Get ready for spring with this one-day sale on Greenworks power tools

Time for some yard work.

Amazon’s Gold Box deals of the day feature a variety of Greenworks power tools just in time for the snows to melt and lawns to need mowing. All of these tools are down to either their lowest prices ever or one of the lowest we’ve seen.

Remember with these power tools, you can use one battery to power all of them. Some sets come with a battery and charger like the $236.25 Greenworks 20-inch cordless lawn mower.

If you choose one of the products without a battery, like the $39.21 13-inch cordless string trimmer, you can buy a battery by itself. It’s on sale for $115.66 from a street price of $154.

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From the Editor’s desk: Motorola is a big deal in Brazil, and it’s not a fluke

Motorola’s position in Latin America is dramatically different from the U.S. and Europe.

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a few days in São Paulo, Brazil this week to attend a Motorola launch event for the Moto G6 and Moto E5. Not only is it a lovely city filled with great people and tasty food, but being there was the best way to understand just how differently Motorola is perceived and embraced in Latin America compared to the U.S. and Western Europe.

The simplest way to put it is that Motorola is a massive player in Latin America, and being there myself immediately refreshed my opinion of the company’s standing in the smartphone world. It started the minute I landed at Guarulhos airport in São Paulo — Motorola phones were everywhere. Travelers were coming and going, glued to their Moto the same way people in the U.S. are inseparable from their iPhone. My driver from the airport navigated to the hotel using Waze on his Moto G5. Walking down the street and sitting at restaurants, I paid attention to the phones in use (as I do everywhere else I travel) — Motorolas stood out as a significant portion, mostly Moto Gs.

Focusing on the U.S. and Europe, it’s easy to think of Motorola as a second-tier player, making good unlocked phones but not really holding a large stake of the market — recent numbers show it under 5% in the U.S. But when you look at the numbers for Latin America, it’s a dramatically different story: Motorola is a huge player. It has over 20% market share in Brazil, which is good for second place, though Samsung is in a solid first place at roughly 40%. And Motorola’s on the uptick even in Brazil — it was under 15% market share just a couple years ago.

Motorola has secured a #2 position in several countries — you can’t ignore that success.

Motorola could be happy enough with its strong positioning in Brazil considering the huge size of the country (over 200 million people, by the way), but its strengths are more widespread than that. Motorola has a second-place position in several Latin American countries, even in the “premium” segment of $400-600 where the Moto Z line sits. It saw growth of 20 to 100% from 2016-17 in countries like Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina. Hardly a bit part player when you see it that way.

We also have to remember how different the overall smartphone market is in Latin America. Recent figures from Brazil list Android at 93% of the market, with a much lower average selling price than the U.S. Everywhere I went in São Paulo, a massive metropolitan city, I saw smartphones — but that isn’t representative of the whole country, where smartphone penetration is still under 50%. These are perfect market conditions for Motorola to grow: it sells great phones at affordable prices, and has a reputation for being a quality brand in these markets.

It’s going to take a lot of work to see that sort of growth and market position in the rest of the world, but Motorola has shown it can do it on a pretty considerable scale. And it just goes to show that the world’s a whole lot bigger than the few countries we focus on the most every week.

So with all of those numbers out of the way, a few other thoughts on the week:

• The Moto G6 series marks a significant move up-market with a modern design and flair you don’t always see at this price. They’re just solid, capable phones without the usual shortfalls and caveats of an inexpensive device. This is Motorola’s wheelhouse.
• On the lower end, the Moto E5 series may not be as exciting but they’re just as important. These are the phones that are an entry point to Moto for lots of people. The E5 and E5 Plus look like the G6 (and X4), but at a fraction of the price — and even though they compromise in more areas, they still have big screens, huge batteries and above-average performance.
• Motorola’s CEO says that the company wants to focus on bringing fewer models out around the world … but this G6 and E5 release still has plenty of confusion and ridiculous differentiations in specs between SKUs. Gotta tighten that up.
• Not only was this trip my first time in Brazil, it was my first time in South America. It was a fantastic experience, and I’d recommend anyone take a trip.
• São Paulo is an absolutely massive city (12 million population), with a diverse set of people and neighborhoods. It’s a lot to take in, and isn’t necessarily tourist-friendly like the coastal cities, but if you’re feeling adventurous you should consider it.
• Google I/O is just over two weeks away. Can’t wait to see what Google has in store for us this year.
• Speaking of, this whole “Chat” thing in Android Messages is a bit of a chore to try and explain — let’s just hope Google can get it rolled out and working to let people learn by experiencing it first-hand.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

-Andrew

Slip an unlocked Essential Phone into your pocket for $350

One of the best prices we’ve seen.

We’ve seen deals on the Essential Phone in the past, but since the launch of the new colors we haven’t seen it drop this low. Right now you can get the phone in Black Moon for just $349.99. It dropped to $350 briefly last week but sold out, so grab it while you can. Halo Gray and Pure White have jumped back up to $500.

It comes with 128GB of internal storage, a dual camera system on the back, and it’s powered by the Snapdragon 835 processor. You can also add the exclusive Essential 360 camera.

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The next ‘Doom’ movie won’t play in theaters

Do you remember the original Doom movie from 2005? You’d be forgiven if you didn’t — while it had recognizable stars (most notably Dwayne Johnson), it was a critical and commercial flop that only really found life after it left the big screen. However, that isn’t stopping Hollywood from giving it another shot. After years of rumors, NBCUniversal has confirmed to Variety that a new Doom movie is in the works, no doubt meant to capitalize on the game series’ revival. Actress Nina Bergman has already revealed that she’ll play a role in the movie, which reportedly has a “super cool director.”

There are no plot details at this point, although you can presume it will involve the forces of Hell, Mars and a lot of firepower.

Just don’t expect to see this movie in a theater. Universal 1440 Entertainment, which handles non-theatrical titles, is responsible for producing the flick — that means it’s headed straight to digital, disc and cable. While it’s not certain the movie will land on subscription streaming services, it’s a distinct possibility given how Netflix has been snapping up movies that would have struggled at the box office.

In that light, there’s very little risk for Universal. However good the new Doom may be, it won’t live or die based on a short theatrical run. It can get wide distribution (and potentially significant viewership) for relatively little effort. That option simply wouldn’t have been available 13 years ago.

Wow I’m doing the next “Doom” movie w Universal Pictures! I just signed all the paperwork💃🏼I get to go back to Bulgaria again and work with some of my favorite people💕This movie w a super cool Director AND my new record coming out, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world🍀 pic.twitter.com/q8t4iI0bgO

— Nina Bergman (@ninabergman) April 17, 2018

Via: Variety

Source: Nina Bergman (Twitter)

Battle royale hybrid ‘Darwin Project’ is now free to play

It’s tough to compete in the battle royale world, especially with Fortnite in the room. How do you convince players to try your game if they aren’t immediately enraptured? Scavengers Studio knows how: give it away. The company has turned E3 darling The Darwin Project into a free-to-play title, with a new customization progression system coming on April 24th. Scavengers isn’t shy about the reasoning, noting that a lack of players on some servers led to longer queues and trouble finding matches for the survival-themed brawler.

If you already bought the Early Access title, you’ll get a Founder’s Pack with a slew of cosmetic items. Should you want a refund, you can ask for one in the coming days as long as you’re in line with Steam’s policies. And before you ask: much like Fortnite, nothing you buy in-game will give you an edge over rival players.

There’s no certainty the gratis gameplay will help, but it underscores how cutthroat the battle royale landscape has become. Outside of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, it’s hard for paid games to break through no matter how innovative their concepts may be. This at least gets Darwin Project’s foot in the door, and might keep existing fans from drifting away.

Source: Steam, Scavengers Studio

Apple will shutter its last Watch-exclusive store in May

On May 13th, the last Apple Watch-exclusive store will close its doors. The shop, which is located inside Shinjuku, Tokyo’s posh Isetan department store, is one of the three pop-ups the tech titan built when it launched the wearable back in 2015. Twitter user Shotaro Akiba has shared a photo on Twitter showing the department store’s announcement. Apple shut down the other two pop-ups in London and Paris way back early last year, so the news isn’t exactly surprising. Besides, the one in Shinjuku has been on borrowed time ever since the iPhonemaker opened a full-fledged store right across Isetan earlier this month.

やっぱり伊勢丹のApple Watch Storeは閉店か… pic.twitter.com/moYjXCfYRp

— Shotaro Akiba (@ShotaroAkiba) April 21, 2018

You may want to drop by the pop-up if you’re in Japan to see if they still have good deals on offer. According to 9to5mac, the shop held a fire sale on Isetan’s website just recently, selling its remaining Apple Watch Edition inventory for as little as $700. Those 18-karat gold watches sold for at least $10,000 and as much as $17,000 when they first became available. It also might be your last chance to see an Apple Store that doesn’t quite look like the company’s usual spaces. If you’re not in Japan and would still like a glimpse of the shop, though, check out the video below:

Via: 9to5mac

Source: Shotaro Akiba (Twitter)

Teen who hacked top US officials gets two years in prison

The teenager who founded the hacking group that broke into ex-CIA chief John Brennan’s email has been sentenced to serve two years at a youth detention center. Kane Gamble went by the alias “Cracka” when he and his group “Crackas With Attitude” targeted top US officials, including FBI deputy director Mark Giuliano, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and their families and colleagues, a few years ago. Authorities arrested the UK native in early 2016, and he pleaded guilty to 10 hacking charges in October 2017. In addition to sentencing the now-18-year-old to two years in prison, the judge also ordered his computers to be seized.

CWA’s MO is called “social engineering” — they’d impersonate their victims and call internet and phone providers’ customer support hotlines in order to get confidential info and to reset their targets’ passwords. The group stole 40 attachments from Brennan’s email, some of which were published by Wikileaks. They also broke into Clapper’s and his wife’s emails, home phone and internet connection. While in control of Clapper’s FIOS connection, they said they redirected all calls to his number to the Free the Palestine movement. The group stole and leaked the contact info of 20,000 FBI personnel, as well.

After Gamble and another 15-year-old CWA member were arrested in 2016, the remaining members told Motherboard that they will only stop their activities if the US cuts ties with Israel. Gamble’s lawyer said he never meant traumatize people on an individual basis: “In a naive, immature and childish way,” the lawyer said in court, “he thought he could do something about it, he could make a nuisance of himself by targeting people in America and that would somehow get them to change US policy as a result of what he was doing from his bedroom.” The judge, however, disagreed, calling CWA a “cyber gang” that ran “an extremely nasty campaign of politically-motivated cyber terrorism.”

Via: Motherboard

Source: BBC

Impress your guests (and top off their phones) with this DIY wireless charging table

 The Weekend Workshop is our weekly column where we showcase a badass DIY project that you can complete with minimal skills and expertise. 

Wireless chargers are amazing — they free you from fiddling with a mess of cables every time you want to charge up your phone. Unfortunately, they don’t look particularly attractive on your tabletop. To fix this issue, we’re going to show you how to build an industrial-style end table with wireless charging built directly into the wood — a solution that’s both functional and good-looking.

To make the process a bit easier, we also built the base of this table with 3/4-inch steel plumbing pipe. This gives the finished product a cool industrial aesthetic while minimizing the amount of cutting, gluing, and fastening you’ll need to do. If done right, you don’t even need to cut the wood yourself. You can simply have the crew at your local home center cut everything for you. After that, all you’ll need is a router and a few clamps to bring everything together.

Note: this table will only charge phones compatible with the Qi wireless charging standard. If you’re not sure if your device has this functionality, check here.

Tools & Materials

• Anker Qi wireless charger
• Plunge router
• Wood board, 7″x 24″ (3x)
• Wood board, roughly 5″ x 18″ (2x)
• Wood glue
• Hot glue (or super glue)
• Clamps, at least 2.5 feet long
• 5/8″ wood screws
• Drill/driver
• 3/4″ Steel plumbing pipe, 10-inch length (8x)
• 3/4″ Steel plumbing pipe, 6-inch length (4x)
• 3/4″ Steel plumbing pipe, 2-inch length (4x)
• 3/4″ Steel plumbing pipe, close (4x)
• 3/4″ Cast iron pipe fitting, 45-degree elbow (8x)
• 3/4″ Cast iron pipe fitting, T-junction (4x)
• 3/4″ Cast iron pipe fitting, floor flange (4x)
• 3/4″ Cast iron pipe fitting, union (2x)
• 3/4″ Cast iron pipe fitting, end cap (4x)
• 3/4″ Cast iron pipe fitting, cross (2x)

Instructions

Step 1: Disassemble the wireless charging pad. Your goal is to remove the inductive charging coil that lives inside the plastic housing. If you’re using the Anker charger we used in the video (and linked to in the list above) all you need to do is remove the rubber feet from the underside of the pad and use a small Philips screwdriver to remove the eight screws holding the base to the top shell. Remove these and you should have easy access to the charging coil inside. Make sure to note which side is the top and which is the bottom.

Step 2: Grab your newly-liberated charging coil, attach a power cable to it, and place the entire assembly on the underside of one of your 7-inch boards. Trace the outline with a pencil. You don’t have to trace the entire cord, but do make sure you trace a couple inches of it. You’ll need some wiggle room to attach/remove the power cord, so make sure to take that into account.

Step 3: Use your router to mill out the area you just traced. Before you get started, make sure that you’re using a bit that can make plunge cuts and a router with adjustable depth settings. You want to mill out the area you just traced, but leave somewhere between 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch of wood on the bottom. Also, don’t just plunge down the full depth right away. The best method is to start shallow and gradually make your way down. Once you’ve reached the depth you’re after, stick the charging coil in the hole and test to make sure it works. Qi chargers aren’t designed to work over long distances, so you’ll need to get the wood fairly thin — but not so thin that the tabletop could easily be damaged by, say, setting a coffee mug down too hard. The goal is to make it just thin enough for the charger to work through the wood, and not a hair thinner.

Step 4: Once you’re done milling, bust out your glue and clamps. The next step is to glue all your boards together and complete the topside of your table. Before you get started, make sure you have your boards arranged in a pleasing manner, such that the grain lines up to your liking. Apply a thin coat of glue to the long edges of your middle board (the one with the pocket cut in it) and clamp all three boards together. You’ll also want to clamp them down from the top with a long, flat piece of wood, to ensure that the tabletop you’re making is perfectly flat.

Step 5: Grab your charging coil and some hot glue — it’s time to glue the inductive charging coil into the pocket you cut. We used hot glue for our table because it can be peeled off fairly easily if we ever want to make modifications to the table in the future, but you don’t have a hot glue gun handy, super glue will do the trick. Just remember to double-check that your coil is facing the right direction before you start gluing — it won’t work if it’s upside down!

Step 6: While you’re waiting for the glue to dry, go ahead and piece together your plumbing pipe base. Refer to the diagram below for assembly instructions. During the build, make sure that all pieces are tightened together as much as possible. This will likely require some muscle, but there’s a trick you can use to cheat a bit. Instead of wrenching on the pipes by themselves, you can get extra leverage by partially screwing a longer length of pipe into the piece you’re trying to twist on, and use it to get extra torquing power. A pair of grippy, rubber-palm gloves is also highly recommended.

Make 2 of these, then use your remaining pipe pieces (four 6-inch lengths and two couplings) to connect them at the base. (Note: the T fittings in this diagram aren’t facing the right direction. On your actual table, the open end of each T fitting should face away from you at this perspective)

Step 7: Head back to your tabletop. Once the wood glue has set (it takes about an hour), pull off the clamps and get to sanding. Take off all the rough edges and remove any leftover glue that might’ve squirted out from the cracks during clamping. If you plan on applying finish to the tabletop, now is a good time to do it. We gave our Peruvian walnut boards a couple coats of Tung oil to bring out their color a bit.

Step 8: With your tabletop complete and your plumbing pipe base assembled, the next step is to attach the two with some screws. To do this, first make sure that your flanges are tightened down as much as possible, and that your base is as straight as you can get it. Flip your tabletop upside down and place the pipe base on top of it, flange-side down. Use a pencil to mark the screw holes, then remove the base and drill pilot hoes for each (note: this is only necessary if you’re using a hard wood). Finally, place your pipe base back on top, and fasten it down with some screws.

Step 9: The final major step (which we didn’t include in the video) is to cut, finish, and attach the bottom slats. The correct width for these will vary depending on how tightly you screw the connector pipes together on the bottom, so once you’re done with step 8, take some measurements and cut your bottom boards to the exact size you need. Ours were about 5 by 18 inches, but yours will likely be slightly different.

Step 10: Plug the charger into the nearest wall, plop your phone down onto the sweet spot, and watch as the battery magically fills up!

The Hilton Hotel in Panama features an insane Alienware gaming room

The next time you’re on vacation in Panama City, you may not have any time for sightseeing at Casco Viejo or the Balboa Avenida walkway. This particular Hilton Hotel not only offers free W-Fi, but Room 2425 has been turned into the ultimate gaming getaway, courtesy of Alienware.

PC Gamer expanded on some of the details of the high-end setup, which was originally highlighted with a gallery of drool-worthy images at Xataca. Once you check in, you’ll be greeted with beefy Alienware gaming PCs, high-definition displays, booming surround sound, and even a virtual reality (VR) setup with an Occulus Rift headset.

Echale un vistazo al #Alienware Room ???? ???? en el Hotel @HiltonPanama ¡El primero de su tipo! ???? pic.twitter.com/VPpw87sXya

— Alienware Latinoamérica (@AlienwareLatAm) April 17, 2018

Alienware Latinoamérica shared some of the images of the room on Twitter, which showcases the futuristic sci-fi styling and amenities such as beanbag chairs and Alienware-branded pillows and tissue boxes.

‏As to the hardware itself, you’ll have no problems staying cool in the racing simulator chair with upholstery designed using NASA’s Outcast technology, which protects astronauts from temperature fulgurations. Then you can boot up your favorite shooter on a 4K 65-inch OELD TV using a PC loaded with an Intel Core i7-8700 processor and a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card.

For lighter fare, there’s also an Alienware 15 laptop on the desk powered by a Core i7-7700HQ processor and a GeForce GTX 1070 GPU.

For added ambience, the room features lighting that responds to the game you’re playing using the immersive Alienware AlienFX technology, as well as peripherals too numerous to list.

Hilton has been experimenting with smart room technology for some time, but this new partnership with Alienware is taking things to the next level. Juan Carlos Garcés of Intel told the website Homecrux, “With this unique offer in the market, once again the Hilton Panama Hotel is consolidated as a hotel that focuses its tourism offer on providing unique and memorable experiences to its customers, guests, and visitors.”

The room runs $349 per night and features a fantastic view of Panama City beaches and the Pacific Ocean, but most visitors staying in Room 2425 will probably spend their entire vacation with the curtains drawn. Just be sure the minibar is fully stocked beforehand.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best VR-ready laptops you can buy right now
• The best cheap gaming PCs
• GeForce Now hands-on preview
• The best processors for gaming
• How to build a cheap VR-ready PC

Amazon is selling Star Wars and Marvel DVDs — but only to Prime members

If you want to buy the new Blu-ray of Star Wars: The Last Jedi from Amazon, you’d better be an Amazon Prime member. The online behemoth seems to be flexing its muscles a bit, leveraging the most popular movie of 2017 in an effort to sell more Prime subscriptions.

Slate notes that the discrepancy began a few weeks ago, when the latest Star Wars movie first became available for presale. When the home version of the movie was released on March 27, the Blu-ray disc was listed as “out of stock,” although the streaming version was available through Amazon, and many other online retailers had discs for sale.

Currently, the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD versions are all listed as “Exclusively for Prime Members” at Amazon’s site.

It certainly doesn’t seem to be hurting sales, as The Last Jedi currently occupies the #2 and #5 spots on Amazon’s best-selling list. It is a minor annoyance for people who aren’t Prime members, however, and it extends to other popular franchises as well. Marvel movies are also unavailable unless you’re a Prime member, although the streaming Prime Video versions are available to anyone.

Aside from an effort to boost Prime subscriptions (the “Free Trial” offer is prominently featured for non-members when trying to order the disc), this kerfuffle is likely the latest salvo in the ongoing battle between Amazon and Disney. Several years ago, Amazon halted pre-orders for several Disney DVDs, including Maleficent and Captain America: Winter Soldier.

After scooping up the 21st Century Fox properties in a multi-billion-dollar deal, Disney has already announced plans for its own comprehensive streaming service to compete directly with providers like Amazon Prime. Disney CEO Bob Iger has also said the company will be pulling all Star Wars and Marvel films from Netflix in 2019.

The Last Jedi disc copies and the streaming version are both loaded with extras, but one of the most interesting is a “silent” version that doesn’t include any dialogue or effects — the only audio is John Williams’ iconic score. Of course, there’s a catch. To watch it, you need to sign up for the Movies Anywhere app, the Disney-backed digital movie aggregator.

Amazon recently revealed that it has 100 million Prime subscribers, but the Disney-Fox merger means that the Mighty Mouse will now control more than 40 percent of the theatrical movie market, according to Deadline. Unfortunately, this Cold War won’t be resolved anytime soon, and could well result in fewer choices and higher prices for consumers.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Movies Anywhere expands its reach with the addition of FandangoNow
• ‘The Last Jedi’ is Disney’s first 4K UHD Blu-ray with Dolby Vision and Atmos
• Disney dishes programming details for its upcoming streaming service
• Facebook bans group planning to sabotage ‘Black Panther’ reviews
• Disney’s streaming service recruits Jon Favreau for live-action Star Wars series