MoviePass CEO Says Subscribers Will Be Restricted From Seeing Upcoming Major Movies

Business is not going smoothly for movie subscription service MoviePass, which is supposed to allow customers to watch one movie in theaters per a day for a $9.95 per month subscription pass.

Amid funding issues and a deep drop in stock prices, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe today held an all-hands meeting where he told employees that customers will be restricted from seeing major movie releases that include “Christopher Robin” and “The Meg.”

MoviePass’ Peak Pricing
The information comes courtesy of an employee who shared the news with Business Insider, and it comes just after MoviePass prevented many of its subscribers from seeing “Mission Impossible: Fallout,” the major movie release last weekend.

In addition to informing employees that subscribers will not be able to see “Christopher Robin” and “The Meg,” on opening weekend Business Insider says that Lowe also “implied that the practice of not offering tickets to major movies would continue for the foreseeable future.” Lowe’s announcement echoed a statement MoviePass released over the weekend suggesting that “certain movies may not always be available in every theater on our platform.”

“Christopher Robin” is set to be released this weekend, while “The Meg” comes out on August 10.

MoviePass has been forced to restrict access to popular movies due to financing issues, with reports indicating the service was down last week after parent company Helios & Matheson ran out of money, only restoring the service after securing a loan for millions.

To prevent another shutdown, customers in many markets were not permitted to see “Mission Impossible: Fallout,” and MoviePass has also implemented surge pricing for popular titles that customers have complained are affecting nearly every movie even at non-peak times.

Image via Twitter
At the time of this article, MoviePass appears to be down once again, with subscribers seeing a blank screen instead of movie options. MoviePass has not yet commented on today’s outage, but the MoviePass website continues to allow new subscribers to sign up.

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Don’t have Portrait Mode on your Android? Use these apps instead

Portrait pictures with a blurred background (or bokeh) are all the rage right now. Once considered a feature of DSLR cameras, today a large number of smartphones has a dedicated portrait mode to help you create these such photos.

The majority of these phones feature a dual-camera setup where the primary lens is used to capture the subject while the secondary one (telephoto or wide lens) creates depth to differentiate between subject and background.

However, handsets like the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL come with a single camera sensor. But that doesn’t prevent them from offering a great Portrait Mode. Google’s flagships take bokeh shots using dual pixel focus, software algorithms including machine learning and computational photography.

But what if you have a lower-end phone that doesn’t offer the option of taking bokeh shots? Does it mean you should upgrade? Not necessarily. Instead, you could try and install one of the apps listed below which recreate this sought-after effect quite nicely.

AfterFocus

What it is:

With AfterFocus, users can easily create DSRL-style background photographs by simply selecting the focus area.

Why we like it

• Easy to use. Although it’s a pretty basic app which won’t drown you in options, it does get the job done.
• Three types of blur to choose from including Lens Blur, Motion Blur and Zoom Blur.
• The app also features a series of filters for the foreground, background or whole photo. There’s also the option to add effects including Vignetting, Color Mask or Stickers.

Install AfterFocus

Cymera

What it is:

A photo app that comes with an amazingly easy-to-use editor which also includes the option of blurring your shots.

Why we like it:

• Very modern, minimalist interface which lets you easily browse the features available.
• Comes with a large collection of filters, most of which are free to use. Or at least you’ll be able to try them out for 30 days.
• Offers an easy-to-use blurring tool which you can find in the Effect section of the photo editor.
• Includes other options like Beauty Camera, Collage, Editor for Instagram.

Install Cymera

PicsArt

What it is:

One of the most popular editing apps, PicsArt also offers the option to blur the background of the photo. It also has more than just one type of blur effect.

What it is:

• Allows you edit your photos, make a collage, draw or take pictures using the app’s own camera.
• Let’s you browse through the edits of other users. Actually very similar to Instagram in this respect.
• Has a challenge feature, which dares users to take and edit photos based on a certain prompt (for example: lipstick)
• Comes with a number of Effects including Blur, Artistic, Pop Art, Paper and more.

Install PicsArt

LightX

What it is:

Another great photo app which includes a comprehensive image editor and drawing tools.

Why we like it:

• The app is packed with features to help you make your images look edgier. You can find the blurring option under Focus.
• You can choose between different focus modes including lens and shift blur. Users can also use the app’s smart select and smart erase tools to create the blur effect they want.
• Has a Cut out feature which allows you to easily replace the background on your regular picture.

Install LightX

Aviary

What is it:

Another photo editor for your smartphone that offers an excellent selective Focus effect.

Why we like it:

• Simple yet powerful photo editing app. Just select the image you want to alter and start enhancing it.
• Very good Focus effect. It includes a separate Blur tool which allows you to blur out any part of your photo.
• In the era when everyone is browsing 9gag and Imgur, Aviary comes with a Meme generating tool.

Install Aviary

Blurred – Blur Photo Editor DSRL Image Background

What it is:

An app specialized in the art of Blur. Includes some unique blurring effects.

Why we like it:

• Three types of Blur to play with: ShapeBlur (the subject is placed in a shape, and everything around it is blurred), Blur (manual tool for blurring), CropBlur (uses a tool similar to cutout to outline the subject and blur the background)
• The app includes an editing tool too from where you can add Filters, Effects and Stickers.
• Blurred includes packs of Stickers you can add to your photos, but only some of them are free.

Install Aviary

AirBrush

What it is:

An app that functions more like a camera app and which allows you to add the blurring effect as you snap the photo.

Why we like it:

• The only app so far that applies blurring effect while you’re taking the photo. Activate the icon that looks like a camera lens from Settings.
• Once you’ve snapped the photography you can enhance your photo. You can use tools such as Smooth, Sculpt, Whiten or Firm.
• There’s a Bokeh feature and a separate Blur one under Tools. In the latter, you use a brush to blur the background of the image.

Install AirBrush

Huawei P20 camera review

The Huawei P20 Pro is known for having what many reviewers would consider the best camera in the smartphone market. This leaves more affordable variants is a tough spot, not only competing against every other phone out there, but also against their own line’s flagship.

Getting the Huawei P20 over the Pro version will save you hundreds, but you’ll have to sacrifice a few things. The P20’s screen shrinks from a 6.1-inch OLED to a 5.8-inch LCD. It has 4GB of RAM instead of six. It has a smaller 3,400mAh battery (compared to the Pro’s 4,000mAh) and a downgraded IP rating. Most importantly, the camera takes a hit.

We previously compared the Huawei P20 and the Huawei P20 Pro cameras. Those who need a deeper comparison between the two phones can hit the link below.

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Huawei P20 vs P20 Pro: Do you need the triple camera?

Can the Huawei P20 take a photo to save its life? If its bigger, tougher brother didn’t exist, would it be a good camera phone for its price? That is what we are here to find out. Let’s forget about the King of smartphone cameras for a while and judge the Huawei P20 on its own merits.

Photos have been resized for quicker loading times, but that is the only editing these images have undergone. If you want to pixel peep and analyze the full resolution photos, we have put them in a Google Drive folder for you.

Huawei P20 camera specs

Rear cameras: 

• 12MP RGB sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, 1.55µm
• 20MP monochrome sensor with an f/1.6 aperture
• Dual-LED flash
• PDAF+CAF+Laser+Depth auto focus
• OIS
• 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 30fps (18:90), 1080p at 30 or 60fps, 720p at 30fps
• Shooting modes: Aperture, Night, Portrait, Photo, Video, Pro, Slow-mo, Panorama, Monochrome, Light painting, HDR, Time-lapse, Filter, 3D panorama, Watermark, Document scan, Moving picture, Vivid colors, Smooth colors, 2X zoom
• You can also download more modes.

Front camera:

• 24MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture
• Fixed focus
• 720p at 30fps

The Huawei P20 lacks the mean 40MP main sensor and 8MP telephoto shooter of the Pro version, but it’s hardly lackluster. It has a 12MP RGB sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, and the same secondary 20MP monochrome sensor with f/1.6 aperture as the Pro.

The Huawei P20 camera app

This is likely one of the coolest camera apps I have used. For starters, the app uses a smart system named Master AI to recognize the type of image you are shooting and automatically apply software enhancements that best fit the shot.

The Huawei P20 can recognize from 18 types of pictures: food, group, cat, natural, close-up, night, text, greenery, portrait, dog, fireworks, blue sky, flowers, stage, document, sunset, snow, waterfall, and beach. The app rarely failed to recognize any of these categories in real life, which left me rather impressed.

If you’re not interested in the Master AI feature, you can turn it off in the settings, too. Furthermore, the well-versed photographers among you will also love the camera app’s Pro Mode, which allows for manual shooting. You can modify the focus settings, ISO, shutter speed, EV, and white balance. To the right you can see a photo I took in Pro Mode, just so you can get a small taste of true photographic freedom.

The rest of the app is pretty straight forward, but it can be a bit crowded. Modes are always visible, then there are extra modes hidden in the “More” section. To add to the madness, onscreen options change in every single mode. It is a simple app to understand and get used to, but the UI isn’t the cleanest.

The settings are pretty extensive, so advanced photographers will like the kind of freedom this app provides. After all, it is the same app used for the best smartphone camera in the world. It should be able to do a lot!

• Ease of use: 8/10
• Intuitiveness: 6/10
• Features: 10/10
• Advanced Settings: 10/10

Score: 8.5/10

Daylight

We took the Huawei P20 on a quick trip to Tijuana, where there was plenty of interesting stuff to capture. On the first image the camera managed to recognize the blue skies, giving them a deeper blue hue and saturating the colors in the city’s sign. This makes for a very striking image, but it also looks a bit over-edited. Because the contrast increased, we also saw harsher shadows, which resulted in less detail in darker areas.

On the second, the camera recognized the face in the painted heart and went into portrait mode. This was an accident, but the image turned out great. The colors are still vibrant, the sky is plenty blue, and that bokeh effect really brings the focus to the subject. There’s a harsh reflection on the left side of the heart, which means the Huawei P20 camera wasn’t the best at handling dynamic range, but in direct sunlight it’s hard to blame it.

Overall, what we looked for in daylight photos is good color reproduction, accurate white balance, and good detail. The Huawei P20 did a good job in all three categories, even if it over saturated colors a bit. It’s something many of you like, and we can’t deny it makes for a more dramatic effect.

Score: 8.5/10

Color

There’s nothing better than some traditional alebrijes and Mexican toys to portray color. Artisans really get playful with these adornments, making for lively decor and good color test shots.

Because we were indoors in soft light, we can see a warmer color palate here, especially in the first image. The white balance is a bit off, but it was in real life too. The yellow, soft, artificial light is accurately portrayed. As for color, there is plenty of contrast, vibrant hues, and good detail.

We do have to mention the Huawei P20 can be a little bokeh happy. Though the effect may give off a “pro” look, it is not always the right choice. We wish it caught more details in the toys to the back, in the first photo. One can always get rid of portrait mode, but constantly fighting it off can be annoying. Especially if you are selective about your blurry backgrounds.

Regardless, the Huawei P20 did create some fun shots with plenty of texture, vibrant colors, and good contrast — the trifecta for a good color image.

Score: 9/10

Detail

If there’s a department in which the Huawei P20 definitely loses to the P20 Pro, it’s this one.

The sensor and amount of megapixels typically get credit when capturing detail. That massive 40MP main shooter in the Huawei P20 Pro obviously creates a bigger image than the Huawei P20’s 12MP primary camera. This means the further you zoom in on Huawei P20 images, the more quality deteriorates. In addition, we can see some softening, likely due to the gentle lighting. This makes it a less noisy photo, but also a less detailed one.

It’s got a good amount of detail until you start pixel-peeping. The minute details are what separates winners from losers in a contest, though, so it’s important to bring up.

Score: 7/10

Landscape

This is the U.S.-Mexico border’s furthest west area: The famous spot where the fence extends right into the water. It is an iconic place and home of many debates, so we had to capture it.

Because landscape shots are all about details, we also found some defects here. Zooming in hurt the detail, but the photo was also a bit over-sharpened, thanks to the faraway people in the first photo. However, it is still a good photo, with great colors, good exposure, and a bright blue sky.

In the second image, the Master AI was adamant on not going wide. I guess it figured the sea made for too much dead space or something. Regardless, I wanted to see how it handled a landscape with the sun in the background, and it wasn’t the best. There could be more detail in the shade, a bluer sky, and a more evenly exposed frame. The sun threw the Huawei P20 camera off.

Things are looking much prettier and detailed in the other shots, when facing away from the sun. That always helps, and the third shot happens to be a pretty good one.

Score: 7/10

Portrait mode

Portrait mode is tricky. Most phones tend to have occasional issues figuring out what to blur.

Like many others, the Huawei P20 uses multiple lenses to determine distance and figure out what is in the background and foreground, in relation to the subject. It then keeps the subject in focus and blurs out the rest. The system doesn’t always do an amazing job, often making photos look like my first grade color books (I was bad at staying within the lines). This is especially an issue along the edges of the head, where hair can really throw off the camera.

We can see that effect in the first image, where the subject’s hair seems slightly outlined by a thin line of focused background.

Despite this, I have to say the Huawei P20 actually did a better job in portrait mode than most other phones I have tested. The errors are small and nearly unnoticeable to the untrained eye. I am not a fan of portrait mode, but I found it worked well overall. It deserves a good grade for that alone.

Score: 9.5/10

HDR

High Dynamic Range (HDR) is used to evenly expose a frame with multiple levels of light. Traditionally it was done by mixing multiple photos taken at different exposure levels. The end result was an image with reduced highlights, increased shadows, and an even exposure.

Different phones handle HDR in varying manners — some are better than others. The whole point of the Huawei P20 is to leave a lot of the decisions to the camera app, so we just had to let the camera find out when it was time to activate HDR. It seems like the phone missed the HDR opportunity in the second image, where shadows are harsher and show little detail. The pizza still gets enough detail thanks to the filtering sunlight, but that’s it.

In the first photo we can see more signs of HDR manipulation. The heart displays plenty of color and detail, even though it looked nearly black against the harsh sunlight in real life. We have certainly seen phones do a better job at HDR shots, though. This is probably not the Huawei P20’s strength, but it is pretty alright at it — assuming it actually activates HDR when you want it.

The P20 did a fairly good job with the last two photos. The contrast in lighting in the frappe photo was quite harsh in real life, so we have to give it to the Huawei sensor for being able to get the shot.

Score: 8/10

Food

The Huawei P20 goes into Food Mode whenever it sees something yummy in its viewfinder, and boy are we satisfied with the results. Already colorful Mexican food is taken to another level thanks to the added contrast and saturated hues. The food looks delicious, even if a bit over-softened, which gets rid of some close-up details. Regardless, it seems Huawei found the right balance with Food Mode.

Though some detail is lost in the softening, there is still plenty you can see in the vegetables and the fried dough. Not to mention the mat, which has plenty of detail to appreciate. The photo is also well exposed and white balance is accurate to the setting, making these great Instagram material.

Score: 10/10

Lowlight

The Huawei P20 takes some beautiful night shots. It is hardly thanks to the hardware, though. Zooming into the people in the first image reveals an amount of over-softening that makes them look like a product of Monet. They became blotches of color.

At least the picture looks great from afar. Colors are gorgeous, there is no sign of digital noise, and the shot is perfectly exposed. The other photos show the same effects, but at least they are well exposed and look great.

Score: 9/10

Selfie

In selfies we see the same pros and cons as the rest of the scenarios. The images look great at first, but start digging in things will stick out. The Huawei P20 does a great job exposing these shots, getting the right white balance, and capturing color, but the processing can be a bit too much at times.

In these selfies we can see excessive softening. This makes skin smoother, an effect some people definitely like, but you can definitely tell it’s not real. Pretty images are pretty images, though!

Score: 7.5/10

Monochrome

The Huawei P20 shares a special feature with its bigger brother — it has a dedicated monochrome sensor. This sensor essentially determines where objects are in Portrait Mode, but it also takes some great black  and white photos.

Camera sensors capture light with an array of photosites. In a color sensor, these photosites only allow one of the three main colors (red, green, and blue) to enter. Alternatively, monochrome photosites allow all light to enter as a shade of gray or black. This makes for a crisper image with much more detail than if you just convert a color photo to black and white.

This is something we can definitely see in Monochrome Mode. Look closer and you can better appreciate textures and smaller details. Because the phone is not trying to modify the image with color enhancements, images also have a more natural appearance.

Score: 9/10

Video

Optical image stabilization didn’t help very much here. Of course, it is hard to stabilize a video when walking, but then things were still quite shaky when I stood still. What we can say about this clip is that saturated colors and the deep blue sky do translate from images to video.

The phone also had a hard time adjusting to changing exposure, which should be expected when looking straight into the sun. Overall, the camera did very well. The Huawei P20 camera can take a very pretty video, but it over processes and needs a rather stable grip.

Score: 7.5/10

Conclusion

Overall score: 8.4/10

For 680 euros (~$793) you get a phone with high-end features and a camera that competes aggressively against its direct competitors. The highest of high-end phones — including the P20 Pro — are definitely a step above, though. Its bigger brother got a lot of hype for its amazing hardware and software combination, but the Huawei P20 clearly gets more help from software.

Without a doubt, the Huawei P20 takes some amazing shots, which at first sight can compete against the best of the best. However, it can’t capture the details as well as the industry leader. Pixel-peepers will probably opt for the Huawei P20 Pro if they want the best smartphone camera money can buy. Those who want to save the money will be very happy with the Huawei P20’s photos, as long as they don’t zoom in.

This tale ends happily, with a new 3D-printed tail for a 7-foot-long alligator

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Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So” stories are a series of early-20th-century origin tales about how some of the world’s most recognizable animals acquired their most distinctive features. Here in 2018, researchers from Midwestern University in Arizona just added a worthy successor to how the camel got his hump, and how the leopard got his spots: “How the alligator got his tail.” The answer? Through some cutting-edge 3D printing.

The story involves an alligator called Mr. Stubbs, who was found 10 years ago missing a tail. While his rescuers don’t know for sure, they presume it was lost in a fight. Mr. Stubbs was moved to the Phoenix Herpetological Society, but was left unable to swim or reach food as fast as his fellow gators. Fortunately, researchers from Midwestern University became aware of his plight — and decided to do something about it.

In 2013, they built a simple silicon tail prosthesis for the needy alligator. This worked well, although they were recently called in to revisit the project after Mr. Stubbs outgrew his old tail. Faced with an animal twice the size, they turned to digital technology to create a new prosthesis — rather than take the risk of making a cast from a 7-foot alligator.

“We contacted the 3D-scanning and -printing company Stax3D to find out what they could do to help us,” Dr. Justin Georgi, associate professor of anatomy at Midwestern University. “They used an Artec3D scanner to create a high-resolution, digital model of the tail. We [were able to] manipulate that model to produce any alteration to the tail we needed. We fixed imperfections, made it exactly the correct length and size, [and] adjusted the front end so it matched Mr. Stubbs’ stump with a perfect custom fit.”

After 3D printing the model, the researchers created a silicone cast to make several prostheses to help Mr. Stubbs.

“[He is] doing very well,” Georgi said. “Whenever he is wearing one of his tails, he continues to show improvement. We are now in the process of building a new tail for him, based on what we have learned from the recent experiments. We expect that as his growth slows with age, and we build him a tail that he can grow into, he should soon have one that will benefit him for many years, not just the next two or three.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• This 21-year-old’s 3D-printed aquatic jetpack makes scuba fins look prehistoric
• 15 major milestones along the brief history of 3D printing
• Here are the best shows on Amazon Prime right now (August 2018)
• Why a 19-year-old Bitcoin millionaire built a working Dr. Octopus suit
• Weekend Workshop: How to Build a 3D Printed Tripod Table

Intel i9-9900K storms ahead of competition in potential early benchmark

A new benchmark listing on the 3DMark website may be the first performance rating of Intel’s upcoming ninth-generation flagship CPU, the Core i9-9900K. Although far from confirmed by anyone in an official capacity and listed on the 3Dmark site as a “Genuine Intel CPU 0000” the eight-core, 16- thread CPU was able to deliver a result that was noticeably quicker than its last-generation predecessors and AMD’s Ryzen 2700X.

Months on from AMD’s release of second-generation Ryzen CPUs that continue to put pressure on Intel in most mainstream applications, anticipation is high for what Intel may be capable of with its ninth-generation CPUs. While not initially expected to offer a significant performance increase over the eighth -generation, the Core i9 CPUs in the range could be rather impressive if early results are anything to go by.

Paired up with an Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti and 16GB of DDR4 memory, the possible engineering sample 9900K achieved an overall score of 9,862 in the 3Dmark Time Spy benchmark. Its CPU score of 10,719 was even more impressive. As WCCFtech points out, this is 1,500 points higher than AMD’s Ryzen 2700X and 2,500 more than Intel’s own Core i7-8700K.

The newer Intel chip is said to hit a maximum turbo frequency of 5.0Ghz in the 3Dmark test which is 300 MHz faster than the 8700K is capable of when using a single core. When it spreads the load out, the Core i9 CPU features two more cores and four more threads than its eighth-generation counterpart. When compared with the Ryzen CPU, it’s 700MHz faster, though has the same number of cores and threads.

What should have Intel fans even more excited is that the Core i9-9900K could be even faster when it’s released. Its listed stock clock in the 3Dmark results was just 3.1GHz, while all reports so far point to the 9900K having a base clock of 3.6GHz. With a soldered core too, the cooling, and therefore overclocking potential, are far greater with the top ninth-generation Intel CPU than most new chip releases.

We’ve already seen what specialized binning can do to Intel’s best CPUs, so if buyers of Intel’s upcoming 9900K get lucky, they might be able to make 5GHz across all cores a reality.

Intel’s ninth-generation CPUs are expected to debut before the end of the year.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Leak shows Intel’s 9th-gen Core i7 desktop CPU won’t have hyper-threading
• Intel may debut a Core i9 desktop CPU for the general market in 2018
• Intel’s 9th-generation processor could launch next month with 8 cores
• AMD’s next batch of Ryzen desktop CPUs may focus on better power efficiency
• Intel 9th-generation CPUs are refreshes with slight clock speed bumps

The best cloud storage services

Greg Mombert/Digital Trends

The most important thing to consider when choosing a cloud storage service is convenience. If you are fully tied into Google, Apple, or Microsoft ecosystems, the accompanying cloud storage service will undoubtedly be the best option for you.

Outside of that, you have a few other considerations to balance such as price, features, and usability. Based on those areas of difference, here are the best cloud storage options you can choose can use.

The best

Carbonite (unlimited storage)

Carbonite is the best outlet for unlimited storage space — perfect for anyone who has thousands of high-resolution photos, or large collections of movies or other media. This cloud-based service automatically uploads all the files you want (under 4GB — anything bigger must be uploaded manually) to the cloud from a variety of devices. Automatic backups will keep your recent photos and files secure.

In terms of platform support, Carbonite has clients for Windows and MacOS, and apps for Android and iOS. The file storage offers several data storage plans that vary in price. The basic storage plan costs $72 a year and provides full backup for a single computer. Carbonite also offers advanced services, like localized backup, but those plans cost more.

The rest

Dropbox

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

The reason for Dropbox’s success are simple. The service is full-featured and easy to use. Even though a number of services offer more initial free space — Google Drive, Mega, iCloud, and others outweigh Dropbox’s 2GB — many customers seem to find Dropbox’s referral rewards system irresistible (up to 16GB free space total).

Plus accounts start at $8.25/month on annual subscriptions (or $9.99/month when billed monthly) for 1TB, and DropBox also offers professional plans with more features for more money. Mobile support includes Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows 10 Mobile, and Kindle Fire.

Dropbox boasts excellent sharing abilities. Invite someone to share a particular Dropbox folder with you and that folder will appear right on their desktop. You can also send a link to an individual document or image. In addition, folders full of images can be viewed as a gallery, making Dropbox a viable photo-sharing alternative to Imgur and Flickr.

Google Drive

Google Drive is great for anyone who prefers Google’s ecosystem. The web giant thrives on integration with Google’s other services, like Gmail and Google Docs. In fact, Google recently re-branded some of its services, and now Google Drive actually integrates Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. For the low, low price of absolutely nothing, you’ll get 15GB of Google Drive space for files, Gmail, and Google Photos. Upgrades cost $2/month for 100GB, $10/month for 1TB, and $100/month for 10TB. Mobile support includes iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Signing up is as simple as logging in with a Gmail address and password. From there, Google Drive appears right in your Google toolbar, just a click away from your email inbox. You can drag-and-drop files straight into your browser, or download the desktop client to have access to Google Drive as a folder, just like with Dropbox.

Google Drive’s standout features are its sharing and collaboration tools. Thanks to integration with Gmail and other Google services, you can share files with a click, with or without requiring a password. When you work with partners on the same word file, spreadsheet, or presentation, either separately or right at the same time, Google Drive marks the contributions of each person with different colored labels to make clear what has changed.

Microsoft OneDrive

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

OneDrive has undergone some significant updates over the last few years, and now serves as a strong foundation for Microsoft’s overall productivity solutions. It’s not so much that Microsoft OneDrive does one thing better than other cloud storage systems (other than being one of the few services to support Windows phones and Xbox). Instead, Microsoft’s cloud service delivers a well-rounded package.

If you don’t have a pressing reason to choose another service, then it’s hard to go wrong with OneDrive. Furthermore, if you’ve bought into Microsoft’s Windows 10 ecosystem, then OneDrive is the best solution for you. It touts a decent amount of free space (5GB), along with inexpensive upgrades and the ability to get 1TB of storage with an Office 365 subscription. Microsoft’s cross-platform strategy means that mobile support is very strong, including Windows phones, Android, iPhone, and iPad.

You can also post photos directly from OneDrive to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social-networking sites, which is a nice, time-saving touch. The service also offers built-in remote access capabilities. From the OneDrive.com website, you can get access to any PC associated with your account that has the OneDrive client installed, even files not already uploaded to OneDrive.

OneDrive is one of the only services to integrate with free Office Web Apps, allowing you to work collaboratively on projects, much like in Google Docs. However, the Office Web Apps have the advantage of opening Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents seamlessly, avoiding any formatting kerfuffles. OneDrive maintains the 25 most recent versions of every file, so if a partner makes a change you don’t like, you can easily revert to an earlier version.

iCloud

Apple’s cloud storage service doesn’t make waves on paper, but it’s great if you use iTunes as your central media hub. iCloud provides 5GB of free storage, while upgrading to 50 GB will cost $1/month, 200GB for $3/month, and 2TB for $10/month. Items downloaded from iTunes won’t count against your storage limit, but note that iOS devices use iCloud for backup, and that alone can quickly use up storage allotments.

iCloud also acts as a media sharing hub that works closely with Apple’s cloud-based productivity suite, iWork. It includes a word processor, among other things that can be shared with other iCloud users, all with an interface that looks a bit cleaner and more modular than Google Docs. Still, Apple can’t compete with Google’s price point or the universality of Google accounts.

Box

Box is an all-around solid service that offers a compelling alternative to users who are wary of placing ever-increasing amounts of information in the control of Google, Apple, or Microsoft. Mobile support for all accounts includes Android, iPhone, and iPad.

Free accounts start at 10GB, and a Starter accounts provide 100GB of storage for $5/month. There are also business plans that offer more storage and capabilities, such as version history, password-protected sharing, and search abilities. All accounts, even free ones, allow you to share files or folders with a link. Box also integrates the ability to add comments and assign tasks for easy collaboration and workflow management.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Google doubles down on cloud storage with ‘One’ subscription service
• The best email clients
• How to use Google Drive
• The best music streaming services
• How to download the data Apple has about you

The best cloud storage services

Greg Mombert/Digital Trends

The most important thing to consider when choosing a cloud storage service is convenience. If you are fully tied into Google, Apple, or Microsoft ecosystems, the accompanying cloud storage service will undoubtedly be the best option for you.

Outside of that, you have a few other considerations to balance such as price, features, and usability. Based on those areas of difference, here are the best cloud storage options you can choose can use.

The best

Carbonite (unlimited storage)

Carbonite is the best outlet for unlimited storage space — perfect for anyone who has thousands of high-resolution photos, or large collections of movies or other media. This cloud-based service automatically uploads all the files you want (under 4GB — anything bigger must be uploaded manually) to the cloud from a variety of devices. Automatic backups will keep your recent photos and files secure.

In terms of platform support, Carbonite has clients for Windows and MacOS, and apps for Android and iOS. The file storage offers several data storage plans that vary in price. The basic storage plan costs $72 a year and provides full backup for a single computer. Carbonite also offers advanced services, like localized backup, but those plans cost more.

The rest

Dropbox

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

The reason for Dropbox’s success are simple. The service is full-featured and easy to use. Even though a number of services offer more initial free space — Google Drive, Mega, iCloud, and others outweigh Dropbox’s 2GB — many customers seem to find Dropbox’s referral rewards system irresistible (up to 16GB free space total).

Plus accounts start at $8.25/month on annual subscriptions (or $9.99/month when billed monthly) for 1TB, and DropBox also offers professional plans with more features for more money. Mobile support includes Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows 10 Mobile, and Kindle Fire.

Dropbox boasts excellent sharing abilities. Invite someone to share a particular Dropbox folder with you and that folder will appear right on their desktop. You can also send a link to an individual document or image. In addition, folders full of images can be viewed as a gallery, making Dropbox a viable photo-sharing alternative to Imgur and Flickr.

Google Drive

Google Drive is great for anyone who prefers Google’s ecosystem. The web giant thrives on integration with Google’s other services, like Gmail and Google Docs. In fact, Google recently re-branded some of its services, and now Google Drive actually integrates Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. For the low, low price of absolutely nothing, you’ll get 15GB of Google Drive space for files, Gmail, and Google Photos. Upgrades cost $2/month for 100GB, $10/month for 1TB, and $100/month for 10TB. Mobile support includes iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Signing up is as simple as logging in with a Gmail address and password. From there, Google Drive appears right in your Google toolbar, just a click away from your email inbox. You can drag-and-drop files straight into your browser, or download the desktop client to have access to Google Drive as a folder, just like with Dropbox.

Google Drive’s standout features are its sharing and collaboration tools. Thanks to integration with Gmail and other Google services, you can share files with a click, with or without requiring a password. When you work with partners on the same word file, spreadsheet, or presentation, either separately or right at the same time, Google Drive marks the contributions of each person with different colored labels to make clear what has changed.

Microsoft OneDrive

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

OneDrive has undergone some significant updates over the last few years, and now serves as a strong foundation for Microsoft’s overall productivity solutions. It’s not so much that Microsoft OneDrive does one thing better than other cloud storage systems (other than being one of the few services to support Windows phones and Xbox). Instead, Microsoft’s cloud service delivers a well-rounded package.

If you don’t have a pressing reason to choose another service, then it’s hard to go wrong with OneDrive. Furthermore, if you’ve bought into Microsoft’s Windows 10 ecosystem, then OneDrive is the best solution for you. It touts a decent amount of free space (5GB), along with inexpensive upgrades and the ability to get 1TB of storage with an Office 365 subscription. Microsoft’s cross-platform strategy means that mobile support is very strong, including Windows phones, Android, iPhone, and iPad.

You can also post photos directly from OneDrive to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social-networking sites, which is a nice, time-saving touch. The service also offers built-in remote access capabilities. From the OneDrive.com website, you can get access to any PC associated with your account that has the OneDrive client installed, even files not already uploaded to OneDrive.

OneDrive is one of the only services to integrate with free Office Web Apps, allowing you to work collaboratively on projects, much like in Google Docs. However, the Office Web Apps have the advantage of opening Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents seamlessly, avoiding any formatting kerfuffles. OneDrive maintains the 25 most recent versions of every file, so if a partner makes a change you don’t like, you can easily revert to an earlier version.

iCloud

Apple’s cloud storage service doesn’t make waves on paper, but it’s great if you use iTunes as your central media hub. iCloud provides 5GB of free storage, while upgrading to 50 GB will cost $1/month, 200GB for $3/month, and 2TB for $10/month. Items downloaded from iTunes won’t count against your storage limit, but note that iOS devices use iCloud for backup, and that alone can quickly use up storage allotments.

iCloud also acts as a media sharing hub that works closely with Apple’s cloud-based productivity suite, iWork. It includes a word processor, among other things that can be shared with other iCloud users, all with an interface that looks a bit cleaner and more modular than Google Docs. Still, Apple can’t compete with Google’s price point or the universality of Google accounts.

Box

Box is an all-around solid service that offers a compelling alternative to users who are wary of placing ever-increasing amounts of information in the control of Google, Apple, or Microsoft. Mobile support for all accounts includes Android, iPhone, and iPad.

Free accounts start at 10GB, and a Starter accounts provide 100GB of storage for $5/month. There are also business plans that offer more storage and capabilities, such as version history, password-protected sharing, and search abilities. All accounts, even free ones, allow you to share files or folders with a link. Box also integrates the ability to add comments and assign tasks for easy collaboration and workflow management.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• How to download the data Apple has about you

Microsoft patent points to a 2-screen device for 3-way video calls

Although Microsoft’s two-screen pocket-sized Andromeda device appears to be dead in the water for now, the company apparently still has multi-screen devices on its radar. A patent application published earlier this month describes a hinged multi-screen device that supports three-way video calling. Each screen will sport a camera, enabling two people to chat on the device with a third person on the other end of the call.

According to the patent, each screen will render the video feed from their embedded cameras, the video feed from the opposite screen’s camera, or from the video feed sent by the remote caller. Based on that description, the software would simply present the video of the current person speaking: you, the other person on the same device, or the individual on the remote device. But as shown above, all three individuals could be shown together on each screen.

Microsoft’s patent addresses a current problem when multiple users are participating in a call. When you and your friends are attempting a group chat on Friday night using a single-screen device, something is going to break with multiple heads trying to cram into one camera’s view. With two screens and two cameras involved, there is a smaller chance of congestion and bruises.

The patent reveals the device to include a processor, storage, system memory, sensors, an orientation module (accelerometer), “two or more display devices,” and front-facing cameras. In one diagram, Microsoft shows a standing individual holding and talking to the device while a second person sits in a chair, chatting through the held device’s second screen.

Outside holding the device, the patent describes an angular orientation up to 90 degrees, meaning you would simply place it on a surface vertically in an L-shaped manner. The open angular orientation would be between 90 and 270 degrees whereas a back-to-back orientation would be 270 to 360 degrees.

“The computer program executed by the processor includes an orientation module,” the patent describes. “As shown, the orientation module is configured to receive sensor data from the sensor devices. Based on the sensor data, the orientation module is configured to detect a current angular orientation between the pair of display devices indicating that the pair of display devices are facing away from each other.”

If you followed the Andromeda rumors, this device should sound all-too-familiar. Given the recent shift inside Microsoft, the company supposedly put its two-screen device on hold because it really had no supporting ecosystem or target audience. Insiders said it had telephony features, too, although it wasn’t designed to replace smartphones.

Presumably, this patent is related to Andromeda, originally submitted to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in June 2017 when Microsoft was supposedly still in full swing with designing Andromeda. The patent went live on July 3, and even if Andromeda may never surface, Microsoft will still hold rights to the design if approved.

Still, what the patent doesn’t mention is size. With that said, this design could cover a pocket-size device or something larger like a two-screen laptop.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Microsoft calls its foldable Andromeda device “disruptive”
• Take a look at what could be the future of Samsung’s Galaxy phones
• Microsoft leak hints dual-screen Andromeda device targets launch later this year
• Microsoft’s ‘Andromeda’ device may be a phone after all
• Microsoft’s foldable ‘Andromeda’ pocket device may never surface

Microsoft patent points to a 2-screen device for 3-way video calls

Although Microsoft’s two-screen pocket-sized Andromeda device appears to be dead in the water for now, the company apparently still has multi-screen devices on its radar. A patent application published earlier this month describes a hinged multi-screen device that supports three-way video calling. Each screen will sport a camera, enabling two people to chat on the device with a third person on the other end of the call.

According to the patent, each screen will render the video feed from their embedded cameras, the video feed from the opposite screen’s camera, or from the video feed sent by the remote caller. Based on that description, the software would simply present the video of the current person speaking: you, the other person on the same device, or the individual on the remote device. But as shown above, all three individuals could be shown together on each screen.

Microsoft’s patent addresses a current problem when multiple users are participating in a call. When you and your friends are attempting a group chat on Friday night using a single-screen device, something is going to break with multiple heads trying to cram into one camera’s view. With two screens and two cameras involved, there is a smaller chance of congestion and bruises.

The patent reveals the device to include a processor, storage, system memory, sensors, an orientation module (accelerometer), “two or more display devices,” and front-facing cameras. In one diagram, Microsoft shows a standing individual holding and talking to the device while a second person sits in a chair, chatting through the held device’s second screen.

Outside holding the device, the patent describes an angular orientation up to 90 degrees, meaning you would simply place it on a surface vertically in an L-shaped manner. The open angular orientation would be between 90 and 270 degrees whereas a back-to-back orientation would be 270 to 360 degrees.

“The computer program executed by the processor includes an orientation module,” the patent describes. “As shown, the orientation module is configured to receive sensor data from the sensor devices. Based on the sensor data, the orientation module is configured to detect a current angular orientation between the pair of display devices indicating that the pair of display devices are facing away from each other.”

If you followed the Andromeda rumors, this device should sound all-too-familiar. Given the recent shift inside Microsoft, the company supposedly put its two-screen device on hold because it really had no supporting ecosystem or target audience. Insiders said it had telephony features, too, although it wasn’t designed to replace smartphones.

Presumably, this patent is related to Andromeda, originally submitted to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in June 2017 when Microsoft was supposedly still in full swing with designing Andromeda. The patent went live on July 3, and even if Andromeda may never surface, Microsoft will still hold rights to the design if approved.

Still, what the patent doesn’t mention is size. With that said, this design could cover a pocket-size device or something larger like a two-screen laptop.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Microsoft calls its foldable Andromeda device “disruptive”
• Take a look at what could be the future of Samsung’s Galaxy phones
• Microsoft leak hints dual-screen Andromeda device targets launch later this year
• Microsoft’s ‘Andromeda’ device may be a phone after all
• Microsoft’s foldable ‘Andromeda’ pocket device may never surface

Move over, Shakespeare: This sonnet-writing A.I. is the poet we need

“With joyous gambols gay and still array,
no longer when he ‘twas, while in his day
at first to pass in all delightful ways
around him, charming, and of all his days.”

Don’t worry: You haven’t accidentally clicked on pre-Digital Trends, by mistake. This is part of a Shakespearean sonnet created by deep learning artificial intelligence — and, shockingly, it’s actually pretty good. The bot was created by researchers at IBM Research Australia. Trained on around 26,000 real sonnets, it mimics the iambic pentameter and rhyming pattern of the poems most famously written by ol’ Bill Shakespeare himself.

“While the application itself may not seem directly relevant to real-world applications, the underlying machinery of our model shares the same core algorithm that drives other problems that require generation,” Jey Han, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “[These might include] translation, summarization, and chatbots. When we started the project, a research question that we wanted to address was, ‘how do we build machines that can produce a coherent narrative that spans multiple sentences?’ And we thought poetry is a good place to start.”

We previously covered some pretty interesting attempts to mimic creativity using A.I. These have included everything from Google’s DeepDream image generation project to a bot-written script for TV comedy Scrubs, which was then read by actor Zach Braff. While A.I. is currently in the process of munching up jobs in the real world, however, the researchers on this particular project think there’s still a way to go before top-tier poets are put out of business by machines. If, indeed, it ever happens.

“The conclusion in the paper is that we should focus more effort on ‘content’ in future work: Spend less time on rhyme and meter, and more time on emotion and readability,” Adam Hammond, a University of Toronto English professor, who lent his expertise to the project, told us. “I’m excited to see what’s possible, but I’m very skeptical. I think it’s quite easy to have a deep learning model spit out lines of verse in rhyming iambic pentameter. It’s much, much, much, much harder to train it to have an opinion, or a feeling, or a desire, or a story to tell.”

A paper describing the work is available to read online.

Editors’ Recommendations

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