Peter Thiel to speak at the Republican National Convention

Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley investor and PayPal co-founder, is set to speak an the upcoming Republican National Convention. According to a list of speakers and guests obtained by The New York Times, Thiel is scheduled to appear on the fourth night of the GOP’s event — the same evening as Donald Trump is expected to accept the party’s formal nomination. The two will be joined on stage that night, Thursday, July 21st, by Republican Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, Florida Governor Rick Scott, former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow and others. As always, the list is subject to change before the event.

Thiel’s attendance at the RNC isn’t too surprising, but him taking the stage to address the convention might be. He’s one of the big names in Silicon Valley to pledge support for Trump. Shortly after Thiel was on a list of pledged delegates for Trump in California back in May, it was revealed that he was financing Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker. After co-founding PayPal, he went on fund companies like Airbnb and Facebook. Thiel was recently re-elected to the board of directors for Mark Zuckerberg’s social network.

As The New York Times notes, Thursday is also the day the convention can debate proposals to change the party’s rules. Changes could include allowing delegates to “vote their consciences” to formally select the nominee, rather than following the results of the primaries in their states as is usually required by a state’s party rules. Needless to say, Thiel will be a part of a busy day in Cleveland.

Via: The Verge

Source: The New York Times

Apple to Open Imaging Research Lab in Grenoble, France

Apple plans to open a research laboratory in Grenoble, France focused on developing improved imaging sensors and techniques for its iOS devices, according to French newspaper Dauphiné Libéré, with details shared by iPhon.fr [Google Translate].

Apple has had a team of more than a dozen researchers and engineers working on imaging research and development for more than a year at the Minatec European research center, and recently signed a lease to establish its own research laboratory in Grenoble.

The new facility, located on Rue Ampere, will give Apple the space to hire additional researchers and it will allow the company to provide its research team with specialized equipment for sensor development. Apple plans to have approximately 30 engineers working at the research lab, which will span 800 square meters.

According to the newspaper, Apple’s work on sensors for the iPhone and iPad will be done in collaboration with engineers from Apple partner STMicroelectronics, which has supplied components for Apple devices in the past.

With the iPhone positioned as the most popular point-and-shoot camera in the world, Apple has invested a lot of resources into continual improvements, introducing better image quality with each iteration of the device. This year, we may see some of the biggest image improvements yet, as Apple is expected to introduce a camera with a larger sensor in the iPhone 7 and a dual-lens camera setup in the iPhone 7 Plus.

Tag: STMicroelectronics
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You can now buy the HTC Vive from GAME in the UK

If you’re yet to invest in one of the more premium VR experiences, the HTC Vive is now available for order from GAME in the UK for £689. The company’s VR experience makes use of a headset and a pair of controllers to interact with what’s being displayed on-screen.

As an added bonus, GAME is offering free UK Express Delivery, a total of three games worth over £75 thrown in for free, as well as 5512 GAME Reward points (worth around £14). That doesn’t sound like such a bad deal, especially if you’re looking to take your gaming to the next level. Hit the store link below for more details.

See at GAME

Moto E3 and Moto G4 Play coming to the UK this summer

Lenovo plans to unleash both the Moto G4 Play and third-generation Moto E in the UK this summer, offering quality smartphone experiences at affordable price points.

The new Moto E comes with 4G LTE support, a quad-core processor, Android Marshmallow, 8MP main shooter with 5MP selfie capturer, splashproof, has a 5-inch HD display, and a 2800mAh battery. Priced at just £99, this is an affordable handset with some interesting specifications to boot. The E3 will be available this September from Tesco, Amazon, Argos, O2 and other participating retailers.

As for the Moto G4 Play, we’re looking at a quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, 2800mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and a 5-inch HD display. The G4 Play will be available for purchase from Carphone Warehouse, Amazon, JLP and other participating retailers for £129 mid-August.

Press Release

14th July, 2016 – London, UK – Value doesn’t mean having less, it simply means having more for less. When it comes to your smartphone, real value is when it possesses some of the same premium features you’d expect to see in a flagship device, but for a fraction of the cost.

This is why we are building on the success of our popular Moto G and Moto E smartphones, expanding our value-driven proposition to bring two new devices to the UK later this summer. The devices offer more choice for the value consumer, proving no matter the price-point, a quality smartphone experience should always be your top priority.

Meet the new Moto E3

The new Moto E is a stylish, affordable 4G smartphone that gives you more than you imagined – all for less than you’d expect. It features a fast, quad-core processor for games and movies, the ever-popular AndroidTM Marshmallow operating system and advanced cameras with autofocus, so you never miss a moment or a perfect selfie. It’s also splashproof, so you can hang out by the pool or sprint to your car in the rain without worrying about any water damage.*

A brilliant 5″ HD display is protected by a built-in smudge-resistant screen protector to enable you to clearly view your videos and photos, without having to worry about those annoying fingerprint smudges. Go a full day without recharging thanks to the long-lasting 2800 mAh battery.** Think only about what you want to do – not whether or not you have enough power left to do it. And if you use up too much memory taking photos or capturing awesome videos on the 8MP rear or front-facing 5MP selfie cameras never fear – you can always add more storage with an optional microSD card.***

The Moto E3 will be available in the UK from early September from Tesco, Amazon, Argos, O2 and other selected resellers from £99 RRP.

Moto G4 Play coming to the UK

The third handset from the Moto G4 family, the Moto G Play, will now be available to purchase in the UK. The handset gives you more of what you love, like the fast, reliable performance of the

Qualcomm® Snapdragon 450 MHz quad-core processor. It’s designed to last a full day, thanks to its 2800 mAh battery. And it boosts performance by running a pure, clutter-free version of Android. The best part? You only have to spend a little for a phone you’ll love a lot.

Available from mid-August from £129 RRP, the Moto G Play can be purchased from Carphone, O2, Vodafone, Amazon, Argos, JLP and other selected resellers.

Don’t miss this amazing deal on the 32GB Nexus 5X

If you are looking for an awesome deal on the Nexus 5X, you won’t want to miss out on this offer for an unlocked 32GB version of the phone. Through its Flash section, Newegg is offering it for just $235, which is lower than we had seen it in the past. This time around you have your choice between black and white for this 5.2-inch phone.

Keep in mind, this will be one of the first phones to receive the Android Nougat update when it is made available later this year. If you want to pick one up, you only have a limited time to do so before the price goes back up. Will you be grabbing one as a new primary phone or a backup? Let us know what you think of this deal in the comments.

See at Newegg

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Ask AC: Is it safe to use the Amazon App Store?

Amazon is in a tough spot because of Google’s “all or nothing” Unknown sources setting.

Since we’re all fairly concerned about mobile security on a personal and professional level, we recommend that the phone in your pocket and full of your personal data has a locked bootloader and “Unknown sources” left unchecked. If you find a trusted app that needs to be sideloaded, disable the setting again once you’ve installed it. It’s the last barricade between your data and an app that hasn’t been vetted for safety.

Because we take this stance, more than a few folks have written in with the same question:

Is it safe to use the Amazon App Store? It requires Unknown sources be enabled.

First, thanks to everyone who asked. We love it when folks try to get the answers they need and try to help as much as we can.

The Amazon App Sore is a dilemma. The problem is that it can update apps over-the-air like Google Play or the Apple AppStore but to do this in needs the Unknown sources setting to be enabled. That means if you did sideload a nasty app that wants to install other, possible nastier, apps you let them try it. That’s what Unknown sources is — it allows sideloading of apps that didn’t come from Google Play and have the right signature.

Amazon does a good (4 stars; would buy again) job vetting the apps they put in their store. Apps must be approved before they are published — the same method Apple uses — and so far, we haven’t heard of any slipping through the cracks and being harmful in any way. While Google has no public opinion of Amazon and their ventures with Android, BlackBerry has embraced them and it’s an approved way to run Android apps on BlackBerry 10 devices. Their store is safe, and the apps you download from them are safe.

The hard part is offering a suggestion that works for everyone in this case. There just isn’t one. As much as I hate to do it, this one gets two answers.

• If you’re a casual Android user — you don’t read blogs every day or fiddle with settings and tweaks on your phone — leave the unknown sources box unchecked and skip the Amazon App Store. You’ll find most of the apps in Google Play, and there’s a good chance they will be a more recent version. This isn’t fair to Amazon because they do run a tight ship, but that’s just how Android works. This setting is an all-or-nothing thing.

• If you are an enthusiast-type, go for it. Either manually toggle the setting when your phone tells you there’s some sort of update, or run wide open and use good judgment for every app your download and install. You know the risks, and you own the hardware, so do what you please with it. Just be careful. Do it for old Uncle Jerry.

All this is more of a precaution that a reaction to anything. Malware isn’t unheard of on Android, but the numbers you hear from companies who make money selling you security apps aren’t quite as sensational when you consider the scale — there are about 1,600,000,000 Androids out there. And that’s only counting the ones that have Google services installed. 10,000 is 0.000625% of the install base, and even 1,000,000 is less than 1%. But there’s always a chance some crafty guy or gal can find a way to get your stuff. Do everything you can to keep your stuff safe.

The Ultimate Guide to Pokémon Go

Once you’ve learned the basics, it’s time to dive deeper into Pokémon Go.

If you’re here it’s because you want to become the best Pokémon trainer that you can be. If you’re just getting started with Pokémon Go, then you should check out our guide to getting started before diving in here. This guide is for those of you who are grinding levels, capturing Pokémon and taking over Gyms.

As you know by now, there is a lot going on with Pokémon Go, and we’re going to detail most of it out for you here.

Level Up

To become the best Pokémon trainer out there you’ll need to level up not only your Pokémon, but your avatar as well. You’ll level up by earning experience for actions you take in the game. This means everything from checking in at Pokéstops or Gyms, to catching and evolving Pokémon. This means that most actions will give you at least a little bit of XP, but after the first few levels you’ll see that it starts to take much longer to get to the next level.

That’s when using a few tricks to get as much XP as possible come in to play. To do this you’ll need to use a few different items to maximize the XP that you can earn. The first item that is essential for grinding through a level is a lucky egg. When you activate a lucky egg, your XP earned is doubled for thirty minutes.

Read More: Tips and tricks for Pokemon Go

Read more: How to level up your trainer

Now while you earn XP for checking at Pokéstops, it isn’t particularly substantial. Especially when compared to the XP earned for catching and evolving Pokémon. There are two easy ways to make that lucky egg even more useful. Waiting to evolve your Pokémon until you have several that are ready to go will get you enough XP that you can make serious headway into the next level. Likewise, if you set off a lucky egg at a Pokéstop with an active lure you’ll reap the benefits.

By wandering through areas that are swarming with Pokémon activity and Pokéstops, you can also make the most of your time. That’s because more Pokemon will appear in areas with a lot of activity, and areas with lots of places to check in attracting droves of players. It shouldn’t be hard to find an area that has several Pokéstops and a Gym all within close vicinity of each other.

Working with your team

After you hit level 5, you’ll be able to join a team. While there isn’t any serious difference between the three teams, you’ll be working with your team members to win and hold Gyms. That means that communicating with your team members can make taking over a gym much, much easier.

As of right now there isn’t a way to speak with other players inside of Pokémon Go, which is a serious shame. What you can do is reach out on other social media, or take a walk with your real friends who are members of your faction. While communicating with other players isn’t mandatory it’s a fun way to enjoy the game and make new friends at the same time.

More: Which team should you choose?

By communicating and working with your team, you can easily take over multiple gyms and make them much more difficult for opposing teams to take back over. You can also find out where specific Pokémon are spawning, or where Pokéstops that you didn’t know about are located.

Become a Gym master

So you’ve collected some Pokémon and now you’ve got your eye on the Gym around the corner, eh? Well there are definitely a few things that you ought to know before you decide to head over and challenge that level 5 Gym. The first thing that you need to consider is the strength of the Gym that you plan on taking over.

A Gym’s level indicates how many Pokémon are currently holding it. You can see this by tapping on the nearby Gym. When the Gym opens up on your screen you will be able to see the Pokémon and trainer currently holding the Gym. If multiple Pokémon have been stationed here, you can see each of them by swiping from side to side. You’ll also be able to see the CP (Combat Points) of each individual Pokémon who is inside of the Gym, and that’s the important part.

More: How to capture a Gym

Before you decide to challenge a Gym you need to make sure that both you, and your Pokémon are ready for the challenge ahead of you. Your roster of Pokémon needs to be strong enough to take on the Gym’s defenders. This means taking a look at both the type of Pokémon that you’re planning to use and whether they will be effective, along with whether their CP is up to snuff. Additionally, making sure that you have potions to bolster their HP, and revives for after the battle are also key.

When it’s time to fight for the Gym, a separate mini-game will open up. It’s here that you’ll need to attack with your Pokémon of choice, hopefully defeating the defender and taking the Gym for your team. It’s here that your choice in Pokemon really matters. That’s because certain types of Pokemon are vulnerable to other types, or specific types of attacks.

By being able to see exactly which Pokémon you’re up against, you can tailor your roster to be most effective.

If you can launch attacks that are super effective against the Pokémon you are battling, then even a Pokémon with a lower CP can end up coming out on top. Unlike in the original Pokémon games where many of your battles would be random, Pokémon Go trainers have a leg up. By being able to see exactly which Pokémon you’re up against, you can tailor your roster to be most effective.

Don’t forget that you get a pretty awesome perk for holding a Gym for 24 hours. Each 24 hour cycle that you manage to hold on to a Gym, you’ll receive Pokécoins. Since these coins are how you purchase extra items and upgrades from within the shop, getting them without shelling out your hard earned cash is fantastic. Just remember that after the battle, whether you win or lose you’ll need to use a Revive on any of your Pokémon who fainted.

Tracking Pokémon

Now it won’t take long before you end up seeing a photo of a Pokémon that you desperately want in your roster. Whether you’re after a Vulpix because of how cute it is, or a Snorlax for that fantastic CP, tracking Pokémon will pop into your head soon enough. Now, at the bottom right of your screen is a box that shows nearby Pokémon and you can use this to figure out where Pokémon in the area are. To a point anyway.

The nearby Pokémon inside of the box, will show you a set of tracks underneath it. You can use this as shorthand to tell how far away a Pokémon is. A single track means that the Pokémon are very close by and might pop up at any time, two tracks means they’re somewhat close, and three means that they are quite far away.

If you head to a nearby pond, lake or beach, then you are going to find more water type Pokémon.

A trick that is easy to miss is that you can choose which nearby Pokémon to track. Tap on your targeted Pokémon, and it will fill that box on the lower left of your screen. If you turn in a circle while keeping an eye on your screen, you’ll see the box pulse green when you are facing in the correct direction. As you begin to walk it should continue to pulse green every so often so long as you are still headed in the right direction.

As well as using the nearby Pokémon, you can find specific types of Pokémon in areas that are similar to their Pokémon type. For instance if you head to a nearby pond, lake, or beach then you are going to find more water type Pokémon such as Horsea or Magikarp. There is also a lot of conversation going on in groups online about where to find specific Pokémon spawning.

Get the most out of your items

There are plenty of items that are in the game to help you out in various ways. Getting the most out of the items that you collect will make sure that you aren’t wasting your precious resources. Now some items, like Pokéballs or revives, are going to be used and refilled on a regular basis just by playing the game. However, making sure to time when you use items like Razz berries, lures and incense will make sure you get the most out of them.

More: How to use a Razz Berry

More: Recover Pokeballs that don’t hit their targets

More: How to buy and use Pokecoins

Using an incense while you are sitting in the living room watching Netflix might make your movie night more amusing, but if all you draw are low level Pidgeys and Rattatas then you aren’t really getting the most bang for your buck. Instead wait until you’re in an area where there are Pokémon that you need to collect for candies, or unknown Pokémon nearby. Likewise, when using a Lure when you’re in an isolated Pokéstop might not be as effective as using it at a Pokéstop with a lot of traffic already.

While you can get coins from holding a Gym for 24 hours to use in the shop, the easier way to get them is by checking in at Pokéstops. Each time that you check in, you’ll get a variety of items. In the beginning it’s usually just Pokéballs, and Eggs, but as you level up the type of items that you get will level up as well.

In closing

This isn’t by far everything that you need to know about Pokemon Go, instead it’s what you need to know to really get the most out of the game. As we continue to see updates there is only going to be more to do, see, and discover. This guide is meant to help you get the most out of your experience with Pokemon Go, so that you can be the best possible trainer you can be! Do you think we’re missing something in this guide? Do you have some tips that we should know about? Be sure to let us know about it in the comments!

Pokémon Go

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• How to deal with GPS errors in-game
• Which team should you choose?
• How to play without killing your battery
• The Ultimate Pokémon Go Game Guide!