Deal: Get 50% off the LG G7 ThinQ or Samsung Galaxy S9 from Sprint!

Get some sweet half-off action from Sprint.

Now’s your chance to get in on some sweet half-off action from Sprint. Currently, you can grab a new LG G7 ThinQ or a Samsung Galaxy S9 at 50 percent off.

LG G7 ThinQ

Get 50 percent off a new LG G7 ThinQ phone when you sign up for an 18-month Flex Lease with Sprint.

• Pay just $16.50/month for the phone and receive $16.50/month in monthly bill credits (normal cost of phone is $33/month
• Bill credit is applied within 2 billing cycles
• Line must stay activated for entire leasing period (18 months) to receive full value
• If you terminate your line early, the remaining balance on your phone and plan will be due
• Offer valid to new customers (activating a new line) or for eligible customers wanting to upgrade
• Hulu subscription included in Flex Lease plan
• 500 MB of mobile hotspot included
• Unlimited talk and text and 5GB of data included while in Mexico and Canada
• Free activation on online orders for a limited time ($30 savings)

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Samsung Galaxy S9

50% off Samsung Galaxy S9 (and up to 50% off other models) when you sign up for a Flex Lease.

• Pay just $16.50/month for a new Samsung Galaxy S9 phone on Sprint’s Flex Lease
• You’ll receive $16.50/month in monthly bill credits (to pay for other half of phone) (full price of phone is usually $33/month)
• Bill credits will be applied within 2 billing cycles
• Valid for qualified customers starting a new line of service with Sprint
• Must stay on Flex Lease for the full 18-month period to get full discount
• If the line is deactivated before the 18-month lease period is up, the remaining balance will be due
• Hulu subscription included in Flex Lease plan
• 500 MB of mobile hotspot included
• Unlimited talk and text and 5GB of data included while in Mexico and Canada
• Free activation on online orders for a limited time ($30 savings)

See at Sprint

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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How to Use Automatic Strong Passwords and Password Auditing in iOS 12

In iOS 12, Apple has introduced new password-related features that are designed to make it easier for iPhone and iPad users to create strong, secure, and unique passwords for app and website logins. In this guide, we’ll show you how to use two of those features: automatic strong passwords and password auditing.

Automatic strong passwords ensures that if you’re prompted by a website or app to make up a password on the spot, Apple will automatically offer to generate a secure one for you. Password auditing meanwhile flags weak passwords and tells you if a password has been reused for different account login credentials. Here’s how to use the two features.

How to Use Automatic Strong Passwords in iOS 12

Launch Safari and navigate to the site asking you to create new login credentials, or launch a third-party app asking you to sign up for a new account.
Enter a username or email address in the first field.
Tap on the Password field – iOS will generate a strong password.

Tap Use Strong Password to accept the password suggestion and save it to your iCloud Keychain.Pro tip: Next time you need one of your passwords, you can ask Siri. For example, you could say: “Siri, show me my BBC password.” Siri will then open up your iCloud Keychain with the relevant entry, but only after you authenticate your identity with a fingerprint, a Face ID scan, or a passcode.

How to Identify Reused Passwords in iOS 12

Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap Passwords & Accounts.

Authenticate via Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode.
Scroll down the list of passwords and tap on any entries with a triangular warning symbol.

Tap Change Password on Website to open the associated website and make the change.Note that the last screen shows you on which other websites you’ve used the same password.

Pro tip: You can share passwords with other people directly from the iOS Password Manager via AirDrop. Simply tap the password field and an option to AirDrop the login will appear. The login can be AirDropped to any device running iOS 12 or macOS Mojave.

Related Roundup: iOS 12Tag: Apple security
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Save Your Data with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free

No one wants to lose all of their data—whether it’s on their home computer, laptop, tablet, or their smart phone. But data loss is an all-too-common problem, especially in cases where your personal devices get damaged, lost, or you simply accidentally delete files that you didn’t intend to remove from your device.

Thankfully, data loss doesn’t have to be the end of the line for your precious data. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a free data recovery software that will help you get your data back in a flash. This program is designed to be used with personal computers, laptops, and removeable devices such as tablets and smart phones. Purchase-exclusive recovery software can be expensive, confusing, and sometimes ineffective.

The EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is not only a completely free data recovery software program, it actually works—and it works fast! Let’s take a closer look at what it can do to help you when you’re going through a missing data crisis.

What It Recovers

The EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free can help you recover data that was lost for all sorts of reasons, including:

• Recycle bin recovery, for when you (accidentally or otherwise) delete files from your PC or laptop recycling bin
• Accidentally deletion recovery, for files that are accidentally deleted from your removeable device, PC or laptop
• Data recovery due to hard disk damage, meaning files that are lost due to damage to the hard disk
• Recovery from virus attacks, for when viruses delete or corrupt data on your laptop, PC or other device
• Crash recovery, for when data is lost due to a crash of your device’s operating system

How It Works

This free data recovery software is so easy, that even people with very little computer sense can recover their data in no time. The program only needs as few as 3 clicks to find your missing data, discover the problem, and restore it for you. If you want even better data recovery results, you can use the second of the programs’ 2 scan options—quick scan for the fastest recovery, and deep scan for best results.

You can even decide whether or not you want certain files recovered, which is ideal when you’re looking for certain data—such as photos or documents—that were deleted en masse with files that you really did want removed from your PC, laptop or other device.

The program can recover just about any type of data file, including: photos, documents, audio files, video files, email files, archive files, and more.

Never Lose Data Again

When you’re looking for recycle bin recovery, resotring data lost in a crash, repairing data after a hard drive malfunction or any other type of data recovery on your laptop, personal computer or other removeable device, you need look no further than EaseUS Recovery Data Wizard Free. The program is free to use, very easy to use, and will get the job done in no time at all. If you want to save your data, don’t hesitate: download the program today!

This DIY wearable lets you see the world like a dolphin does

As one of its most notable applications, Lidar technology is most commonly associated with self-driving cars. Engineer Andrew Thaler had a different use in mind: Creating a Lidar-powered wearable device that lets you experience life the way a dolphin would.

Called DolphinView, the head-mounted display fuses Lidar technology with the technology developed for bone-conducting headphones to transform the world into a series of vibrations that can be heard through the wearer’s jaw. That, incidentally, is the same part of the body that real dolphins hear through. It’s also a similar technological approach to the “echolocation” process dolphins use to hear, which involves emitting high-pitched clicks which are then bounced off surrounding objects to provide a sense of spatial awareness.

“This is a teaching tool that mimics how dolphins might perceive biosonar by using a Lidar to take a distance measurement, and converting that measurement into pulse and vibrations in their jaws,” Thaler told Digital Trends. “This is a very rough approximation of how dolphins use echolocation to detect objects.”

According to Thaler, the technology works well enough that, as people walk around wearing the headset, they do start to gain an understanding of what the various dolphin-like clicking sounds mean. With a bit of practice, people can become proficient enough with DolphinView that they can pick out open doorways with their eyes closed.

“I’m aware that people have started speculating on applications for people with vision impairment, but similar experimental systems already exist and have had very limited uptake,” he continued, regarding whether or not there are practical applications for the technology.

If you really are keen to live the dolphin way, however, Thaler is here to help — and has made all the instructions and source code available in a GitHub repository to ensure it’s as straightforward as possible. “With a little bit of expertise it’s not a particularly difficult build,” he said. A complete build should cost you less than $100 to complete and is achievable in a weekend. Interested parties may also want to check out his other open-source ocean-related projects.

What better way to teach your kids about the world of dolphins — or, heck, just engage in a spot of post-Comic-Con Flipper cosplay?

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Samsung announces new ‘unbreakable’ display that survives punishing UL certification

This is the direction the industry is heading.

Samsung Display has announced that it has developed a truly “unbreakable” display panel, after receiving certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to verify the claim. The base feature of the panel is that it’s made of flexible OLED, like many of Samsung’s modern phones, but in this case it has a substrate that’s been designed to not give out with repeated impact.

Rather than go with a super-hard glass, Samsung is using fortified plastic that’s flexible.

The traditional way to have a super-tough screen was to simply harden the covering that went over top of it. Phone makers have been covering displays with synthetic sapphire for years, which is much stronger than traditional glass found on phones. Synthetic sapphire is extremely difficult to break when reinforced properly by the phone’s hardware, and when paired with an OLED panel underneath the entire package is very rugged. But it can eventually break, because it’s brittle. This “unbreakable” panel from Samsung is covered by a fortified plastic rather than glass, which makes it flexible during impact.

Samsung claims that the fortified plastic in use here is very similar to glass in terms of its transmissivity (how well light and RF can pass through) and hardness, while being dramatically more flexible. In UL’s testing, the display panel was subjected to 26 successive 4-foot drops without damage, and also continued working in extreme temperatures. Samsung notes that the panel was also tested for drops at 6 feet, well above the current standard test, without issue.

Though the display may not be easily breakable, the concern with a plastic-based display covering is how easily it picks up scratches with prolonged use. The last time Motorola tried that, it definitely didn’t work out for the company.

This isn’t just for phones — Samsung envisions applications in automotive, military and education.

This type of panel is still a good ways off from being put to use in any commercially available smartphones, so don’t get your hopes up for the Galaxy Note 9 — or the Galaxy S10, for that matter — to have anything like this. To that point, Samsung isn’t saying that this is being developed solely for consumer electronics. The company notes that it could also be put to good use in other applications such as car center consoles, mobile military devices, portable game consoles and education-focused tablets — it’s pretty easy to see why each one of these areas could benefit from a high-quality screen that’s also made to take extra abuse without breaking.

But Samsung’s flexible OLED panels felt like a crazy tech demo at one point too, and yet they were eventually integrated into every flagship phone the company sells over time. With rumors of Samsung working on a “foldable” smartphone, this sort of technology could definitely be a factor in those types of products being viable. At a bare minimum, being able to market an “unbreakable” display in a non-folding phone is also a nice feather in your cap.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

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• Join our Galaxy Note 9 forums

Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus Was the Top Selling iPhone in the U.S. During Q2 2018

Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus was the number one selling iPhone in the United States during the second quarter of 2018 according to new data shared today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

The iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X accounted for 54 percent of US iPhone sales during the quarter, with the iPhone 8 making up 13 percent of sales, the iPhone 8 Plus making up 24 percent of sales, and the iPhone X making up 17 percent of sales.

Older iPhones continued to be popular as well, with the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, SE, 6s Plus and 6s making up 46 percent of sales. Apple’s Q2 2018 sales are a deviation from its Q2 2017 sales, where the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the flagship phones at that time, made up more than 80 percent of sales.

In what is usually a quieter quarter for iPhone sales, the model breakdown is interesting, as older models persisted in popularity,” said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. “The latest iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X models accounted for a little more than half of sales, yet last year at this time the then-latest iPhone 7 and 7 Plus accounted for over 80%. And, the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, and SE grabbed 20% in the past quarter, virtually the same as in the June 2017 quarter, though at lower price points. So, it looks like two-year old legacy iPhones have squeezed the newer models. Still, because Apple increased base storage and boosted prices, we expect Average Selling Price to increase nicely over the June 2017 quarter.”

Combined, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus made up 37 percent of purchases, far exceeding purchases of the iPhone X, according to CIRP’s data.

This is likely attributable to the high price of the iPhone X, with pricing that starts at $999 vs. the iPhone 8’s $699 starting price. Given the popularity of the two lower-cost devices, Apple plans to continue offering consumers an affordable option in 2018 with the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone that rumors suggest will be sold alongside more expensive 5.8 and 6.5-inch OLED models.

As for iPads, the low-cost iPad continues to be the best selling tablet, with CIRP lumping the 5th and 6th-generation models together. 31 percent of customers bought a low-cost iPad during the quarter, but the iPad Pro was also popular with a combined 40 percent of sales for the 10.5 and 12.9-inch models.

While CIRP’s data can provide an interesting look at the iPhones customers in the United States are choosing to purchase, it’s worth keeping in mind that CIRP’s numbers are aggregated from surveys that encompass just 500 customers who purchased an iPhone, iPad, or Mac during the second quarter of 2018, which spans from April to June.

Tag: CIRP
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Google’s Street View App for iOS Gets iPhone X Update

Google today updated its Street View app for iOS, finally adding support for the iPhone X’s display eight months after the device’s launch.

Google Street View is designed to allow users to explore different locations and landmarks around the world using the Street View feature. The app also allows users to create photo spheres with the iPhone’s camera, and today’s update also improves support for rendering 360 degree panos.

What’s New
– Support for iPhone X
– Improvements for rendering 360 panos

Google had been slow to update some of its apps for the iPhone X, but made progress this month first with Inbox by Gmail and now Street View.

Many of Google’s most popular apps now work properly with the iPhone X, two months ahead of when Apple is expected to release new iPhone models that will use the same notched design and taller display.

Tag: Google
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Samsung Announces UL-Certified Unbreakable OLED Panel for Smartphones

Samsung Display today announced an unbreakable OLED smartphone panel that’s been certified by Underwriters Laboratory (UL), an official testing company for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The UL test indicates that Samsung’s unbreakable display withstood 26 drops from 1.2 meters (4 feet) with no damage and held up to extreme temperature testing. Samsung says that the display was also subjected to a drop of six feet with no sign of damage.

According to UL, the unbreakable display developed by Samsung Display passed the rigorous real-time durability test that is based on military standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense. After a drop test administered at 1.2 meters (nearly 4 feet) above the ground 26 times in succession, and accompanying high (71 degrees) and low (-32 degrees) temperature tests, the Samsung unbreakable panel continued to function normally with no damage to its front, sides or edges.

According to Samsung, its flexible OLED panel uses an unbreakable substrate that’s adhered to an overlay window, a deviation from other, more breakable flexible OLED panels that use a glass-covered window.

Samsung says that the unbreakable panels are being developed for use on smartphones but are likely to find viable markets with other products like display consoles for automobiles, mobile military devices, portable game consoles, and tablet PCs.

“The fortified plastic window is especially suitable for portable electronic devices not only because of its unbreakable characteristics, but also because of its lightweight, transmissivity and hardness, which are all very similar to glass,” said Hojung Kim, general manager of the Communication Team, Samsung Display Company.

While UL-certification for the panel is being announced today, Samsung first showed off its technology at DisplayWeek in May, in the form of a 6.22-inch display that was targeted at automotive customers. Samsung has been developing flexible display technology for years.

As CNET’s Shara Tibken points out, Samsung’s announcement comes just two weeks ahead of when it plans to unveil the Galaxy Note 9, so it’s possible Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone could use this new display technology. With UL certification, the panel is ready to be used in consumer products.

Apple uses displays sourced from Samsung in its iPhone lineup, so it’s not unreasonable to think that the Cupertino company could potentially adopt this technology in the future, should it meet Apple’s demands for quality.

Apple sources its OLED displays for the iPhone X from Samsung and is expected to continue using Samsung as a supplier for the foreseeable future, though the company is working on securing additional display suppliers for diversification purposes.
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Zapping your brain while you sleep could actually improve your memory

Technologies like Elon Musk’s proposed Neuralink promise augmentation of the human memory, courtesy of a special brain chip. If you’re not quite ready to dive into the world of brain implants to improve your memory function, however, you might appreciate a piece of research carried out recently by scientists at the Society for Neuroscience.

They have demonstrated a noninvasive overnight brain stimulation technique that promises to improve people’s ability to remember things. And you won’t have to worry about an overzealous engineer taking a miniature hacksaw to your skull – this technique won’t even disturb your sleep!

“We have shown that we can improve the integration of recent experiences into a more general form of memory through the process of sleep-dependent consolidation,” Dr. Nicholas Ketz, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “We do this by selectively enhancing the natural slow-wave oscillations that occur during sleep, which are essential in this consolidation processes. Further, we’ve shown that we can use a fully closed-loop system that automatically detects these oscillations and stimulates at the matching frequency and phase of the ongoing slow waves, greatly improving our ability to influence the underlying brain state and thus the consolidation process.”

Participants in the researchers’ study were trained and then tested on a visual discrimination task in which they had to identify objects and people in a scene. Those who had been given the brain stimulation while sleeping were noticeably better at detecting those same targets in similar, but novel, situations.

Ketz said that there is still further work to be done, though.

“While the average response across the group of participants shows increased performance and enhanced slow-wave oscillations, many participants showed varying degrees of responsiveness to the intervention,” he said. “Future work related to this approach would try to understand, within each individual, how to minimize the duration of the intervention, and maximize the response to stimulation.”

This isn’t the first time the power of brain stimulation has been shown off in experiments. Previous research has suggested that a quick brain jolt could help with everything from improving creativity to curbing Tourette syndrome tics or weaning people off heroin.

A paper describing this latest memory-improving work was recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

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Gene editing can reverse balding and wrinkling in mice — and maybe humans, too

From the potential 3D bioprinting of organs for transplants to ultra-ambitious attempts to upload human consciousness into a computer, there are plenty of tech-heavy initiatives aimed at extending life spans way beyond what is currently possible. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham added one more fascinating breakthrough to this mission: Finding a way to reverse wrinkled skin and hair loss — both hallmarks of the aging process — in mice. Using gene editing, they were able to reverse an artificially induced aging process in a way that could one day be used to counteract the effects of, well, actually getting old.

“Decline in mitochondrial DNA content and mitochondrial function has been observed in aging humans,” Keshav Singh, a professor of Genetics, Pathology and Environmental Health, told Digital Trends. “We created [a] mouse to mimic those condition to show that decline in mitochondrial function leads to development of wrinkles and loss of hair. The main finding is that by restoring mitochondrial function, we can reverse skin wrinkles to normal healthy skin and also regain hair growth.”

For their study, the scientists carried out a two-month mitochondrial DNA depletion process, essentially robbing the mouse’s body of its ability to convert the energy from food into something its cells can use. As a result, the mouse developed wrinkled skin and visible hair loss, both of which are effects of the normal aging process. When they later restored mitochondrial function by turning off the gene responsible for the mitochondrial dysfunction, the mouse’s smooth skin and thick fur returned. Following the experiment, the mouse was indistinguishable from any other healthy mouse the same age.

The researchers believe these results could be used be applied to humans in the future. As Singh noted, humans experience a decline in mitochondrial function as they age. In addition to changing skin and hair loss, this may also help drive diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, age-associated neurological disorders, and certain cancers.

“We are [currently] developing agents which can restore mitochondrial function in aging individuals so wrinkles do not develop, [as well as protecting] loss of hair,” Singh continued. “Further, it may improve quality of life in old age.” The most immediate goal, he said, is to find a way to help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, who lose their hair as a result of the treatment.

A paper describing the research was recently published in the journal Cell Death & Disease.

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