The Project Precog concept from Asus looks like the future of laptops

Asus introduced a concept design called Project Precog during the Computex technology show in Taiwan. It seemingly borrows Lenovo’s Yoga Book design to create an artificial intelligence-powered dual-screen 2-in-1 PC on a larger scale. But unlike the Yoga Book, the second screen can be used for more than just a touch-based keyboard and drawing pad. 

Unfortunately, Asus isn’t indulging us with the hardware specifics, given Project Precog is still a prototype design. What we do know is that the 2-in-1 sports a 360-degree hinge enabling four modes: Stand, book, tent, and flat. Since there is no physical keyboard and touchpad, the second screen can provide those inputs, depending on your current needs. 

“Intelligent Touch automatically recognizes the input device you’re using and changes the virtual interface accordingly,” the company says. “It can automatically adjust the keyboard location depending on where you place your fingertips, or automatically switch to stylus mode when a stylus touches the lower screen.” 

That fingertip detection aspect stems from Intel’s Movidius Myriad 2 vision processing unit, an always-on ultra-low power vision processor that accelerates machine vision tasks. In other words, the embedded camera in Project Precog can see where your hands are placed, understand what it is viewing, and tell the operating system where it needs to render the keyboard without consuming loads of battery power. 

According to Asus, if you have a mouse plugged into the device, Project Precog won’t render a touchpad on the lower display. Instead, the virtual keyboard shifts down toward the front for easy typing while the space above the keyboard could be used to display two app windows rendered side by side. If you attach a keyboard, Project Precog will remove the virtual version altogether for a full two-screen experience. Want to play a game? Lay Project Precog flat on a table and use both screens as well. 

“With support for the Windows Cortana and Amazon Alexa voice services, users can get more done with the power of their voice,” Asus says. “The dual-screen design of Project Precog lets users keep their main tasks in full view while virtual assistants process other tasks on the second screen.” 

Given Project Precog sports two displays, battery drainage is definitely a concern. How long will a single charge last? The 2-in-1 will supposedly optimize its battery use depending on the time of day, which likely stems from the Myriad 2 vision processer and how the 2-in-1 learns your daily input schedule. According to Intel, this chip “provides a way to combine advanced vision applications in a low power profile.” 

Again, that is all we know about Project Precog for now. Asus is calling on developers to create A.I.-based applications that take advantage of the dual-screen design. The company doesn’t plan to offer a full-fledged product for the masses until sometime in 2019. 

In addition to Project Precog, Asus introduced new ZenBook and VivoBook-branded notebooks, the Zen AIO 27 desktop, two routers, a mesh networking kit, two desktop displays, and more during the Computex show in Taiwan. 

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• Porsche’s Design Book One sale makes this luxury laptop more affordable
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 is made for Windows PCs with ‘innovative form factors’

Instagram says it’s fixed a bug that was causing the Android app to crash

If it’s still not working, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app.

Instagram is the world’s most popular app for sharing photos and videos of your life, but since yesterday, June 4, there’s been a bug that’s caused the Android app to repeatedly crash. The issue was affecting Android phones of all kinds, but thankfully, the issue’s been fixed.

According to a Tweet that Instagram shared this morning:

Yesterday, there was an issue causing the Instagram app to crash on Android devices. We’re sorry, and things are resolved! If you’re still experiencing problems, try reinstalling or updating your app.

— Instagram (@instagram) June 5, 2018

The app appears to be working fine on my end, but as Instagram notes in the above message, uninstalling and reinstalling the app should completely eliminate any crashes if you’re still experiencing them.

How’s the Instagram app running for you?

Download: Instagram (free)

This 11-course bundle may be your ticket to a six-figure career in Project Management

You’ve been thinking about getting new certifications to move you ahead at work; in fact, it’s been on your to-do list for a long time. Being a Project Manager is the ultimate goal, and you know you’d be perfect for the job with the right certification. With tuition costs that seem to climb with every passing year and limited free time on your hands, how are you supposed to attend classes and afford any kind of certification?

Learn how to use the essential tools of a successful project manager! Learn more

Project Management Professionals are sought after in nearly every field, and even if you’re convinced that you can’t afford the time or money to get your certificate, can you afford not to?

That’s where the Complete Project Management Bundle can help. This 11-course program from SkillSuccess.com will guide you through everything you need to know and the tools that will help you become successful in your new role

There is nearly 30 hours of content spread across 11 courses which cover the following topics:

• Setting Up A Real-World Project In JIRA
• Understanding JIRA For Users, Managers & Admins
• Agile Project Management: Scrum Step By Step w/ Examples
• PMP Project Management
• Scrum Certification Prep Training & Agile Scrum Training

Pursue a High-Demand Profession while learning at your own pace! Learn more

By the end of these courses, you will have all the knowledge you need to prepare to use JIRA software and ace the Scrum certification exam. If you were to buy these courses individually it would cost you over $2000, but for a limited time you can get this entire bundle for just $29.

Yep, you read that right. You’ll save 98% off the regular price on these courses that may help you jumpstart a new career!

Drive worry free with the $55 Anker Roav C1 dash cam

For emergencies… or viral videos.

The Anker Roav C1 dash cam is down to $54.99 on Amazon. Usually these dash cams don’t get direct price drops like this, and outside of a brief drop in April, this is the best price we’ve seen since January. It normally sells for $73, but this price drop is probably to help it compete with the upgraded C1 Pro, which has been as low as $80 recently.

The C1 records in 1080p and has a wide-angle lens which can capture four lanes of traffic at a time. It has a gravity sensor inside which will activate the camera in the event of a collision, even if you’re not in the car at the time. It also features extreme temperature resistance, allowing the camera to continue operation in both hot and cold conditions.

With the Roav app, you can download, watch and manage all of the recordings that are stored on the camera. It’s Wi-Fi enabled so you won’t need to hook anything up to it or swap out a memory card. Simply connect and access.

This cam requires a minimum of a Class 10 32GB micro SD card. If you get something like this $23 64GB Class 10 SanDisk Ultra, be sure to format it inside the camera.

See on Amazon

What’s the most important feature you look for in a new phone?

Everyone wants something, so what gets your wallet open?

Ah, that new phone smell. Buying a new phone can be a sort of ritual. Some loyalists will immediately order what’s new from a company they already have faith in, some will ponder endlessly and obsess over every detail, and others are content to wait and see before the plastic card comes out. But one thing we all have in common is that we’re usually looking for just a few specific things from that tiny computer we carry around in our pockets.

Luckily, there are plenty of different specifics we want and plenty of different companies to offer them. Maybe you want the comfort of software support directly from the company who writes it or you want a phone with the best screen and buy from the company who makes the best screens. There are countless different unique features available from any and every company who makes smartphones in 2018.

More: The Best Android Phones

My phone is my way of talking to family and friends. I don’t care about playing games or having a million dollar camera or anything else. I keep a couple of phones going here so I can see how some companies do stuff, but I’m using the BlackBerry KEYone as my phone. I’ll probably move to the KEY2 when it comes out because it’s treated me well. I like the familiarity and the keyboard, and the rest of the phone and its features are more than good enough for me. You might want a Galaxy S9 or a Google Pixel or whatever. That’s cool.

Everyone is different and BlackBerry probably won’t sell 60 gazillion KEYtwo phones. It’s easy to see why — other phones have better cameras, or better screens, or more features in the software, and so on and so on. That’s really cool if you think about it because everyone can find something that works for them and it keeps companies who make phones on their toes to make each model better than the last one was. There’s almost certainly a phone that works for you, and that’s pretty important since they aren’t just a phone any longer; they are a lifeline to the outside world.

What phone are you using, and why did you buy it? What do you want to see in your next phone? Which one feature would get you to buy a phone right away? It’s always fun to read the answers to questions like these, so jump into the comments and let ‘er rip — tell us who and why!

What happens when your smart Android TV goes dumb?

If a manufacturer abandons one of the biggest purchases in a home, is there anything that can be done?

Chinese manufacturer LeEco did exactly what a lot of us expected to do. It blew into the U.S. with all the bling and bluster you’d expect from a Chinese upstart that was looking to basically be the next Amazon, only without the fuss of time and build-up.

And then it flamed out and closed up shop.

But that doesn’t mean it didn’t actually sell some products in the U.S. Maybe not a lot, but enough to make the aftermath something we have to think about. The low-cost phones are one thing. But what about a thousand-dollar television that’s not exactly something you’d just toss in the trash? What happens when an Android TV-powered television is abandoned by the company that birthed it, and it starts to become unusable due to bit rot?

You’ve got a couple options. You could hack at it, which is fun. But frankly it’s also not something I want to put any time into — this thing basically is DOA.

Or, you could take that smart TV and make it dumb. And that’s exactly what I did.

Read: What to do when your smart TV goes dumb at Cordcutters.com

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The Oculus Go games you should start with

Time to sink your teeth into your new VR headset

Whether you’re a veteran or entirely, new to VR the question of, “What do I want to play first?” is always the toughest when it comes to a new headset. Now that you’ve got your Oculus Go I’m sure you want to test out all the cool things and get the feel for just how awesome this device actually is. Well, now there’s no stress involved in that situation as I’ve pulled some of my personal favorites into the list below!

Strap that headset on, it’s time to play some amazing games.

Pet Lab

This is an adorable gem that is a series of minigames that make up one bigger game. You’re a wizard who runs a pet shop, caring for eggs and training monsters to meet your clients’ orders. It’s super cute and super fun without requiring a whole lot of movement. (I play this game sitting down on my couch.) Not only are there so many cool ways to change the looks of your little monsters, but you can even train them. The more you train the better they hold up in competitions against other players.

There is a pay-to-play option that gives you quite a head start if you choose to spend the 7 dollars to get the bonus. Otherwise this game is free on the Oculus Store for your enjoyment!

See on Oculus Store

Augmented Empire

This is more of a strategy RPG, but still doesn’t require a lot of movement to play. (Another one I play from my couch.) This heart-wrenching game draws you into a story of a broken family in a dystopian future. The city they live in is falling to shambles due to a cruel dictator that just happens to be the main characters step-mother. You play a robot in charge of being the “eyes in the sky” to look out for your human friends below, telling them where to go and who to shoot to ensure their safety and the completion of the mission. Augmented Empire can be found on the Oculus Store for $9.99 and you will absolutely lose all sense of time while you’re playing it. I seriously didn’t wanna put it down once I started.

My only advice is to make sure you touch all the things you can in the game, don’t worry about timing unless there’s an active timer somewhere. There are too many cool things you shouldn’t miss.

See on Oculus Store

Doors of Silence – the prologue

If you are a horror fan this is REQUIRED to go on her device, trust me. This game is more active so you’ll actually have to be standing to interact as you choose which direction you walk by physically turning your head. In regards to mechanics, the buttons are a little weird but it doesn’t make the game unplayable. I found this out the hard way, but the controls are very sensitive. Most Oculus Go games you have to actually click the touchpad to move, but for this one it will automatically start moving you as soon as you touch the touchpad and pressing down will have you “run” (even though your screen doesn’t appear to move faster, your character breathes heaver like he’s running?)

This game is full of jump scares and psychological horror. I LOVED it. The designers found just the right way to scare you with or without having something jump right into your face. It’s tough to get as good of an experience in a horror game as I did playing Doors of Silence, and that’s saying a lot because I write plots for a zombie horror LARP. You can find Doors of Silence on the Oculus Store for just $4.99 and it’s worth every penny.

See on Oculus Store

Ultrawings

I originally played Ultrawings on the PlayStation VR and was quite skeptical of the amount of fun I would have when I got reduced to just one hand by playing it on the Oculus Go. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t actually take from the experience at all. Yeah, I felt like less of a badass not being able to pull the clutch while steering, but those are little things that don’t even effect overall gameplay. All in all, this is a super fun game to give you the feel of what flying is really like. It’s super immersive and fun as heck. If you starts feeling nauseous playing it, just put a fan in the room to blow on you during gameplay to trick your body into thinking it’s moving the same way your eyes are seeing.

Ultrawings in on the Oculus Store for $9.99 so go get it for yourself and see all the sites and challenges you have to face within.

See on Oculus Store

Bait: Free

From first glance, this didn’t look like a game I’d want to download or even enjoy (I’m not a fishing person AT ALL) but this game was actually super cute and pretty fun! You’re a fisherman on the lakes trying to collect more fish for the museum you work for. The goal is to gather enough money to keep upgrading your resources and get better fish. But, there’s a mysterious fish that dates back to prehistoric times the museum has its heart set on. You can get Bait for free on the Oculus Store and jump right into the game. The mechanics are easy to get the hang of and the story is even easier to follow. Have a blast!

See on Oculus Store

Let this $192 robot vacuum and mop your floors while you enjoy the summer sun

Using coupon code GJHNN6BG during checkout will drop the price of the ILIFE V8s Robot Vacuum from $220.99 down to $192.96. It normally sells for around $260, and has even sold for as much as $400 for a brief period of time, but has never had a direct price drop anywhere near this price. Many RoboVac models only vacuum, but that’s where this one stands out. In addition to having a large canister for collecting dirt and debris, the V8s can also mop your floors for you.

It has its own water tank to provide a wet scrub for hard floors, and the advance i-dropping technology makes it very efficient. The vacuum can intelligently stop releasing water when it detects dirt or debris that needs to be scrubbed to prevent damaging your floors. There are 6 cleaning modes, including auto, path, max, edge, mopping, and spot.

See at Amazon

Best Places To Buy A Refurbished Phone in 2018

Phones are expensive, but they don’t have to be that expensive.

Everyone wants a high-end phone, but the problem is bringing yourself to actually pay the high prices required for one. Some people are happy to pay retail, but others are looking for a deal — and one of the ways to find discounts is to look for refurbished phones.

But as you’d expect, buying a refurbished phone isn’t as simple as walking into a store and asking for one — it takes a bit more research and understanding. To help you navigate it, we have all of the information you need right here to make a good choice in buying a refurbished phone.

What does ‘refurbished’ mean?

Even though we see “refurbished” thrown around a lot, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a standardized term. You may often see it used interchangeably with “recertified,” “reconditioned” or just “open box” or “pre-owned” as well. No matter the exact word, in general it means it’s a product that was manufactured to sell as new, but for whatever reason was returned to the manufacturer — either by a store, reseller or customer — and is now ready to be sold again. They’re sold at a discount, and that’s why people are interested in them.

The terminology changes, but the idea is the same.

Refurbished devices could have simply been opened and returned to a store, but could have also been returned to the manufacturer for a malfunction that was then fixed before selling again. Most of the time, depending on the country where you’re shopping, a product that was been purchased and opened — and possibly not even removed from the packaging or powered on — can no longer be sold as “new” and must be sold as refurbished instead. Stores, resellers or companies themselves then have to discount the device because it technically isn’t new-in-box and therefore can’t command the same price as a new phone.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to know when shopping for a refurbished phone why exactly the phone has made its way to refurbished status or what was done to the phone to then certify that it was refurbished.

What to look for when shopping refurbished

The issue with refurbished phones is that you don’t necessarily know which of the possible pathways it took to be refurbished in the first place. And the truth is, you may never know even after you have the phone in your hands. But there are some good tips to follow when shopping for a refurbished phone.

• Buy from the original company or reputable store whenever possible. They do the best refurbishing process, and can actually offer some sort of guarantee that the phone is in good, working condition.
• See what warranty, if any, is offered for the refurbished phones. Some manufacturers will offer a full warranty for refurbished phones, while third parties typically won’t.
• Read the fine print on the sale — even though it may be hard to find. Most refurbished or open-box phones are sold “as is” with little or no option for returns or refunds.
• Keep in mind the age of the device you’re looking to buy. Sometimes companies won’t be selling refurbished versions of the latest phones, but instead a model or two older. It may be nicely discounted, but much of that discount is likely due to it just being old.
• If the price is too good to be true … then it probably is! If you see a retailer selling a late-model “refurbished” phone for something like half the retail price or less, there’s likely some sort of catch you’ve yet to find. Refurbished phones will be cheap, but they won’t be a steal.

Where to buy refurbished

If you’re doing your researched and are ready to buy refurbished, here are some great places to look that often have refurbished, recertified, pre-owned or open-box phones.

• Best Buy sells refurbished, pre-owned and open-box phones from a variety of companies at discounts ranging from 10-30%. Open-box deals in particular are great because they’re typically devices that have just been purchased, opened and returned, not even used. Because of this, you can often find the latest models of phones for sale, rather than just old models.
• Samsung sells certified pre-owned devices, typically at least one model year old, at solid but not substantial discounts. The upside here is getting a full one-year warranty as if you bought it new.
• Gazelle refurbishes and sells phones it buys from consumers, and typically offers up popular devices from Samsung that it can turn the biggest profits on. This means there’s a small selection, and it may not always offer the latest devices, but has some great prices.
• Verizon has certified pre-owned devices, but the selection is small and isn’t always the best deal. For the most part, it only sells pre-owned Samsung phones. Buying certified from the carrier gives you a bit of security, though, as Verizon will guarantee you’re getting a working device.
• T-Mobile also sells certified pre-owned devices at deep discounts, but stock fluctuates and is generally limited to Samsung and/or LG phones. The carrier will also offer similar support to that of a brand new device, so you do have a safety net there.
• AT&T technically has certified pre-owned phones, but they’re only available online and at any given time you may find just one or two models. You’re likely better off buying an unlocked refurbished phone elsewhere.
• Sprint lands in the same situation as the other carriers, offering certified pre-owned phones but often just one or two models available depending when you look.

Do your research, pick the right store and compare prices before buying, and you’re likely to come away with a good phone at a better price than you would ever find on a new-in-box phone.

Update June 2018: All of the latest and greatest places to buy a refurbished phone can still be found right here.

You can now add kids under 13 to Project Fi group plans via Family Link

You’ll need a Family Link account to get started.

In October 2016, Google made Project Fi much more accessible for a lot of people with the introduction of group plans. Today, those group plans are expanding even more with support for kids under 13-years-old.

Per Google’s announcement post:

When you add a child to your plan, you’ll both enjoy the Project Fi features you know and love—like easy data alerts, seamless switching between networks, and automatic connection to free Wi-Fi hotspots—in addition to the features already available in the Family Link app that you can use to set digital ground rules that work for your family.

As mentioned above, this feature is being added in conjunction with Google Family Link — a digital suite of tools that helps you manage and see how your kiddos are using their devices.

To add your kid(s) to Project Fi, create a Family Link account if you don’t already have one, add them to your plan, and make sure they’ve got a phone that’s compatible with the service.

Pricing is the same as other members in your plan, meaning you’ll pay $15/month for your youngsters’ talk & text and then $10 per each GB of data they use.

Project Fi wish list: 3 things that would make me switch

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