What we’re watching: ‘The Magicians’

This month, contributing editor David Lumb explains the highs and lows of Syfy’s book adaptation The Magicians, while senior news editor Richard Lawler digs into what he likes about professional Overwatch competition.

The Magicians

David Lumb
Contributing Editor

There’s a juicy heresy in Lev Grossman’s 2009 novel The Magicians and its two sequels, which subvert the cozy magical power fantasies in Narnia and Harry Potter. The core of that cultural skewering carries on in the SyFy show (loosely) adapting Grossman’s books. I binged the first two seasons (currently on Netflix) while in the feverish throes of a nasty stomach bug, which is an adequate metaphor for the show’s take on beloved childhood magic. Strip away the sentimentality and show the cruel realities of life-altering magic and you’ll arrive at a different truth about humanity. In this case, the show stares unflinchingly at a world where people use spellcraft and sorcery for selfish ends and quick fixes, which has devastating consequences.

It’s not a perfect show; it falls into subplots that do little for the story and less for the characters, but it’s the only media chipping away at the assumption that magic would be benevolent and liberating. Sometimes the most seductive shortcuts have crippling costs — perhaps just for everyone around you. Are they worth taking, and what would that say about you? The third season is almost over, and it’s getting farther away from the source material, for better and worse: A straight adaptation of the book trilogy would’ve been a lot more concise and preserved the emotional body blows. But what can I say? I enjoy watching these characters finagle solutions to problems they created trying to fix other things. New viewers can blitz through seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix, while the third is available on SyFy’s website — though I’d recommend watching it on a streaming provider app to avoid the finicky web player.

Overwatch League

Richard Lawler
Senior News Editor

With motorsports seasons opening, March Madness at its peak and NBA action barreling toward the playoffs, I’ve been oddly obsessed with a different competition: Overwatch League. While I’m only just now diving into the world of eSports, millions more have plunged in already, across a number of games.

I’ve tried to watch a bit of eSports before but never got hooked. Games like Dota 2 and Street Fighter are a bit too fast and specific, while eRacing never matched the appeal of real-world action. Overwatch’s focus on teamwork and roster of varied characters eventually pulled me in as a player and, suddenly, as a viewer.

The work Blizzard has put in to make the game more watchable, with floating cameras and team-specific colors, helps a lot. While combat can occasionally be confusing as the camera jumps from one first-person perspective to another, there are enough replays and breakdowns between matches to help a novice keep up. I’m not as sold on many of the commentators, who occasionally opt for speed over clarity in their broadcast. Still, they seem to be settling in — in the league’s second stage (recently completed, with stage 3 scheduled to begin Wednesday), I noticed more time taken to educate viewers who might not know everything about team composition, strategy or what a particular buzzword means.

Its first season is only halfway through and, besides the action happening on screens, we’ve seen it match or exceed other leagues with player issues of nearly every possible type. Simple things like teamwork and management don’t come so easily to some squads despite a demanding practice and competition schedule, leading to roster changes. Players have been suspended and even cut for breaking vaguely defined rules, racism and personal scandals. Blizzard has to do more about the “toxic” behavior that feeds some competitors and viewers — the live chat with each game is an unreadable mess — but outside drama isn’t always a bad thing when you’re trying to build a brand-new reputation.

The only trouble now is that I haven’t picked a favorite team. Watching eSports means tracking teams and players across social media and their own regular live feeds in addition to the scheduled games. As previously mentioned, it also opens up opportunities for players’ behavior to get them in hot water. I never thought I’d see anything more viewer-involved than people calling golf tournaments to report rule infractions, but in this world anyone can be screen-shotted or have a video clip taken to show exactly what they’ve been doing. The New York Excelsior’s triumphant stage 2 victory and the Shanghai Dragons’ underdog status as a winless squad (plus the addition of the skilled Geguri) have them near the top of my lists so far.

“IRL” is a recurring column in which the Engadget staff run down what they’re buying, using, playing and streaming.

Malaysia is one step closer to outlawing fake news

Last week, the Malaysian government proposed a law that would criminalize the spread of fake news and today, the country’s parliament pushed the bill one step closer to enaction. The lower house of parliament voted to approve the bill today and it now heads to the senate for debate. The bill is wildly controversial and many believe it’s just the government’s latest attempt to stifle reports that Prime Minister Najib Razak mishandled billions of dollars held in a state investment fund. The prime minister is currently up for reelection, the vote for which has to take place by August.

The law would outlaw fake news and anyone publishing or spreading it could face up to six years of prison and a fine of 500,000 ringgit (approximately $129,470). Reports deemed to be fake news could be subject to the law even if they are generated outside of Malaysia — any reports found to affect the country or its citizens no matter where in the world they’re written stand to be punishable. Further, the bill’s wording is very broad, meaning the government would have a lot of leeway when it comes to prosecuting those who spread what it deems to be fake. “‘Fake news’ includes any news, information, data and reports, which is or are wholly or partly false, whether in the form of features, visuals or audio recordings or in any other form capable of suggesting words or ideas,” states the bill.

Those investigating the prime minister over the state investment fund include the US Department of Justice. Last month, the country’s deputy minister for communications and multimedia said that any information about the fund not verified by the government would be considered fake news. “Instead of a proper investigation into what happened, we have a ministry of truth being created,” Nurul Izzah Anwar, a lawmaker and daughter of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, told the New York Times.

“The Malaysian lawmakers didn’t wait long to pass a vaguely worded, catch-all bill that can be — and will be — used to crack down on peaceful government critics. This bill cynically uses new Twitter jargon to pursue an old policy: criminalising free speech,” James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Southeast Asia and Pacific division director, said in a statement. “The law which could be implemented within days doesn’t only impose tough penalties and gives arbitrary arrest powers for police but also allows charges to be brought against other countries’ citizens. It’s an overt assault on freedom of expression.”

The bill could be debated in the senate as early as Thursday and it’s largely expected to pass.

Via: The Verge

Tiny ‘hearing’ device is 100,000 times thinner than your eardrum

Finding long-range, low-powered sensors for wearable devices is the next scientific frontier. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University are working on atomically thin transducer “drumheads” that can send and receive signals at radio frequencies even greater than those we can hear with our natural ear. Better yet, the drumhead is 10,000,000,000,000 times smaller in volume and 100,000 times thinner than the human eardrum and can detect a much wider range of signal than other similar devices.

The paper, published in the March 30th issue of Science Advances, says that the super small vibrating sensor can detect signals at the highest reported dynamic range of frequencies, up to ~110dB, at radio frequencies (RF) up to over 120MHz. Human hearing is generally in the range of around 60 to 100dB in the range of 10Hz to 10kHz.

While the transducer itself isn’t immediately applicable to current devices, the research will likely help inform future devices. “Sensing and communication are key to a connected world,” said associate professor and co-author Philip Feng in a statement. “In recent decades, we have been connected with highly miniaturized devices and systems, and we have been pursuing ever-shrinking sizes for those devices.”

Source: Science Daily

Google AI and search chief steps down as part of overhaul

Google’s quest to conquer AI is leading to a major change in leadership. The Information has learned that AI and search leader John Giannandrea is leaving his role, which will be split into two: Google Brain leader Jeff Dean will run a dedicated AI wing in addition to his Brain position, while search engineering boss Ben Gomes will lead search as the division’s Vice President. Giannandrea is staying around, but reportedly wants to be “more hands on with technology” than he was before.

A spokeswoman confirmed the management shuffle to Bloomberg, but didn’t say more.

It’s far from a surprise that Google would divide is search and AI structures. While the two divisions share a large chunk of their work, this puts all of Google’s AI initiatives under one banner. Likewise, Gomes can focus more on search instead of having to juggle AI concerns. It won’t be quite as unified, but it could improve Google’s overall effectiveness.

Giannandrea’s leadership might still be missed. Our TechCrunch colleagues observed that he had a very pragmatic approach to AI — he considers ethics important to developing the technology, but he doesn’t believe in the end-of-the-world scenarios some have imagined should AI go haywire. We don’t expect Google’s stance to change in any dramatic way, but don’t be surprised if it shifts ever so slightly.

Source: The Information

Apple to Announce Q2 2018 Earnings on May 1

Apple today updated its investor relations page to announce that it will share its earnings results for the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2018 on Tuesday, May 1.

The earnings release will provide a look at sales of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X following its record January quarter that saw the company sell 77.3 million iPhones.

Apple’s guidance for the second fiscal quarter includes expected revenue of $60 to $62 billion and gross margin between 38 and 38.5 percent. Apple will beat its Q2 2017 earnings results based on those guidance numbers.

Apple’s quarterly earnings statement will be released at 1:30 p.m. Pacific/4:30 p.m. Eastern, with a conference call to discuss the report taking place at 2:00 p.m. Pacific/5:00 p.m. Eastern. MacRumors will provide coverage of both the earnings release and conference call on February 1.

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GTasks offers simple to-do list, but is it too bare-bones? (review)

The beauty of a to-do list app is its simplicity; general rule of thumb is that list making shouldn’t be overwhelming and clunky. Without a doubt, developer Appest Inc. has managed an effortless package. With the Play Store filled to the brim with various notes and task management apps all with varying styles, it can become ironically too tedious simply deciding which to utilize. GTasks takes the “no frills” approach to a whole new level; frills need not apply… We don’t wantcha here!

Set Up & Cost

When initially entering GTasks, you are greeted with two different sync options: Sync with Google Tasks, or with another offering from Appest Inc. called TickTick (To-do list/planner). Select the path of your choice and you are immediately brought to a barren canvas to indulge your note-taking whims.

By accessing the settings, GTasks allows users to pony up for an ad-free version with the purchase of a key. This will also unlock premium features: Custom background sync, theming, security and batch adds costing users a flat fee of $4.99.

List Functionality

You want to stack a few errands? Make a shopping list? Itemize steps for world domination? With GTasks there is no fuss. One tap on the + icon and you are ready to type your goal. Plain and simple. Users, of course, have the ability to set a due date, prioritize and enable reminders.

As mentioned, GTasks syncs with Google Tasks — the standout feature and its namesake. With the ability to sync multiple Google accounts across your many devices, Google Task users will appreciate the hard work behind the scenes.

Design & Feel

GTasks layout — implementing material design — is clean and without clutter.

Almost depressingly so.

Obviously, opinions will vary. After all, it’s literally just the digital equivalent of scribbling some notes on a piece of paper to reference later. So why would anyone care about bells & whistles?

It’s one thing to be straightforward, it’s another thing to be uninviting. In regards to an app that is meant to be used daily (and ultimately promote good organizational habits), it should evoke a certain amount of “feelgood.” GTasks falls flat here when compared to similar apps.

Beyond GTasks

Granted, this is a review of GTasks but a lot of the desired features that are missing from the app on its own can be implemented by installing TickTick. This separate app acts as an overlay which enhances the standard experience with some limited theme options and other functionality.

However, if you wish to gain access to a second tier of goodies – Google Now era-inspired backgrounds for example – you will have to pony up $2.99/month or a more cost-effective $27.99/year.

Bottom Line

To be clear, GTasks nails the intended function of compiling tasks. And again, if you already incorporate Google Tasks it makes for a good companion. However, there are an insane amount of apps offering similar life-organizing solutions, and in a lot of cases offering killer features without charging a dime. It’s not easy for me to wholeheartedly endorse an app that holds so much back requiring users to spend money for options attainable in free alternatives.

Instagram is the latest to drop its Apple Watch app

The trend of companies pulling their Apple Watch apps isn’t quite done yet. Instagram has quitely removed its Apple Watch app as of the latest iOS app update, leaving you without a way to check your photo feed on your wrist. The company didn’t have much choice in the matter — Apple stopped accepting updates to non-native (that is, phone-dependent) watchOS apps as of April 1st, so Instagram either had to rework the software or drop it altogether.

We’ve asked Instagram if it can comment on the removal, including whether or not this is temporary.

It’s not surprising that Instagram would cut the app. Even if you didn’t mind browsing photos on a tiny screen, the Apple Watch version was rapidly falling behind in terms of features. It couldn’t play videos or deliver direct messages, and its non-native roots kept it from working either on WiFi or an LTE-equipped Apple Watch Series 3 when away from an iPhone.

This isn’t to say that the Apple Watch is in trouble. CEO Tim Cook noted that Series 3 sales in the fall quarter were more than double those of the Series 2 from a year earlier, so there’s no shortage of potential users. Rather, Instagram is likely joining Slack, Twitter and others in rethinking the need for a smartwatch app in the first place. While some mobile apps clearly benefit from watch versions (such as mass transit and weather clients), many others are largely superfluous. Think of this as the smartwatch app industry growing up, with companies now creating wrist-based apps only when they make sense.

Via: 9to5Mac

Quick Takes: WebKit Team Teases ‘Cool New Apple Products’ as Rumors Persist About Red iPhones

In addition to our standalone articles covering the latest news and rumors at MacRumors, this Quick Takes column provides a bite-sized recap of other headlines about Apple and its competitors on weekdays.

Monday, April 2

• WebKit’s verified Twitter account teases “cool new Apple products” in the pipeline: WebKit is the open source web browser engine used by Safari on macOS and iOS, so the tweet from the Apple-owned account could be referring to a wide range of different products.
  

  Pssst! Can you keep a secret? Cool new Apple products are coming and WebKit needs your help to take full advantage of the [redacted]. The WebKit Platform Integration team is waiting to hear from you! https://t.co/lEHK68DWZi

  — WebKit (@webkit) April 2, 2018

• What Apple’s education announcements mean for accessibility: Accessibility expert and former special educator Steven Aquino believes that an iPad is far superior to a Chromebook in many levels of special education. Nevertheless, he feels there is enormous potential for Apple to go further. For example, he says Apple could broaden its new Schoolwork app to incorporate Individualized Education Programs.
• Red-colored iPhones may still be coming: On March 21, 2017, Apple unveiled a special (PRODUCT)RED edition of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Rumor has it Apple may do so again this year with the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and/or iPhone X at some point this month.
  

  Same and still “unverified” source “confirms” new red colored #iPhone(s) is on his way and may be released this month…

  — Steve H. (@OnLeaks) April 1, 2018

• macOS 10.13.4 and external displays with DisplayLink software aren’t playing friendly: In the meantime, DisplayLink has released a new version 4.3 driver that will enable clone mode, but not mirror or extended mode displays on macOS 10.13.4. The notice from DisplayLink’s website:
  

  We have become aware that installing macOS release version 10.13.4 will cause DisplayLink connected displays to go blank after the OS upgrade, with the current DisplayLink driver [4.1] installed. Functionality such as Ethernet and audio, where implemented, is unaffected. We have alerted Apple to this issue and are working hard to find a resolution. These features continue to work as expected in macOS 10.13.3.

• Chrome Remote Desktop and Hotels.com apps optimized for iPhone X display: The updates are available from the App Store. The wait continues for a handful of other popular apps, including Inbox by Gmail, Google Authenticator, iMovie, and Amazon Alexa.

For more coverage of Apple, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also head to our forums to join in the discussion.

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Magic Leap finally unveils ‘goggles’ with wireless processing, tracking

Magic Leap has, after years of teases and promises, unveiled its augmented reality headset to the world and it looks much more like the “goggles” moniker so commonly used to refer to other head-mounted displays. Featuring inside-out tracking, and wireless operation and processing, its claimed abilities could make it the most advanced AR device ever created.

Alongside Microsoft’s Hololens headset, the Magic Leap has been a device that’s been talked about for years. While Microsoft’s device did eventually make it into the hands of developers some time ago, though, it’s only now we’re getting our first look at the Magic Leap headset. We still don’t have a hard release date or pricing information, but its feature set will have AR fans salivating at its potential.

The purpose behind the Magic Leap is to blend the real and virtual worlds more than ever before. While other augmented reality headsets have lacked resolution and real-life presence, the Magic Leap headset is said to be capable of creating “lifelike digital objects” that coexist in the real world. As well as detecting your physical location and rotation, the headset can pick up surfaces, planes, and objects, allowing for a digital remodeling of them, thereby having digital objects actually interact with the physical world.

That augmented view will be customizable, letting you create and mount your own virtual displays wherever you want and have digital objects continue to interact with the world even when you’re not looking at them. The headset is said to leverage technology to allow for natural object processing by the wearer’s brain, making the headset comfortable to wear for long periods of time. As for audio, the Magic Leap is said to mimic the real world to provide distance and intensity mapping so that sounds feel as real as the visuals.

All of the augmented features can be interacted with using a broad range of input options, including voice, gestures, and the wireless remote controller.

Although we don’t know specifics on the internal hardware, we’re told that it’s as powerful as a “laptop computer.” That may mean we’re not talking the kind of visuals you would expect on a high-end desktop, but it’s certainly powerful enough to recreate some singular items that look pretty and somewhat realistic. If you’re wondering why there’s so little information available about the new device, it’s very much on purpose: Magic Leap requires that developers literally lock their developer units away in safes as part of generally strict security policies, Bloomberg reports.

All of this is just the beginning. As the official Magic Leap site states, this is just “day one.” The headset itself will launch at some point in 2018, with a “Creator Portal” debuting earlier in the year. That will allow early-access developers working with the bare-bones “Creator Editon” to create the software to make Magic Leap applications that really open up its potential.

Updated on April 2: Added information regarding Magic Leap’s high security.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 VR reference headset puts body tracking in mobile VR
• Lenovo’s Mirage Solo headset and VR camera are available for pre-order
• Qualcomm’s stand-alone VR headset design uses Tobii eye-tracking
• Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream hands-on review
• The best cheap gaming PCs

NASA’s next planet hunter is ready to find undiscovered worlds

The search for extraterrestrial life is about to get serious, as the U.S. space agency announced in a statement this week. NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has completed all certifications and is currently undergoing final preparations for an April 16 launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Initially slated for a two-year mission, TESS will ascend to an elliptical 13.7-day orbit around the Earth. It’s a unique and extreme orbit that’s never been used before, varying as close as 67,000 miles and as far away as 232,000 miles from its home planet. According to Space.com, the stable orbit will allow TESS to stay in space for decades without any need for course corrections.

Outfitted with four wide-angle cameras, TESS will be able to observe 85 percent of the surrounding sky as it looks for exoplanets. The instruments on the spacecraft will map 26 different “sectors” of the sky over a two-year period.

Specifically, TESS will be looking for a phenomenon called a “transit,” which is when a planet passes in front of its star. The resulting decrease in brightness can be observed and measured with spectroscopy, giving astronomers a better idea of the size and composition of the planet.

NASA

“TESS is opening a door for a whole new kind of study,” said Stephen Rinehart at Goddard Space Flight Center. “We’re going to be able study individual planets and start talking about the differences between planets. The targets TESS finds are going to be fantastic subjects for research for decades to come.”

TESS is replacing the aging Kepler telescope, which is running on fumes and will soon be unable to maneuver. Unlike TESS, Kepler is in a solar orbit and can only make observations in one direction. “TESS will cast a wider net than ever before for enigmatic worlds whose properties can be probed by NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope and other missions,” said Paul Hertz of NASA.

Kepler used the same methods to discover more than 2,600 exoplanets, but it was always observing the same area of space and most of the planets were more than a thousand light-years away. TESS will set its sights on more nearby stars that are within 300 light-years of Earth.

The discoveries made by TESS may invite further study with the upcoming $8.8 billion James Webb Telescope planned for launch in 2020. “With those larger telescopes, we’ll be able to look for telltale signs in the atmospheres of those planets that might tell us what the planets are made of, and perhaps even whether they have the kinds of gases in their atmospheres that, on Earth, are an indication of life,” Hertz said at a news conference.

TESS may even moonlight at times to investigate other cosmic phenomenon it encounters besides exoplanets. Researchers will be invited to use the spacecraft as part of a “guest investigator” program, NASA said.

“I don’t think we know everything TESS is going to accomplish,” Rinehart added. “To me, the most exciting part of any mission is the unexpected result, the one that nobody saw coming.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• NASA’s planet-hunting deep space telescope is about to run out of fuel
• Get your Sagan on with 60 awe-inspiring photos of the final frontier
• NASA delays James Webb Space Telescope, pushes launch to 2020
• NASA releases first images of Jupiter’s bizarre geometric storms
• For the first time, scientists discover exoplanets in a galaxy far, far away