Grab the Surface Pro with LTE Advanced for $1,300 if you’re a student or teacher

Following its release for business use, Microsoft’s Surface Pro with LTE Advanced is now on sale to the general public, making the top-notch 2-in-1 more attractive than ever before. Better yet, if you’re a student, teacher, parent, or member of the military, you can grab one now at a sizable discount from the list price.

We enjoyed our time with the latest Surface Pro when it first debuted last year and that verdict holds true today. While it might not sport the absolute latest hardware available from the likes of Intel, a seventh-generation Core i5 CPU is still plenty powerful — especially when paired up with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD space. More powerful versions of the Surface Pro are available, but the LTE Advanced connectivity is limited to that one specification.

Still, it takes advantage of all of the other great Surface Pro features like battery life that will last a full workday and a fantastic 12.3-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 2,736 x 1,824. That’s not a particularly typical resolution, but it does conform to the increasingly popular 3:2 aspect ratio, which gives it a lot more vertical screen space for web browsing.

The big feature of this version of the Surface Pro though is the LTE Advanced connectivity, which makes sure that you get a solid data connection just about anywhere without needing to tether your smartphone first. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 LTE modem, according to Windows Central.

The standard price for the whole package is $1,450 with free shipping and returns, though if you’re a student, parent, teacher or member of the military, you can have that knocked down to $1,305 when ordering directly from Microsoft. You’ll need to prove your eligibility, but that’s a noticeable drop and should make this laptop even more attractive to those particular audiences.

If you don’t need all of that fancy connectivity, but still want to enjoy the versatility and features of the best 2-in-1, we’d still recommend the Surface Pro over most of the competition — just save some money or go for one with higher specifications. If you’re interested to see what the competition has to offer, here’s our guide to the best 2-in-1s out there.

Buy it now

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Apple Stops Signing iOS 11.3 Following iOS 11.3.1 Release

Following the release of iOS 11.3.1 on April 24, Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.3, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 11.3.1 will no longer be able to downgrade to earlier versions of iOS.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.

iOS 11.3.1 is now the only version of iOS 11 that can be installed on iOS devices by the general public, but developers and public beta testers can download iOS 11.4, an update that is currently being beta tested.
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Facebook steps into 3D memories and photos without a specialized camera

Facebook wants your photos to have another dimension. During the F8 conference, Facebook teased 3D photos that will allow users to capture and share a 3D image using only a smartphone. The 3D Photos, slated for a summer arrival, comes alongside a Facebook prototype that uses artificial intelligence to turn those past photos in Memories into 3D.

3D Photos will allow users to share images with a 3D effect without an actual 3D camera. Facebook says the images can be captured using a smartphone. In the News Feed, the images have a more three-dimensional look when scrolling and moving a smartphone from side to side makes slight adjustments to the perspective of the image. Facebook doesn’t clarify exactly how those images will be captured on a smartphone — traditionally, 3D photos and images requires a camera with off-set lenses in order to gather depth data as well as the pixels.

While details on the 3D Photos are slim, Facebook is also expanding the 3D posts type previously launched. The animated 3D objects will soon be turned into augmented reality objects with a feature that takes the graphic from the News Feed to the Facebook Camera in one tap. The tool allows 3D objects from the News Feed to become augmented reality objects in Facebook Camera.

Users can expect to see the new 3D photos and AR integration for 3D objects “soon” — but Facebook is also working on tech that could help turn images that have already been captured into VR. The tech, which is, for now, just an experiment, uses machine learning to create a VR experience from existing images, no specialized camera required.

The VR Memories uses photogrammetry, using A.I. algorithms to build a dimensional recreation using just 2D photos. The tool creates point clouds, or three-dimensional data points used in 3D design and VR, to giver the flat photos dimension. 

Bringing a 2D image into a 3D space isn’t photorealistic, however. In one demo, the tech created a pointillist rendition of a home made up of lots of tiny dots. Using a VR headset, users could look around the space and find thumbnails of the actual snapshots or videos placed against the virtual recreation of the space where those images were captured in real life.

The 3D Photos and the 3D Memories concept were teased during the annual F8 conference alongside announcements for the Oculus Go, new Facebook features, Instagram updates and more. The conference continues through Wednesday, May 2.

Editors’ Recommendations

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New Sirius A mini PC packs a pocket-sized punch and a built-in touch display

Backers of the Indiegogo project featuring what was billed as the “world’s most versatile mini PC,” the Sirius A and Sirius A Pro, are now finally receiving their pre-ordered units. Those who joined the list after January 20, 2018, should receive their units soon. For everyone else not involved with the Indiegogo project, the device will be sold through Dutch electronics store BCC and will likely end up listed on Newegg as well. 

Created by Ockel Computers, the Sirius A miniature PC is an amazing achievement in that it expands on your typical pocket-sized PC to include a built-in 6-inch display with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and multitouch support. The screen is backed by Intel’s four-core Atom x7-Z8750 “Cherry Trail” processor, which was released at the beginning of 2016. Overall, it only weighs 11.8 ounces and measures just 0.3 inches at its thinnest point. 

What separates the vanilla and “pro” versions is their amount of memory and storage. The Sirius A packs 4GB of LPDDR3 system memory and 64GB of storage, while the Sirius A Pro ships with 8GB of system memory and 128GB of storage. Both are sold in three color choices: Venus Gold, Mercury Grey, and Moon Silver. 

Despite the size, Ockel’s miniature PC packs plenty of connectivity options. On the 0.8-inch thick back, you’ll find two USB-A ports (5Gbps), one USB-C port (5Gbps), an HDMI 1.4a port, one DisplayPort 1.2 connector, and a Gigabit ethernet port. On the bottom are four slots covering two one-watt speakers, while a headphone jack resides on the right side of the PC. The left side plays host to a Micro SD card slot and a fingerprint scanner. 

That’s still not all. A 5MP 1080p camera, a microphone array, and an ambient light sensor reside in the display area. It also has wireless connectivity, sporting Bluetooth 4.2 and Wireless AC components. All of this compact hardware goodness is powered by a 3500mAh battery promising up to 3.5 hours of video playback. The miniature PC ships with a 12.5-watt power adapter. 

According to Ockel, there are no fans mounted inside the miniature PC to cool the processor, but the device also can’t rely on your typical passive cooling design. To keep the chip from overheating, Ockel designed the bottom of the device using the pattern of the Canis Major constellation, where the Sirius A star just happens to reside. The bottom serves as a heat sink to dissipate the heat generated by the Intel processor without the need for a noisy fan. 

Ockel bills the Sirius A as a complete desktop in the palm of your hand. It’s based on the 64-bit release of Windows 10 Pro or Home, thus you may be better off using the Sirius A Pro model given it has more storage capacity. You can connect an external display and peripherals to create a workstation, or use the pocket-sized device to stream, transfer, and control your favorite media, services, and smart home devices. 

The Sirius A sells for $699, while the Sirius A Pro sells for $799. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• HP’s first Qualcomm-powered PC, the HP Envy X2, suffers a slight delay
• HP reopens pre-orders for its first ‘always connected’ Windows 10 PC
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• The best HP laptops
• Origin PC’s latest notebook packs Intel’s Core i7-8750H CPU, Nvidia Max-Q GPU

New Sirius A mini PC packs a pocket-sized punch and a built-in touch display

Backers of the Indiegogo project featuring what was billed as the “world’s most versatile mini PC,” the Sirius A and Sirius A Pro, are now finally receiving their pre-ordered units. Those who joined the list after January 20, 2018, should receive their units soon. For everyone else not involved with the Indiegogo project, the device will be sold through Dutch electronics store BCC and will likely end up listed on Newegg as well. 

Created by Ockel Computers, the Sirius A miniature PC is an amazing achievement in that it expands on your typical pocket-sized PC to include a built-in 6-inch display with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and multitouch support. The screen is backed by Intel’s four-core Atom x7-Z8750 “Cherry Trail” processor, which was released at the beginning of 2016. Overall, it only weighs 11.8 ounces and measures just 0.3 inches at its thinnest point. 

What separates the vanilla and “pro” versions is their amount of memory and storage. The Sirius A packs 4GB of LPDDR3 system memory and 64GB of storage, while the Sirius A Pro ships with 8GB of system memory and 128GB of storage. Both are sold in three color choices: Venus Gold, Mercury Grey, and Moon Silver. 

Despite the size, Ockel’s miniature PC packs plenty of connectivity options. On the 0.8-inch thick back, you’ll find two USB-A ports (5Gbps), one USB-C port (5Gbps), an HDMI 1.4a port, one DisplayPort 1.2 connector, and a Gigabit ethernet port. On the bottom are four slots covering two one-watt speakers, while a headphone jack resides on the right side of the PC. The left side plays host to a Micro SD card slot and a fingerprint scanner. 

That’s still not all. A 5MP 1080p camera, a microphone array, and an ambient light sensor reside in the display area. It also has wireless connectivity, sporting Bluetooth 4.2 and Wireless AC components. All of this compact hardware goodness is powered by a 3500mAh battery promising up to 3.5 hours of video playback. The miniature PC ships with a 12.5-watt power adapter. 

According to Ockel, there are no fans mounted inside the miniature PC to cool the processor, but the device also can’t rely on your typical passive cooling design. To keep the chip from overheating, Ockel designed the bottom of the device using the pattern of the Canis Major constellation, where the Sirius A star just happens to reside. The bottom serves as a heat sink to dissipate the heat generated by the Intel processor without the need for a noisy fan. 

Ockel bills the Sirius A as a complete desktop in the palm of your hand. It’s based on the 64-bit release of Windows 10 Pro or Home, thus you may be better off using the Sirius A Pro model given it has more storage capacity. You can connect an external display and peripherals to create a workstation, or use the pocket-sized device to stream, transfer, and control your favorite media, services, and smart home devices. 

The Sirius A sells for $699, while the Sirius A Pro sells for $799. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• HP’s first Qualcomm-powered PC, the HP Envy X2, suffers a slight delay
• HP reopens pre-orders for its first ‘always connected’ Windows 10 PC
• Acer’s stylish new all-in-one PC packs a built-in Qi wireless charging station
• The best HP laptops
• Origin PC’s latest notebook packs Intel’s Core i7-8750H CPU, Nvidia Max-Q GPU

Experimental contact lenses could have you shooting lasers from your eyes

Who would have thought that the future of biometric security systems would involve cows shooting lasers out of their eyes? That does, however, describe work being carried out by researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They’ve developed ultrathin, bendable laser stickers which can be adhered to an eyeball, via contact lens — as shown in a recent demo using a cow’s eye. Because the laser lenses can be made to emit a well-defined combination of several wavelength of laser light, they could potentially be useful for authentication technology.

“A number of years ago, I published work on turning individual living cells into tiny, microscopic lasers,” Malte Gather, a physics professor who worked on the project, told Digital Trends. “The initial idea back then was to investigate if biological systems are capable of producing laser light since this is not observed in nature. One of the reporters picking up on the story joked that the next thing this would develop into would be superheroes shooting deadly laser beams out of their eyes, just like in popular comic books. When we realized that we may have a way to make laser stickers, I remembered this comment and we decided to run some tests sticking our lasers onto contact lenses and onto cow’s eyes.”

The ultrathin lasers are made up of only two layers of two different materials, with a total thickness of about 1/5000th of a millimeter. The laser is made from an organic semiconducting polymer, much like the films which activate the pixels in a smartphone display. This polymer fluoresces when it is exposed to light, which in turn powers the laser. In tests involving the cows’ eyes, the contact lenses were able to emit a green laser beam onto a screen positioned 50 centimeters away.

As Gather notes, eyes and lasers are not usually BFFs, but these lasers are so low-powered that they can be safely operated while they are in direct contact with the eye. “In practice, this would again be a convenient way for access control and authentication — one would have a device that performs a biometric iris scan, and in parallel reads out the wavelengths of light emitted by a laser worn by the same individual,” he continued.

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

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Want to learn to play bass guitar? Fret Zealot teaches rhythm section wannabes

Remember how the Guitar Hero game made us all feel like we were one wrecked hotel room and a pair of uncomfortably tight leather pants away from being rock gods? Fret Zealot uses a similar idea (the Guitar Hero bit, not the hotel room-trashing and tight pants) to help you master the guitar for real.

It’s a paper-thin LED aftermarket accessory for guitars that fits just above the frets and provides you with glowing, color-coded guides to help you master any song that comes your way. Digital Trends tried and liked the original Fret Zealot when it launched in 2017, but now the team is back with a new variation that’s bound to further expand the device’s appeal. And for anyone who has ever tried and failed to learn the guitar — and now the bass — that can only be a good thing.

“We launched the regular guitar version last year, and are excited to be releasing the bass guitar version this year,” Shaun Masavage, CEO of Fret Zealot manufacturer Edge Tech Labs, told Digital Trends. “The biggest challenge for bass guitar was moving every single LED individually and scaling the product such that we were confident it would fit every full size bass scale length and neck width.”

With those problems taken care of, this looks like it will be ideal for anyone looking to to learn bass. Masavage said there are four main potential customers. These include the first-time player looking for an easy way to learn; tab rockers who only want to play their favorite songs; improv players who want to be able to jam and solo; and music theorists who hope to learn more about the fundamentals of playing.

As ever, would-be buyers should be aware of the risks of backing crowdfunding campaigns, although the fact that Fret Zealot has already shipped a product successfully does ease some of those fears. If you would like to get involved, you can pledge money on the team’s Kickstarter page. A Fret Zealot for Bass device will set you back $149, which promises to be a whole $100 off the eventual retail price. Shipping is set to take place in August 2018.

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LG G7 ThinQ vs. Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus: Clash for the heavyweight title

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The dust has cleared — LG’s new phone is finally here, and it’s called the LG G7 ThinQ. But it’s not the only contender vying for your money in the mobile marketplace. Samsung’s mighty Galaxy S9 Plus got here first, and it’s revving up to take on the G7 ThinQ in a battle for the ages.

Which of these two titans will be left standing after this clash? We took a look to find out.

Specs

LG G7 ThinQ
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Size
153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm (6.03 x 2.83 x 0.31 inches)
158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm (6.22 x 2.91 x 0.33 inches)

Weight
162 grams (5.71 ounces)
189 grams (6.67 ounces)

Screen size
6.1-inch IPS LCD
6.2-inch AMOLED display

Screen resolution
3120 x 1440 pixels (564 pixels per inch)
2960 x 1440 pixels (529 pixels per inch)

Operating system
Android 8.0 Oreo
Android 8.0 Oreo

Storage space
64GB, 128GB

64GB, 128GB, 256GB

MicroSD card slot
Yes, up to 2TB
Yes, up to 256GB

Tap-to-pay services
Google Pay, LG Pay (in South Korea only)
Google Pay, Samsung Pay

Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

RAM
4GB, 6GB 
6GB

Camera
Dual 16MP (with OIS) and 16MP wide-angle rear, 8MP front
Dual 12MP (with OIS) and 12MP (with OIS) rear, variable aperture, 8MP front

Video
 Up to 4K at 30 frames per second
2,160p at 60 frames per second, 1,080p at 240 fps, 720p at 960 fps

Bluetooth version
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0

Ports
3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C
3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C

Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes

Water resistance
IP68
IP68

Battery
3,000mAh

QuickCharge 3.0 (4.0 with adapter not included)

Qi wireless charging

3,500mAh

QuickCharge 2.0

Qi wireless charging

App marketplace
Google Play Store
Google Play Store

Network support
T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint
T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint

Colors
Aurora Black, Platinum Gray, Raspberry Rose, and Moroccan Blue
Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple

Price
TBA
$840

Buy from
TBA

Samsung, Amazon

Review score
Hands-on review
4.5 out of 5 stars

Performance, battery life, and charging

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

It’s a dead heat in performance, at least on paper. Both of these giant phones are equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, and have similar amounts of RAM. While we haven’t had chance to put them head-to-head yet, we anticipate that we’ll see similar performance from both.

The LG G7 ThinQ is equipped with a respectable 3,000mAh battery, but it’s dwarfed by the 3,500mAh battery on the S9 Plus. That said, we saw fairly average battery life during our S9 Plus review, so the jury will definitely be out as to whether LG’s battery optimizations for the display can put in the work needed to trump the S9 Plus’s sheer battery size.

The G7 ThinQ is likely to be the phone that’s on the charger for less time, with QuickCharge 3.0 doing the business over the QC 2.0 on the S9 Plus. The G7 ThinQ also has support for QC 4.0, but you’ll need to buy a special adapter. You’ll also be able to pop both of these on a Qi wireless charging pad too.

This is a tough category to call, at least until we’ve had chance to test out the LG G7 ThinQ’s capabilities properly. We’re going to leave proper judgement on this until we’ve had a chance to play with both side by side.

Winner: Tie

Design and durability

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

You’ll find 2018-worthy looks on both of these phones. You’re likely familiar with the design of the S9 Plus, since it’s essentially identical to the S8 range before it. That’s not a slur — it’s still a gorgeous phone, and we really like the curved edges. The LG G7 ThinQ looks similarly good, but some users are likely to hold the inclusion of an iPhone X-style notch against it. We’re warming to the notch, but it’s likely that some will hold it against the G7 ThinQ. In all fairness, there’s an option to add black bars around the notch to mask it.

Durability-wise, you’re looking at Gorilla Glass 5 on both phones — get a protective case to keep these safe just in case. They’re gorgeous, but both phones could be prone to physical breakages. It’s a better story in water-resistance though, as both the G7 ThinQ and the S9 Plus come with IP68 water-resistance.

This category is tough to judge, since beauty is often in the eye of the beholder and both are neck-and-neck in durability. For us, the Galaxy S9 Plus edges it with its stunning good looks, and takes it on the strength of its design.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Display

Galaxy S9 Plus

The LG G7 ThinQ is packing a 6.1-inch display running a huge 3120 x 1440 resolution — higher than the 2960 x 1440 resolution on the 6.2-inch S9 Plus — thanks to LG’s super-long 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The LG phone also has a sharper display than the Samsung phone, rocking a high pixels-per-inch measurement of 564 over the S9 Plus’ 529ppi.

The real difference here comes in screen tech. While the G7 ThinQ’s IPS LCD screen comes with one of the brightest screens ever made (capable of 1,000 nits for three minutes), the display just can’t match the sheer scope of vivid colors and deep blacks available on an AMOLED display, like the one on the S9 Plus. The S9 Plus can also get incredibly bright as well. LG puts up a good fight with a stunningly sharp screen and HDR 10-bit support — but we’ll probably have to wait until the LG V40 until we see an LG display that matches the S9 Plus.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Camera

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Hardware-wise, the rear camera is a pair of 16MP lenses, comprising an f/1.6 aperture main lens and an f/1.9 aperture secondary wide-angle lens. The former features optical image stabilization, and the wide-angle lens can take photos with a 107-degree angle and no distortion (according to LG). But the G7 ThinQ has some artificial intelligence injected into its camera.

Take a picture in low-light and LG’s Super Bright Camera mode kicks in, which makes darker areas brighter by enlarging the image’s pixels — this drops the picture’s resolution of course, but it really helps with low light. We used this mode in the LG V30S, and LG claims that the G7 ThinQ’s can make it two-times brighter. The G7 ThinQ also comes with A.I. Cam — point the camera at an object, and the A.I. will attempt to identify it  (sunrise, food, plant, etc) and suggest a tweaks to improve it. It’s something we’ve seen on the Huawei P20 Pro, though it usually ends up cranking the resolution.

There’s also a Portrait Mode now available in the G7 ThinQ, and while it works pretty well, we noticed some over-application of background blur to foreground objects. It does seem to work well with the selfie camera, though.

We’ve done many, many tests with the Galaxy S9 Plus’s camera, and its reputation as a solid shooter is well-known. The mechanically variable aperture is impressive, but we’re anxious to see how it holds up against some of LG’s software tricks. We can’t judge this yet — there’s still too much to be determined.

Winner: Tie

Software and updates

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Both the G7 ThinQ and the S9 Plus come with Android 8.0 Oreo, each with its own manufacturer skin laid over the top. Upgrades to the upcoming Android P could be more of an issue, with neither company having stellar records when it comes to getting Android’s latest builds to its customers. While Project Treble could change that, Samsung has a slightly stronger record in getting updates out. Last year’s LG G6 only just received an Oreo update, while the 2-year-old Galaxy S7 range already got the update.

LG did open a new software update center, so we’re crossing our fingers that it can deliver updates faster.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Special features

It’s all abut A.I. at the moment, and these phones are no different. Samsung’s Bixby is something of a swing-and-a-miss, with most users simply opting not to use it, or its dedicated button. The G7 ThinQ will also sport a dedicated A.I. button, but since this is tied to Google Assistant, it may have more success. LG has gone further with the A.I. too, with the A.I. Cam from the LG V30S ThinQ, and A.I. that learns your behavior and aims to deliver you apps at the right time of your day.

In other areas, Samsung’s Dex capabilities are useful, but it requires a bunch of expensive accessories and a dedicated setup. While LG doesn’t have a direct equivalent, the G7 ThinQ does pair up easily with LG’s ThinQ appliances, and you can control these appliances straight from the phone’s notification drawer.

What tips the win to the G7 ThinQ is its Boombox Speaker. LG only has a mono, bottom-firing speaker, but the company removed the module covering the speaker, and turned the whole phone into a resonance chamber. The audio feels like it’s bursting throughout the phone, it gets incredibly loud — louder than the S9’s stereo speakers — and it sounds great.

Winner: LG G7 ThinQ

Price

The Galaxy S9 Plus costs $840, which puts it in a heady cost bracket. We expect the G7 ThinQ to cost a little less, which may sway your decision.

Overall winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

The Galaxy S9 Plus may have won this battle, but the real result comes down to which wins the war for your heart. The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is simply one of the best large-screen smartphones in the world right now, and it’s hard for the LG G7 ThinQ to compete with it in that space. The G7 ThinQ, however, is cheaper, just as powerful, and has that inimitable LG charm.

While the Galaxy S9 Plus is the better overall phone for us, we’re equally sure you’ll be happy with either of these two phones.

Cambridge Analytica closes as former executives create another data company

After finding itself in the middle of Facebook’s privacy scandal, Cambridge Analytica announced it will shut down. Cambridge Analytica’s affiliate, U.K.-based SCL Elections announced that it, too, will cease operations and that both companies will begin the insolvency process.

“Over the past several months, Cambridge Analytica has been the subject of numerous unfounded accusations and, despite the company’s efforts to correct the record, has been vilified for activities that are not only legal, but also widely accepted as a standard component of online advertising in both the political and commercial arenas,” the company said in a  statement announcing the closure of its offices. As a result of media coverage surrounding its data collection practices, the company said it lost virtually all of its customers and suppliers.

Cambridge Analytica had $15 million in business for its work in the 2016 election, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, it was not able to attract new business from a single federal political client since and has lost several clients in recent months.

The company was responsible for working on the digital strategy for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and it gained infamy after reports surfaced that it had collected data on more than 87 million Facebook users. News of the data breach resulted in Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressing the U.S. Congress on issues of user privacy, and the U.K. parliament is also requesting testimony.

Coincidentally, news of Cambridge Analytica’s closure was announced on the second day of Facebook’s F8 developer conference, which is currently taking place in Silicon Valley. The company had shut down offices in London, New York City, and Washington, D.C., according to The Wall Street Journal report. Another reason for the closure, aside from the loss of clients, is that the company was “facing mounting legal fees in the Facebook investigation,” the Journal said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

As a result of the scandal, Facebook has changed its data sharing policies and limited sharing user data with third-party developers, a move that may have negatively impacted Cambridge Analytica’s business model.

Although Cambridge Analytica became a household name after its connection to Facebook was revealed, the company’s reputation was further damaged after reports that CEO — who has since resigned — Alexander Nix had discussed using bribes and sex as strategies to entrap political opponents.

Although Cambridge Analytica may be going away, its practices and business model may still live on. According to public filings in Britain, Nix and SCL chairman Julian Whitman are listed as directors in new data analytic firm Emerdata. “It isn’t clear what Emerdata does, though the company is listed under “data processing, hosting, and related activities.” It shares an address in Canary Wharf with Cambridge Analytica’s parent, SCL Group,” Business Insider reported.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Localblox data breach is the latest nightmare for Facebook, LinkedIn
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21-year-old project manager heads Google’s new social gaming startup

Google is looking to expand further into video game development with the launch of a new internal startup company dubbed “Arcade.” Founded and co-owned by 21-year-old Google project manager Michael Sayman, the company’s efforts will be focused on social gaming for mobile devices.

Arcade is part of the startup-focused Area 120 division within Google, and its first game is schedule to arrive this summer with “some elements of a trivia game,” according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg was told by a Google spokesperson that Arcade is still in its infancy, and with a summer release window for its first title, it points to something relatively small.

Google’s experience with game development is extremely limited, with the company’s chief game designer resigning from his position after growing frustrated with his superiors’ disinterest in actually creating a video game. Pokémon Go studio Niantic Labs originally under Google’s umbrella, as well, releasing the location based game Ingress before becoming independent and using the technology to produce its smash-hit AR game, Pokémon Go. Niantic is currently working on a similar game based on the Harry Potter franchise, as well.

With Sayman leading Arcade, however, Google has a capable game creator in charge. While still in high school, Sayman released the photo-based game 4 Snaps, which tasked players with guessing a word based on pictures their friends sent them. The game ended up landing him an internship at Facebook, where he worked before jumping ship and heading to Google.

Google would be wise to avoid the mistakes made by Amazon in game development. The latter company acquired the studio Double Helix, hired a wealth of creative talent from across the industry, and began developing the multiplayer brawling game Breakaway, but the project was canceled after it received a mixed reception in early testing. Two games are still in development at Amazon Game Studios — the third-person multiplayer shooter Crucible and the open-world MMO New World, but big-name designers like Kim Swift and Clint Hocking have since left Amazon and gone back to more established development teams.

It remains to be seen if Arcade will share this fate, but setting its sights on a small-scale project to begin with is likely a smart decision.

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