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10
Oct

Huawei Mate 20 Pro duikt wederom op in Twilight-uitvoering


Over een kleine week kondigt Huawei de Mate 20-serie aan waaronder de Mate 20 Pro met achterop drie camera’s. Vandaag krijgen hem weer eens te zien en wel in de Twilight-uitvoering bestaande uit twee kleuren die in elkaar over lopen. Allemaal dankzij de betrouwbare Evan Blass van @evleaks.

De Mate 20 Pro belooft een aardige telefoon te worden. Het 6,3 inch grote toestel krijgt een OLED-paneel met licht gebogen randen en bovenin een notch. Tot zover dezelfde specs dus als de Pixel 3 XL behalve dan dat de notch bij de Huawei flinke malen kleiner is. Ook anders is dat bij de Huawei Mate 20 Pro de vingerafdrukscanner in het scherm verwerkt is.

De vermeende Huawei Mate 20 Pro in de Twilight-uitvoering

Huawei schijnt verder gewerkt te hebben aan een eigen betrouwbare vorm van gezichtsontgrendeling vergelijkbaar als Face ID van Apple. De ster van het toestel zit echter achterop. Daar vinden we een vierkant blok waarin drie verschillende camera’s verwerkt zitten; een 40 megapixel hoofdcamera, secundaire lens voor scherpte/diepte en een groothoeklens. Definitieve specificaties daarvan zijn nog niet binnen. Huawei kondigde de krachtbon van het toestel eerder al aan. Dat wordt de Kirin 980-processor die uit eigen fabriek komt. De chip is gebakken op 7 nanometer en moet volgens Huawei krachtiger zijn dan Apple’s A12 Bionic. Beiden hebben 6,9 miljard transistors en beschikken over een aparte NPU voor kunstmatige intelligentie. Of de claim van Huawei stand houdt moet blijken in praktijktesten. Huawei kondigt de Mate 20 Pro mogelijk samen met de Mate 20 op 16 oktober tijdens een evenement in Londen aan.

Ontvang een e-mail wanneer de Mate 20 Pro verkrijgbaar is

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10
Oct

Review: The Newly Launched Insta360 ONE X Captures 5.7K 360-Degree Video With Impressive Stabilization and Fun Photographic Effects


Insta360, the company that makes the Insta360 ONE 360-degree camera attachment sold at Apple retail stores, is today debuting its next-generation product, the upgraded and refined Insta360 ONE X.

Compared to the previous-generation Insta360 ONE, the new Insta360 ONE X has a redesigned body, an upgraded camera that can record in 360 degrees at up to 5.7K resolution with impressive stabilization, and new photo and video capabilities.

I was able to spend some time with the Insta360 ONE X ahead of its launch, and found it to be great little action camera capable of some fun photo and video effects perfect for sharing on social media.

Design

The Insta360 ONE X is rectangular in shape and about the size of a candy bar, making it portable and easy to carry in a bag or in a pocket. It measures in at 4.5 inches by 1.8 inches, and a little under a half an inch thick.

There are cameras on both the front and the back of the Insta360 ONE X, allowing it to capture 360 degree photos and videos all the time. As with the previous version, you can’t capture non 360-degree photos, but standard photos and videos are available through post processing and cropping within the Insta360 app.


At the side of the Insta360 ONE X, there’s a battery compartment that houses a removable 1200 mAh battery, which lets you swap in another battery for longer on-the-go battery life.

At the bottom, there’s a microSD card slot (with a microSD card required for recording photos and videos), and at the other side, there’s a microUSB port used for charging purposes.


Below the camera on the front, there’s a small display and a set of buttons that let you access settings and swap between photo and video modes.


Pressing on the small button lets you choose to snap photos or record videos, while pressing on the main button takes a photo or starts/stops a video recording. It’s an intuitive system that’s also supplemented by further controls within the app.

Camera Specs and Image Quality

The Insta360 ONE X has an impressive 18-megapixel f/2.0 aperture camera built in and the image quality for both photos and videos was excellent during my testing, even in conditions where the lighting was not optimal.


My photos and videos turned out crisp, bright, and detailed, and the stabilization produced smooth videos even in situations where I was moving the camera around quite a lot. I didn’t use the original Insta360 ONE, so I’m not sure how the image stabilization or photo quality compares, but the ONE X is great.


The ONE X is a 360 degree camera, so it captures you and everything around you in specialized 360 degree photos and videos that you can swipe through to see the entire scene around you. It goes way beyond the wide-angle view of some other action-oriented cameras, offering up a look at a complete moment in time.

I had a lot of fun testing the ONE X in a few parks around the Bay Area, and while I don’t do any action sports, it seems like it would be a useful way to capture skiing, surfing (with an included waterproof accessory), biking, and other such activities in fun-to-watch videos.

Click to drag the image around to see the full 360 degree view
The camera in the Insta360 ONE X can record 5K video at 30fps, 4K at 30 or 50 fps, and 3k at 100fps. 5K video and the 50 fps 4K video mode are both upgrades over the previous-generation camera.

It can capture RAW images if set to do so, and there’s also HDR support for photos, with HDR 360 video in the works.

According to Insta360, the ONE X features gimbal-level stabilization using a “FlowState” stabilization algorithm, and all of the video I took, even spinning the camera around, had little jitter.

Insta360 says the stabilization works well with the Insta360 ONE X mounted to a selfie stick, attached to a helmet, mounted to handle bars, and more, with the algorithm smoothing the video out no matter how the camera is positioned.

A demo video from Insta360 comparing the camera to a GoPro
Given that the Insta360 ONE X is taking 360 degree photos and videos, there is a degree of distortion to be expected with photos and images, even those that are constrained to more standard display sizes and formats.

Accessories

The Insta360 ONE X doesn’t come bundled with accessories, but it has a standard tripod mount that works with various selfie sticks and tripod accessories. I tested the One X with an extendable selfie stick that Insta360 sells separately for $16.

The Insta360 selfie stick is fully adjustable and can be set to multiple lengths for different looks and effects for your photos and videos, which I found to be useful.


When you use the selfie stick, the Insta360 ONE X app has been designed to edit it out of every shot, so it’s never visible. No visible selfie stick means the resulting photos and videos can look like they were shot from up in the air drone style, but you do need to make sure you position your hand in a way that makes it look like you’re not holding a stick or some of the photos and videos can look awkward.

I’m holding the selfie stick here, but the Insta360 ONE X edits it out
You basically need to use a selfie stick or another mounted solution with the Insta360 ONE X at all times, because it doesn’t work well as a handheld device. Since it’s recording in 360 degrees, it records whatever’s holding it, so if it’s in your hand and you want to use the forward-facing footage, you’ll have a giant distorted hand in the photo or video.

If you hold the Insta360 ONE X, you get a distorted arm in every image/video
Selfie sticks are banned in a lot of places and I also felt silly whipping out a camera on a giant stick when I was testing the Insta360 ONE X, so if this is a concern, the Insta360 ONE X may not be for you. You can put it on a tripod, set it on a flat surface or mount it in some other way (like on a helmet), but this isn’t an accessory that can be used as a traditional handheld camera.


For me, the selfie stick aspect of the Insta360 ONE X was the biggest negative that kept me from using it several times when I didn’t want to be seen in a crowded place with a camera on a stick.


The most affordable selfie stick option does not come with a built-in Bluetooth button on the stick, so I did need to use the iPhone or a timed mode to capture a photo. Insta360 does sell a stick with an add-on Bluetooth button, but it’s more expensive at $22.

The Insta360 ONE X review unit I tested also came with a Bullet Time handle for me to try. The Bullet handle is for making videos where you spin the Insta360 ONE X around in a circle in slo-mo. I really wasn’t able to master this effect in the time that I was testing the Insta360 ONE X, but it’s nice to have options. As a side note, the Bullet Time mode in the Insta360 ONE X features a wider angle and an improved 3K resolution compared to the previous-generation Insta360 ONE.

Bullet Time in action via Insta360
Insta360 has designed a few other accessories to go with the Insta360 ONE X that I wasn’t able to test out. There’s a Drifter accessory shaped like a little rocket. You stick the Insta360 ONE X inside the accessory and then throw it for unique video.

The Insta360 ONE X Drifter Case
There are also two rugged case options designed to be water and impact resistant. The Venture Case is a protective shell with waterproofing to five meters and splash protection, while the Dive Case lets you shoot underwater down to 30 meters.

The Insta360 ONE X Dive Case
For the original Insta360 ONE, Insta360 designed a number of different mounting solutions and cases for different use cases like using it surfing, running, with a drone, on a pet, and more, and the company should have similar bundles for the new model.

App and Effects

While the Insta360 ONE X captures 360-degree photos and videos, using the Insta360 app, you can export them in a standardized format viewable on any device.

Because everything is captured from any angle, you can select different angles when editing a video in the app, catching the best parts of the action. In any given video, you can use features like pivot point, SmartTrack, and ViewFinder to adjust what’s visible in the video at any given point.

A quick demo video I made using the built-in app tools, with aspect ratio set at 16:9
The app features an extensive set of editing tools that can create montages, multi-clip videos, and a range of other customization tools for stabilization, adding music, and more, but it could do with better instructions.

I was using a beta version of the app that was still under development for this review, but I did think some of the editing tools available were somewhat confusing.

Before you can edit, you need to trim a video and save it to your device, and then there are a number of different buttons to work with, but there aren’t in-app guides for walking you through the tools and none of it is intuitive enough to use without some trial and error.

The same video as above, but on Insta360’s website with full controls for viewing in 360 degrees
There are built-in tools for adding filters, adjusting metrics like exposure, color temperature, contrast, saturation, and more, along with blur and video speed. You can set speed from 1/8X to 64X. and with a new TimeShift feature, you can set each part of a video to a different speed. It’s a fun effect that lets you slow down video at key spots while speeding up the rest.


As mentioned above, there are tools for adjusting the width of the view (all the way to a full planet-style view with everything in frame) and the angle of the view using pivot points so the most interesting aspect of what was framed is always front and center. There’s also a tracking option that will keep a subject in the frame.


There are a ton of other effects you can create using the tutorial videos in the app, but it will take some practice to master them. You can, for example, create a video that looks like a drone is flying towards you and then away with the selfie stick or use the bullet time handle paired with a slo-mo bullet time mode for circular slow motion effects.


I don’t think all of the capturing modes nor the editing process are simple enough to be figured out quickly, so if you buy the ONE X, plan to spend some time getting to know it before you can create impressive photo and video effects.

The Insta360 ONE X connects to your iPhone and the Insta360 app over Bluetooth and WiFi. On the iPhone, you can preview photos and videos as you take them and if desired, you can even set up a live streaming feature. There are tools for manually adjusting image settings like ISO, exposure, white balance and shutter speed prior to capturing a photo or video for the ideal shot.

You can also connect the ONE X to your iPhone using an included microUSB to Lightning cable. There are also microUSB to USB-C and microUSB cables for connecting to other smartphones.

One of the many effects possible with the Insta360 ONE X
When exporting a finished photo or video, the app has sharing tools for sending your creations to social networks like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube, or to the Insta360 community in the app where you can also view other people’s creations for inspiration. You can also create web links where content will be visible on the web, with the option to rotate through 360 degree videos.

Bottom Line

As someone who’s just an average consumer that doesn’t partake in sports suitable for action cams, I had a lot of fun with the Insta360 ONE X thanks to all of the effects you can create with 360 degree photos and videos.


That said, since I’m not someone who does something that’s worth capturing in 360 degrees on a regular basis, I think I might get bored with the Insta360 ONE X because when it comes down to it, it’s a camera designed for a specific use case — action.

The Insta360 ONE X definitely an intriguing alternative to a GoPro that’s arguably more versatile, and I think it has the potential to work amazingly well for sports like surfing, snowboarding, skydiving, and skateboarding, where there’s beautiful scenery and action to capture all at once.

An Insta360 ONE surfing demo video
For active people who do sports that would benefit from these kind of 360 degree videos, families with kids, or people who want to capture photos and videos in a new way, the Insta360 ONE X is worth checking out as long as you don’t mind the giant stick.

How to Buy

The Insta360 ONE X can be purchased from the Insta360 website for $400. While the Insta360 ONE is available in Apple Stores, the ONE X will not be in Apple retail locations at launch. Insta360 says the new product will eventually be available from Apple, however.

Note: Insta360 provided MacRumors with an Insta360 ONE X for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
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10
Oct

How to Secure Your Instagram Account With Two-Factor Authentication


With social media account hacking becoming increasingly more widespread, users would do well to make sure they’re taking every security measure available to them. That goes doubly for frequenters of Facebook-owned Instagram, where account hijacking in particular is a recurring problem.

One of the best ways to protect any online account is by using two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA offers hardened security during login attempts by requesting that the user provides an extra piece of information only they would know, such as a randomly generated code from a third-party.

Instagram has supported two-factor authentication for some time, but it was tied to a phone number and required users to receive text messages, which has proven to be insecure and left some Instagram users vulnerable to SIM hacking. Last week however, Instagram added non SMS-based two-factor authentication to the app with support for third-party authenticator apps.

With 2FA enabled, you’ll be the only person who can access your Instagram account from another device, regardless of whether someone learns your password as the result of a hack or a phishing scam, so it’s well worth taking the time to enable the feature. This article shows you how. Note that you’ll need to download an authenticator app to follow the steps below – we’ll be using Google Authenticator, but Authy is another tried and tested option that works equally well.

How to Protect Your Instagram Account With 2FA

Launch the Instagram app on your iPhone and log in to your account if you aren’t already.

Tap your profile picture in the bottom right of the Instagram feed.
On your profile page, tap the three-lined button at the top-right of the screen.
Tap Settings at the bottom of the pop-out side menu.

Tap Two-factor authentication, listed under privacy and security settings.
Tap Get Started.
Tap the Authenticator toggle.
Tap Next.
Tap Open in the prompt that says Instagram wants to open Google Authenticator.

A prompt will appear in Authenticator asking if you want to add a token for your Instagram account. Tap Yes to confirm.
Tap and hold on the Instagram token to copy the code to the clipboard.
Return to Instagram and long press on the code entry field, then tap the Paste pop-up to enter the authenticator code.And that’s it – 2FA is now enabled for your Instagram account. Note that once you’ve authenticated a trusted device in this way, you won’t have to do it every time you launch the app, but your account will remain protected.

Tag: Instagram
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10
Oct

Apple Has Acquired Danish Startup Spektral, Focused on Real-Time ‘Green Screen’ Technology


Apple has acquired Danish computer vision startup Spektral, according to a paywalled report from Danish newspaper Børsen.

Spektral has developed a technology that can intelligently separate people and objects from their original backgrounds in photos and videos, and overlay a new background, resulting in what is called a “cutout.” The solution is driven by deep neural networks and spectral graph theory.

The technology can be thought of as real-time “green screen” processing powered by machine learning algorithms:

Our pioneering and unique technology is based on state-of-the-art machine learning and computer vision techniques. Combining deep neural networks and spectral graph theory with the computing power of modern GPUs, our engine can process images and video from the camera in real-time (60 FPS) directly on the device.

The report says Apple acquired Spektral, formerly known as CloudCutout, in late 2017. Spektral co-founders Henrik Paltoft and Toke Jansen, who now lists himself as a manager of computational imaging at Apple, are said to have received 200 million Danish krone, or roughly $30 million as of today’s exchange rate.

Spektral’s website notes that its solution makes it possible to create unique and immersive mixed reality content. Apple could incorporate the technology into the default Camera app on iPhone, or Messages, or Clips, or use the technology in bigger ways as it continues to push into augmented reality.

Spektral was founded in 2014 and raised $3.3 million in venture capital prior to its acquisition by Apple, according to Crunchbase.

Tag: Apple acquisition
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10
Oct

Space tourism: Virgin Galactic ‘weeks’ away from first test flights in space


Virgin Galactic has its sights set on launching the first-ever commercial space tourism service, with chairman Richard Branson insisting his effort could be up and running in a matter of months.

Branson said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday, October 9 that “within weeks” a test flight will take Virgin Galactic crew members into space for the first time, with himself and others joining the debut commercial mission “in months and not years.” He added that his team has a “very, very exciting couple of months ahead.”

Virgin Galactic has so far this year completed three successful rocket-powered test flights of its latest SpaceShipTwo plane, VSS Unity, but the vehicle has yet to be tested at the target altitude of 62 miles. According to Branson, that should all change later this month.

When the space tourism service goes into operation, VSS Unity will take two crew members and six paying passengers on thrilling trips to a point widely regarded as the edge of space and where those on board will be able to experience several minutes of weightlessness.

Some 700 people have already paid $250,000 each for a seat on the spacecraft, and Virgin Galactic has said that the clamor for places means that anybody purchasing a ticket today will probably have to wait until at least 2021 before they can get to experience the ride of a lifetime.

Acknowledging that the huge fee puts the ride out of reach of most people on the planet, Branson told CNBC he’d like to see the price fall to around $40,000 or $50,000 over the next decade.

But Virgin Galactic has serious competition in the form of Blue Origin, a space company owned by another billionaire entrepreneur, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. Branson said earlier this year that Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin were neck and neck in their respective quests to launch commercial space tourism services.

Like VSS Unity, Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle can also carry up to six passengers, though each service will offer a very different travel experience. Blue Origin’s setup uses a rocket launch, while Virgin Galactic uses a runway launch with a carrier aircraft that helps VSS Unity to begin its journey, with the spacecraft’s rocket engines firing up later once it reaches a certain altitude. The return journey is also different, with New Shepard’s capsule deploying parachutes for a gentle touchdown and Unity gliding back to terra firma for a smooth runway landing.

And don’t forget SpaceX, which recently announced a plan to send a paying passenger — and eight others — on a trip around the moon in 2023.

The road has so far been a tricky one for Virgin Galactic. Founded in 2004, the company originally aimed for a 2009 launch of its space service, but various setbacks along the way, the most serious involving the death of a pilot in a failed test flight in 2014, have slowed progress. A string of successful test flights this year with new vehicle designs have helped to put it back on track, with Branson clearly confident that Virgin Galactic can take some major steps forward in the coming months.

Editors’ Recommendations

  • Watch Virgin Galactic’s tourist spacecraft reach its highest altitude to date
  • Boeing suffers setback in space taxi testing
  • Kepler space telescope’s last gasp is next week
  • TESS, NASA’s planet-hunting space satellite, begins science operations
  • Blue Origin eyes a date for the sale of tourist spaceflight tickets



10
Oct

How to use your PS4 controller on your computer


playstation-controller-pc-hero.jpg?itok=

It’s no doubt there are some games on your computer that are much easier playing with a controller. And, if not your Xbox controller, why not the PlayStation Dualshock? Well, here at Android Central we’re a virtual based tech company who’s here to help you find all the answers you’re looking for. Now, thankfully there is a program out there, known as DS4 Windows, that will override your computer into making it think you’re actually using your Xbox controller (even when you’re not).

Products used in this guide

  • Amazon: Dualshock 4 Wireless Controller ($55)
  • Amazon: Dell XPS 9370 Laptop ($1,400)
  • winRAR: winRAR ($29)

Get DS4 Windows working on your computer

Go to DS4Windows.
Scroll down to Downloads
Select “Main builds of DS4Windows”.

Download the latest version.

dualshock-pc-2.png?itok=COdaLEaz

Open the Zip file.

Right click the folder and select extract all files.

dualshock-pc-3.png?itok=ZDT4vvol

Name your file whatever you want and hit okay.
Go to the folder you extracted the files to.
Open DS4Windows.

Select if you would like the settings and profiles saved to a program folder or Appdata.

dualshock-pc-4.png?itok=qifDB7PJ

If you are using Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10, select Step 1: Install the DS4 Driver.
If you are Windows 7 or below, select Step 2 to install the 360 driver.

So, there you have it. This will set you up to get the programs that you need that will allow your Dualshock controller to work with your computer. Continue to see the different ways of connecting your Dualshock controller to your computer via Bluetooth or cables.

How to connect via USB cable

Connect your controller to your PC through the same USB cable you would use to connect it to your PlayStation 4.
As soon as the pop-up comes up and says Windows has detected your device you can immediately get to playing.

How to connect via Bluetooth

Press and hold the central PlayStation button, and the Share button, until the lightbar on your controller flashes.
Open the Bluetooth settings on your PC.
Select “Wireless Controller”.
If prompted to enter a pairing code, type “0000”.

Our pick for Dell Laptops in 2018

Dell XPS 13 (9370)

dell-xps-13-9370-side-png-01.png?itok=Cx

$1,400 at Amazon

13.3” InfinityEdge Touch Display

With Intel Core 8th Generation i7-8550U Processor (Quad Core, up to 4.0 GHz, 8M Cache) and Intel UHD Graphics 620, the Dell XPS is a force to be reckoned with. It also offers Windows Hello compliant and a power button that is controller by your fingerprint! Finally, it’s packing 8GB LPDDR3 2133MHz memory and 256GB PCIe.

10
Oct

New Google Photos ‘Live Albums’ Share Pictures of People and Pets Automatically


Following yesterday’s Google event, the company is rolling out an update for Google Photos that introduces a new feature called Live Albums.

Powered by Google’s facial recognition algorithms, Live Albums allow users to create albums that are automatically updated with pictures from their library of a specific person or pet.

Once an album has been tagged as a Live Album, it can be shared with others and will still automatically update to include new shots when they become available. From Google’s The Keyword blog:

You can turn any album into a live album. Just choose the people (and pets) you want to see, and Google Photos will automatically add photos of them to your album as you take them. Then, you can share your album with family and friends so they can be a part of special moments as they happen—no manual updates needed.

Live Albums in Google Photos are created in the same way as a normal album, by selecting the Album tab and tapping the New album icon – just be sure to tap the new setting “Automatically add photos of people and pets” on the next screen, and you’ll then be able to select the ones you want to include. You can also opt to be notified when any new photos are added to the album.


In addition, Google says that the 7-inch display on its just-announced Google Home Hub smart speaker will also display these Live Albums including recently added photos.

Live albums are rolling out now in a number of countries on Android, iOS and the web. Google Photos is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tags: Google, Google Photos
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10
Oct

Instagram says A.I. is now helping it track down bullying in photos


New head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has kicked off his tenure at the top of the company by doubling down on efforts to eradicate bullying on the site.

Instagram already has a number of systems in place that automatically spot hurtful behavior like nasty comments, and now it’s turning to artificial intelligence to help it deal with images and captions that are used to bully people on the site.

Should Instagram’s systems spot any suspect content, it’ll be automatically passed to its Community Operations team for a final decision on whether any action should be taken against a suspected perpetrator.

“This change will help us identify and remove significantly more bullying,” Mosseri wrote in a post on Tuesday, describing it as a “crucial next step since many people who experience or observe bullying don’t report it.”

He said the new system will help it protect Instagram’s youngest community members as it’s this age group that experiences the highest rates of bullying online.

The new technology has begun to roll out and will reach all ‘grammers in the coming weeks.

Mosseri said Instagram has also expanded its bullying comment filter from Feed, Explore, and Profile to comments on live videos to ensure the feature remains a “safe and fun place” to connect with friends and share interests.

Instagram

Instagram is well aware that it’s escaped much of the negative publicity that’s hit its parent company, Facebook, in the past 18 months, and so, determined to maintain an upbeat vibe, it’s introducing a “kindness camera effect to spread positivity.” Launched with help from New York Times best-selling teen author, dancer, and actor Maddie Ziegler, who herself has experienced bullying online, the filter (above) adds a screenful of hearts to selfies, and overlays photos with “kind comments in many languages.”

If you follow Maddie, you’ll have access to the new camera effect automatically — simply swipe to open the camera, tap the face icon at the bottom, and select the new camera effect. If you don’t follow her but you see someone else with the effect, tap “try it” to add it to your camera.

The launch of the new features coincides with October’s National Bullying Prevention Month in the U.S., which aims to raise awareness of bullying prevention.

Editors’ Recommendations

  • Instagram names new boss: Facebook veteran Adam Mosseri
  • IGTV is sweet — but you probably don’t need the dedicated app. Here’s why
  • Instagram’s test of Recommended Posts is designed to not interrupt your feed
  • Here’s how to unlock your phone automatically with Android Smart Lock
  • New to Snapchat? Follow our guide and go from newbie to pro



10
Oct

A projection onto Sydney Opera House causes huge rumpus in Australia


Projection mapping can be a beautiful spectacle, with the digital performance art allowing artists’ imaginations to run riot with colorful creations that splash entertaining imagery onto huge buildings.

Suggest projecting an ad onto Sydney Opera House, however, and you could run into trouble.

A national debate has been raging among Australians for the past week after Opera House boss Louise Herron said she was unhappy about the idea of using the national cultural icon to show the barrier draw for the Everest Cup, a big-money horse race that only had its first run last year.

In a fiery radio interview last Friday that really set the debate alight, Herron said the Opera House was “not a billboard.” Some of her supporters even suggested the ad could cost the site its World Heritage status, while others said it might encourage gambling in a nation that some say is struggling with the issue.

Speaking to famous Aussie talk-radio host Alan Jones, Herron said she could accept the projection of the jockeys’ colors on the building’s famous sails, but was reluctant to allow other imagery such as the horse names, barrier numbers, and image of the race trophy.

The interview became so heated that Jones, who saw no issue with the proposed ad, was later accused of bullying Herron. While he denies the accusation, he has since apologized to the Opera House boss and anyone else who was offended by the way he handled the interview.

Having initially refused the request of organizer Racing New South Wales to project the imagery onto the famous building, and despite a petition with 300,000 signatures demanding the plan be scrapped, the Opera House eventually bowed to pressure from the New South Wales government to show it.

Here we go. The barrier draw for Everest horse race controversially beamed onto Sydney Opera House. Loud chants and boos from critics reverberating from its steps. @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/JMo9JwbySj

— Omar Dabbagh (@Omar_Dabbagh) October 9, 2018

The Everest Cup ad, which had apparently been toned down from the original proposal, was projected onto the Opera House on Tuesday night. The moment the imagery appeared, the crowd began booing, with some reportedly shouting, “The graphics are sh–.” Several hundred protesters tried to disrupt the spectacle by shining bright lights onto the building, but their actions reportedly had little effect.

Looking at footage posted on Twitter (above), the spectacle certainly pales in comparison to many of the projection displays we’ve been treated to at the Opera House in recent years, though admittedly projection mapping uses more advanced technology than what this particular ad appears to have used.

Racing New South Wales said that following the controversy, it’s unlikely to promote the Everest Cup in the same way in future, though it seems the event has now had enough publicity to last a lifetime.

Editors’ Recommendations

  • The best shows on Netflix right now (October 2018)
  • You won’t feel like a tool hanging out in these over-the-top sheds
  • Samsung’s new ‘Opera House’ store is its biggest in the world
  • The best free Kindle books
  • The best movies on Amazon Prime right now (October 2018)



10
Oct

Path to Pixels