-game friend lists and suqad voice chat in the main menu, plus some extra character customization features like parachute and weapon skins. In addition, limb and vehicle bullet penetration systems should go live on the text servers later this year. There will be new vehicle, environmental and player-centric sounds added, too, like audio for vehicles that skid, rain on vehicle roofs and additional breathing sounds for players depending on whether they’re running, aiming down a rifle sight or just holding their breath.

The team plans to continue to optimize its servers and game systems to make PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds a better experience for players. “We are continuing our daily work to combat cheaters, improve server stability and further optimize our servers and clients,” wrote Greene in his post. “It is impossible to solve these problems once and for all, but our goal is to continuously improve in this regard.”

Finally, the developer promises to move toward making PUBG an eSport title, though Greene admits there’s still a long way to go, especially in terms of watchability. The team also wants to expand its Custom Game System to add more control for those who want to create custom games, and plans to introduce a PUBG Developer API, as well, to help developers access some of the match data from the game. All these improvements and plans should help the game compete against rival Fortnite: Battle Royale, which seems to be winning the war for new players by pulling in 10 million players in the two weeks after its launch last year.

Source: Bluehole

Inside Amazon’s quest to make a different kind of Echo

Of all the devices Amazon announced last fall, the one that got the most attention was the Echo Spot. A smaller, spherical version of the Echo Show, the Spot exuded an adorable style that was distinct from the rest of the Echo lineup. And judging by the reviews it received, it’s clear that the Spot’s form factor helped make it something of a surprise hit. In an exclusive behind-the-scenes look, Engadget had a chance to find out just how the Spot became one of Amazon’s most unique products.

It all started in the days following the release of the original Echo. Amazon was taking a gamble with a new hardware category: an always-on personal assistant for the home. And as early customer feedback started to roll in, Amazon realized that Echo had to grow beyond voice commands.

“We realized that there were some use cases where it would probably be more friendly if you could confirm things on a display,” said Miriam Daniel, Amazon’s director of product management.

This sparked the idea for the Echo Show, the first Echo product with a screen. Just like the original, the Show was designed to be in a high-traffic area of the home, like a kitchen or hallway. As such, it had a 7-inch screen so you could see it from across a 7-to-10-foot room. While Amazon didn’t know it at the time, the Show would prove to be the prototypical smart display, setting off a trend that rivals like Google would latch onto with their own Assistant-powered hardware.

But halfway through the Show’s production, Amazon realized some people might prefer to put it on their desks or nightstands, in which case the 7-inch display might be too big. “We knew what the Show was going to look like,” as the design was already finalized. “But maybe, what we needed was a smaller, mini-Show.” Almost, she added, like a smart alarm clock.

Until then, options for something like that were either glorified phone stands, Echo Dot speaker docks or third-party Alexa-integrated options (that were little more than fancy clock radios). That’s not to say that some weren’t clever — the Vobot has a cool LED Matrix display, for example — but they just weren’t as fully featured as Amazon’s ambitions for the Spot.

Amazon likes to say that adding a display to the Echo was due to customer feedback, but the decision seems pretty obvious. There are already products that transform tablets into kitchen displays, and the Show is a natural progression of that. Even smart alarm clocks aren’t new — remember the Chumby? What Amazon wanted to do with the Spot, however, was take a smart display and combine it with the already successful Alexa platform.

When Amazon tasked design team Lab 126 to dream up a miniature Show, the first concept it came up with was basic: a printout of a round display taped onto an Echo Dot. Amazon was immediately enamored with the idea of a circular design, though, and started building spherical prototypes. But entering new product categories always comes with a risk. Something Amazon knows only too well after the Fire phone flop.

“We knew we wanted [the Spot] to be really small, really cute, so that it’ll replace the alarm clock on your bedside table,” said Daniel. “But as we started thinking and talking more about it, we thought, well, people will still want more information on the display.” Another concern was that Spot wouldn’t be big enough to house a good quality speaker. Smart speakers like the Echo Dot and the Google Home Mini aren’t famed for their sound, but they don’t have displays, are much cheaper and the consumer expectations are potentially much lower.

The team did consider other form-factors, looking at household objects like tea tins, storage containers and even phone docks. Should Spot be more of a cube? Or a 5-inch tablet that could rest on a stand? The cube would get better back volume and thus, better audio quality, while a tablet would have a more functional display. Amazon built prototypes of these, too, just in case.

The Echo Show and Google-powered hardware (from the likes of Lenovo, JBL and LG) all follow the rectangular theme. They each have different characteristics of course — JBL and LG styled their products like stereos, while Lenovo’s Smart Display resembles a tablet in a photo frame.

But in focus group after focus group, Amazon customers wanted the spherical design. “They used words like ‘cute,’ ‘friendly,’ ‘warm,’ ‘engaging,’” said Daniel. “It validated our initial instincts.” However, this meant that Amazon still needed to overcome the practical limitations of a spherical form. Additionally, it’s not as if a spherical design would be a hit even with such positive feedback — Google’s Nexus Q had a ball-like shape too, and that was a commercial fiasco. The Spot needed to not just be spherical, but for that shape to make sense.

Daniel explained that previous Echos were made to blend into the background — though we’re not sure a giant cylindrical speaker in your home is what you’d call inconspicuous. The Spot, on the other hand, was made to live on a home-office desk or on your bedside table. In other words, it had to stand out. “It has to earn its spot on your desk.”

Now that Amazon was set on a spherical design, the trick was to wedge in all the desired functionality into its awkward ball-like shape. The team started with the guts of an Echo Dot, building a spherical shell around it. From there, they started thinking about the Spot’s screen. “There were no real displays available off the shelf that would fit in this form factor,” Daniel said.

The design team initially thought they could take a square screen and mask it with a magnetic plate, so you’d just see a circular section of it. But the result was not only impossibly small — barely an inch wide — the bezel was also superthick. What’s more, powering a display, far-field microphones and full streaming audio inside such a small device created problems with heat.

While the original Spot prototype was the size of a plum, the final product is more like a grapefruit. The bezel was eventually reduced though, in part, thanks to a custom octagonal display. Amazon realized this would inflate the Spot’s price tag, but gambled on that the circular aesthetic winning buyers over from rivals like Google.

One of the biggest challenges Amazon faced when making the Spot was fitting the microphones inside. Instead of the seven far-field mics found in the rest of the Echo lineup, the Spot had to make do with four. “It was a really hard-fought battle with our audio and industrial design team,” said Daniel. “We said, you gotta do more with less. You have to make the four microphones to perform just as well as the one with seven.” In the end, Daniel said, they made it work through software. Based on my own experience with the Spot, it delivered; it could listen to my commands even when I was across the room.

Another cause for debate was whether or not the Spot should have a camera. When asked about potential privacy issues (a camera in the bedroom!), Daniel brushed it aside. Amazon hardwired the Spot’s mute button to turn off both the microphone and the camera, believing this solved the issue. “Because we had that fallback, that wasn’t our debate,” Daniel said. But even if Daniel and her team believe that it still doesn’t squelch the concern of privacy in the mind of many consumers.

“Our debate was ‘What would customers use it for?’ We can see people wanting to quickly do video intercom within the home,” she continued. “We see that as one of our flagship use cases for this. You’re in the kitchen, someone’s in the bedroom, and you want to quickly drop in and say ‘Hey, dinner’s ready.’” In my review, I also noted the display is too small for long videos like movies, but Daniel is confident it works for trailers or news clips. “What we learned was, it wasn’t a binary ‘yes’ to video or ‘no’ to video; the use cases would adapt to where and how you would use it.”

There were cosmetic issues, too. Amazon knew that a custom display, a camera and bigger audio drivers would add cost to the Spot, but it also wanted to make sure the Spot had a high-end finish. The final result is, without doubt, a great-looking product. It’s cute, it’s polished and gives off a modern alarm clock vibe.

Because the Spot was designed to be used three to five feet away — instead of across the room — the UI needed a rework too. Interacting with the Spot was a little more touch-forward than voice-forward. “There are some use cases where you might want to touch it, like if you wake up before the alarm goes off, you’ll want to turn off the alarm without having to scream at it,” said Daniel. In practice, this is certainly possible — you can just tap the screen to shut it off — though the reality is you may find that feeling around for the display when you’re half-asleep isn’t that intuitive either, so the system’s not perfect.

The Spot also introduced a feature called Routines — a set of actions triggered with a simple command. For example, if you say “Good morning,” you can have that prompt the Spot to give you the weather, traffic info, a joke of the day, play a video clip of the news headlines and turn on your coffee maker. Or you can say “Good night” to turn off the lights and play a sleepy soundtrack. Siri and Cortana let you group smart-home devices by command as well, but it can’t bundle in extras like weather and news briefings. As for Google Assistant, that didn’t even get Routines support until a few weeks ago.

Still, the UI tweaks that Amazon made might only be a step in the right direction. After trying out a few rivals at CES, it feels like the upcoming Google-powered devices are better in almost every way. Searching for recipes brings up a step-by-step guide, and asking for directions will not only display the map, but it’ll also automatically send them to your phone without you having to ask. Amazon is likely aware of the new competition and the challenges it faces to keep up.

Developing Echo Spot took between 12 to 14 months, but the gamble seems to be paying off. Amazon wouldn’t give us exact sales figures but did say that the Spot has an average 4.4-star customer rating. If you live by Amazon star-ratings, that’s pretty good.

Yet, as nice as the Spot is, it’s not perfect. Despite all that R&D, Amazon never really did completely solve the Spot’s audio-quality issues. After a few weeks, I stopped using it for music entirely because I just couldn’t stand the mediocre sound. I never really got used to the small, tiny news videos, and almost never use the display for anything more than the time and weather. It’s also worth mentioning that due to various custom components, the Spot retails for a pretty high price — $130 is a lot to pay for what amounts to a fancy alarm clock.

As we mentioned earlier, though, Amazon blazed the trail for smart displays, and it’s now facing tough competition from Google-powered hardware, like Lenovo’s Smart Display, the JBL Link View and the LG ThinQ View WK9. The Spot is Amazon’s latest success story, but it’s a rapidly evolving market.

Amazon isn’t concerned. “We don’t worry about competitor products,” said Daniel of Amazon’s rivals. “We’re looking forward versus looking sideways.”

‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’ hits consoles and PC October 12th

If you’re a fan of military-style first person shooters sometimes set in the future that have zombie DLC modes, you’re in luck. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is headed to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on Friday, October 12th. Developer Treyarch announced the date in a short post on the Activision blog while also teasing a “community reveal event” you can watch on May 17th.

The first Black Ops title took place in the late 1960s, while the sequel, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, jumped ahead to both 1985 and 2025. Black Ops III took place in 2065. All three games have a “zombies mode,” a co-op fantasy mode that features the undead. Black Ops 4 will be the 15th main installment in the Call of Duty series, which typically launch in November, making for an easy holiday gift. The launch one month earlier is likely due to the planned release of Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 in late October, a highly-anticipated title that could indeed cut into Activision’s Black Ops numbers.

Source: Activision

US general says efforts to combat Russian meddling aren’t going well

Despite the Mueller investigation indicting 13 Russian nationals who ran social media accounts across multiple social media platforms to interfere with the 2016, the US has no unified multi-agency strategy to protect against Russian cyberattack. That’s according to the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, in a meeting with the the Senate Armed Services Committee today.

“I don’t believe there is an effective unification across the interagency, with the energy and the focus that we could attain,” Scaparrotti told the committee, according to Reuters.

And despite the US spending over a year peeling apart Russia’s influence on the 2016 presidential election, Scaparrotti wasn’t satisfied with the US government’s understanding of the country’s cyber infrastructure. “We’re getting a better understanding of it, (but) I would not characterize it as a good picture at this point, not satisfactory to me,” he said.

Without comprehending the full scope of Russian capabilities, there continues to be surprise when the country does things like hack the Olympics, which the White House condemned. But the country’s online meddlers didn’t just infest social media — they slipped into forums like Reddit and collected personal data on US citizens, too. Without a coordinated strategy, this infiltration could be repeated during the 2018 midterm election, which is just eight months away.

Source: Reuters

Google adds tweet-like posts from musicians to search results

Musicians are now able to post information directly within their Google Search Knowledge Panel. The Knowledge Panel is that dedicated section that pops up when you search for celebrities, which, for musicians, has information about them, their work, links to where you can hear their music, their videos and more. Now, within that panel, musicians will also be able to post information, sort of like a tweet.

This is an expansion of Posts on Google, which the company has previously opened up to celebrities, politicians and sports teams, among others. Any musician with a Knowledge Panel can get verified and start posting, and at launch, artists like Lorde, Steve Aoki, Sia, Son Little, Sofi Tukker, Shakira and Kygo are already using the feature.

Image: Google

Source: Google

Some of the best Batman games are coming to EA’s Origin Access on PC

Homegrown games on EA’s Origin Access service are getting some company. Starting today, your subscription will also include, erm, access to titles from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment including a trio of the Batman: Arkham games. Unfortunately we can’t trade Arkham: Origins for Arkham Knight (above), but that’s just how things work out at the moment.

The Lego Batman games are on offer today as well, and soon Bulletstorm – Lite, The Witness and Wasteland 2 will be added. You’ll notice that WBIE’s big game from last fall, Middle-earth: Shadow of War is absent here, but EA’s new Out of the Park Baseball ’19 management sim is here. They’re basically the same thing, right?

There’s a seven day trial if you want to preview everything currently available. Just remember — this is different from the Xbox One’s EA Access, and only covers PC games.

Source: EA

Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $80 on a 9.7-inch Apple iPad

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

Apple iPad 9.7-inch (5th Gen) 128GB

Street Price: $430; Deal Price: $350

Decent deals on the 128 GB version of the 9.7-inch iPad have been far rarer than those on the 32 GB and this is a good one, matching the last deal we saw for this model and the lowest price we’ve seen. At $350 for all three colors, it’s $80 off the typical price. If you have a lot of media you want to access on the go, it’s a great option. Grab one while they last.

The Apple iPad 9.7-inch 128 GB is an increased storage version of our top tablet pick in our guide to the best tablet. Dan Frakes and Nick Guy wrote, “The 5th-generation iPad—the standard, 9.7-inch non-Pro model, officially called the “iPad (5th generation)”—is a familiar device. Its body is almost exactly the same as that of the 2014 iPad Air,2 and except for improved processors, its internals mostly match those of the iPad Air 2, the model it replaces (and our previous top pick). Yet the 2017 iPad remains the best tablet on the market for most people because of that familiarity: It shares its predecessor’s unique combination of performance, features, hardware quality, app selection, and accessory ecosystem, and it improves on its value.”

512 GB Western Digital My Passport SSD

Street Price: $170; Deal Price: $140

Usually between $160 and $180, the 512 GB WD My Passport is back down to $140, matching the low of a few days ago. While it’s slower than our top pick ($20 more on sale right now), it’s the more pocketable of the two drives, so it’s definitely a strong choice at this price. It isn’t slated to ship for 1-3 weeks, so keep that in mind as you consider it.

The 512 GB Western Digital My Passport SSD is our runner-up pick in our guide to the best portable SSD. Justin Krajeski wrote, “If our pick is sold out or unavailable, we recommend the 512 GB Western Digital My Passport SSD for around the same price. In our tests, the My Passport SSD was 30 to 60 MB/s slower than the Samsung T5, but it was faster than the other external SSDs we tested, and it supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds. The My Passport SSD is longer, thinner, and lighter than the Samsung. It has one USB-C port and comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable, as well as a tiny USB-C to USB-A adapter, which was simple to pop on and off, but seems easy to lose. Like the Samsung, it has AES 256-bit hardware encryption, intuitive software, and a three-year warranty. But it lacks the Samsung’s helpful activity indicator light.”

Aukey Latitude EP-B40

Street Price: $26; Deal Price: $18 w/ code 8KQXPCX6

Use code 8KQXPCX6 at checkout for a discount on the Aukey Latitude EP-B40 wireless headphones. The promo code drops the price to $18 from $26, within a dollar of the low we’ve seen for these workout-centric headphones. Whether you’re just starting your fitness journey or only go to the gym occasionally and are looking for a pair of inexpensive wireless headphones, now would be a good time to grab these while the discount code is still active.

The Aukey Latitude EP-B40 headphones are the budget pick in our guide to the best wireless workout headphones. Lauren Dragan wrote, “If you’re a casual gym-goer, the Aukey Latitude EP-B40 is the best cheap option. These earbuds are the only sub-$50 pair we tested that sounded pretty good and fit comfortably while still being able to take some abuse. The silicone wings and tips keep the earbuds secure, while the IPX4 rating means the Latitude won’t quit when faced with a little sweat. Magnets in the earbuds allow you to clip the Latitude around your neck when you aren’t using it, and the eight-plus-hour battery life will get you through more than a week of hour-long workouts before you have to recharge. Additionally, a two-year warranty protects against manufacturing defects.”

Philips/Norelco Shaver 9300

Street Price: $200; Deal Price: $167

At $167, this is the lowest price we’ve seen for the Philips/Norelco Shaver 9300 in the last year. We posted a previous deal at $180, but that’s a sale price we’re seeing somewhat regularly now for this razor – this drop is significant as we rarely see the price dip to this level. With a street price of $200, if you’re a fan of the rotary razor style, this is worth strong consideration while the sale lasts.

The Philips/Norelco Shaver 9300 is the rotary alternative we recommend in our guide to the best electric razor. Dan Koeppel wrote, “Norelco’s 9000 series products use a floating head that pivots in more directions, which the company claims allows the shaver to better trace the lines of your face; internally, the rotary cutters are patterned in V-shaped slots that the company says do a better job of capturing stray hairs. In a mirror of the battle of the Brauns, the 7000 model Philips rotaries will shave you as closely as the 9000 series at a cost of a little more time and care. But unlike our choice of the Braun Series 7 over the Series 9, the price differential between the two Philips models is minimal, so you might as well get the higher-end version—specifically, the Series 9300 S9311.”

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

This penguin selfie is the best thing you’ll see all day

Animal selfies will never not be wonderful and lucky for us all, there’s another one to add to the collection. As the Washington Post reports, Eddie Gault, a researcher with the Australian Antarctic Division, put a camera on the ground near an emperor penguin colony at the Auster Rookery in Antarctica. Shortly thereafter, a couple of penguins wandered over and started checking out the camera. And since it was already recording, it captured some fantastic, up-close images of the pair. You can check out the recording below.

Because the camera was set to record by Gault and not the penguins, I guess it doesn’t technically count as a selfie, but it also means that the team will hopefully be able to avoid the legal issues that followed the 2011 “monkey selfie.” David Slater, the photographer whose camera the monkey used to snap the image, was sued by PETA, which claimed the male crested black macaque’s copyright had been infringed when Slater published the image in a book. The dispute was ultimately settled last year when Slater agreed to donate 25 percent of his future revenue from the macaque’s selfies to charities that work to protect the species’ habitat.

If watching this video leaves you wanting for more animal selfies, head over to The Verge to watch a thieving eagle peck at a camera it snatched from a riverbank.

Via: Washington Post

Source: Australian Antarctic Division