F-35 completes first transatlantic flight on delivery to UK

Marines forces on either side of the Atlantic have depended on air support from the versatile AV-8B Harrier jump jet and its marvelous Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capability to lift into flight without a runway. But the venerable aircraft has slowly been phased out in favor of the upcoming F-35 Lightning II fighter plane, which will come in a VTOL-equipped ‘C’ version. Despite scandals over its bloated budget and delayed schedule, the first F-35B intended for the UK has just finished the jet’s first recorded transatlantic flight as it lands in Britain in a video posted by the US Marine Corps.

The #F35 has touched down in the UK! #F35toUK pic.twitter.com/thYkOv9pHx

— F-35 Lightning II (@thef35) June 29, 2016

Royal Air Force squadron leader Hugh Nichols will be flying the plane on its historic trip. After arriving, he will tour airshows around the UK to show off the role that the next-generation fighter will play in both the RAF and the Royal Marines.

Source: US Marine Corps (Facebook)

BMW expands ReachNow car sharing service in Seattle

After its initial Seattle launch in April, BMW is ready to beef up its ReachNow car sharing service. According to GeekWire, the automaker saw some 13,000 members sign up to use its fleet of 370 i3s, 328xis and Mini Coopers in the first month. To deal with the increased demand, BMW is rolling out another 150 vehicles in even more neighborhoods.

“The community has shown us they’re hungry for mobility options,” ReachNow CEO Steve Banfield said in a statement, “and, as a result, we’re expanding our services earlier than anticipated, to Southeast Seattle, West Seattle and Magnolia.”

ReachNow’s biggest competitor Car2Go has 750 Smart Fortwo vehicles and a slightly larger coverage map in Seattle, but as Banfield explained to GeekWire in May, BMW is looking to eventually expand beyond point-to-point, free-floating car sharing. The long term goal is to offer additional options like one-way airport pickups and dropoffs, concierge service where a BMW rep actually brings the car to you, a ride-hailing competitor to Lyft and Uber, and a way for BMW owners to put their personal vehicles on the network.

Senator Elizabeth Warren Accuses Apple of Trying to ‘Snuff Out Competition,’ Spotify Agrees

Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren today gave a speech where she accused Amazon, Apple, and Google of attempting to “snuff out competition” by locking out smaller companies, reports Recode.

“Google, Apple and Amazon have created disruptive technologies that changed the world, and … they deserve to be highly profitable and successful,” Warren said. “But the opportunity to compete must remain open for new entrants and smaller competitors that want their chance to change the world again.”

In regard to Apple specifically, Warren said the company has made it difficult for its rivals to offer competitive streaming services able to compete with Apple Music, presumably through the cut that it takes from streaming services like Spotify when people sign up through the iOS app.

To account for Apple’s cut, Spotify charges $12.99 to customers who purchase a subscription through an Apple device, which is $3 higher than the $9.99 price tag of Apple Music.

While Apple declined to comment on Warren’s statements, Spotify’s head of communications and public policy Jonathan Prince took the opportunity to lambaste Apple in a statement given to Recode.

“Apple has long used its control of iOS to squash competition in music, driving up the prices of its competitors, inappropriately forbidding us from telling our customers about lower prices, and giving itself unfair advantages across its platform through everything from the lock screen to Siri. You know there’s something wrong when Apple makes more off a Spotify subscription than it does off an Apple Music subscription and doesn’t share any of that with the music industry. They want to have their cake and eat everyone else’s too.”

Spotify has long been unhappy with Apple’s pricing policy. In the past, Spotify fought against Apple’s cut by sending emails to its customers who had signed up for a $12.99 per month subscription on an iPhone or iPad, encouraging them to cancel their subscriptions and re-subscribe via the web.

Recently, Spotify criticized some upcoming App Store changes like a new revenue split for subscriptions and ads in search results, saying Apple’s efforts don’t “get to the core of the problem” and criticizing Apple’s insistence on “inserting itself between developers and their customers.”

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: Spotify, Apple Music
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NVIDIA Shield Android TV update rolls out with HDR support and more

A major update for the NVIDIA Shield Android TV set-top box is scheduled to roll out today. It will add a bunch of new features, including HDR support, streaming YouTube videos in 4K at 60FPS and more.

Here’s the breakdown of what’s included in the 3.2 update:

• Netflix in HDR – SHIELD is the first Smart TV box to support Netflix in HDR. Pair with an HDR TV and enjoy brighter highlights, more detail in dark scene sand a wider color range. One hundred hours of HDR shows coming this summer.
• Media Streaming – At Home and On the Go – With PLEX Media Server built-in, you can stream your personal media collection from SHIELD to mobile devices, even outside the home. Accelerate your media (even from a NAS) with SHIELD’s HD transcode.
• YouTube 4K 60FPS – Watch YouTube videos in 4K Ultra HD resolution at a smooth 60 frames per second—only on SHIELD.
• Dolby Atmos – Enjoy a home theater experience with rich Dolby Atmos surround sound pass-through in VUDU, MX Player, SPMC, and SHIELD’s preinstalled Photos & Videos app.
• Best Universal Search – Perform a natural language search for music, movies, TV shows or games and get results including top new additions: Netflix and Spotify.
• Media Streaming – At Home and On the Go – With PLEX Media Server built-in, you can stream your personal media collection from SHIELD to mobile devices, even outside the home. Accelerate your media (even from a NAS) with SHIELD’s HD transcode.

If you live in the UK, there’s a new promotion for the Shield TV, which will give buyers a free remote and stand, plus 3 months of free access to the WRC racing game.

See at NVIDIA UK

How to factory reset the Galaxy Note 5

How do I factory reset my Galaxy Note 5? This is how.

Factory resetting your Galaxy Note 5 can solve several problems. Maybe it was bogged down by a ton of apps and you’d like a fresh start. Maybe you installed an update and something went wrong — you shut your phone off and now it won’t boot. Selling your phone? A factory reset is basically mandatory! Whatever your reason for factory resetting your Note 5, here are the steps to complete the process using both the settings menu and using physical buttons when your phone is turned off.

WARNING: This will completely erase your data off the phone. If you haven’t backed up your contacts and pictures and documents and anything else (preferably in the cloud, but absolutely somewhere else), you will be sorry you didn’t do so. Consider yourself warned.

• How to factory reset the Galaxy Note 5 from the settings menu
• How to factory reset the Galaxy Note 5 with hardware buttons

How to factory reset the Galaxy Note 5 from the settings menu

Before you factory reset your Note 5 you should back up your data to your computer or by using your Google account or your Samsung account linked to the phone. This process will wipe all data from the phone.

Launch the Settings app from the home screen or from the app drawer.
Swipe left on the heading menu.
Tap Personal.

Tap Backup and reset.

Tap Factory data reset.
Tap Reset Device.

Tap Delete All.

How to factory reset the Galaxy Note 5 with hardware buttons

Using the settings menu to factory reset your Note 5 is the usual method, but you might find yourself in a situation where your phone won’t boot. In that case you’ll have to use the physical buttons on your phone. Your phone must be off for this method to work.

Hold down the volume up button, the home button, and the power button at once until the Android recovery screen appears.
Press volume down four times until wipe date/factory reset is highlighted.
Press the power button once.
Press volume down seven times until Yes — delete all user data is highlighted.
Press the power button once. Your phone will be factory reset.
Press the power button when the data wipe is complete to reboot your phone.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

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Samsung S-View Flip Cover review for Galaxy S7 edge

When searching for the best case for your Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, you should look at the official options first.

The official S-View Flip Cover is a popular choice for the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. It protects your screen when you’re not using it and gives you access to some of your phone’s features through a window interface. The S-View window is not a gimmick. We’ll show the features in our review.

The Samsung S-View Flip Cover comes in three colors for the Galaxy S7 edge: Black, Silver, and Gold. We have the silver one to match our phone. We’re not very happy with the materials used on the case because it doesn’t feel premium. We prefer the leather-like material Samsung used on the LED View Cover. This one feels a little like paper to touch, but on the other hand, the cover is sturdy, and the window itself feels like glass.

Installing the case is very easy. Simply line up the top of your phone with the top clips of the case and then push down on all four corners.

On the front cover, there’s a 3-inch square window that lets you take advantage of some features while not having to open the phone. You can see the time, notifications, and you can also swipe down for the quick settings. You can also swipe on the phone or camera shortcuts to dial contacts from your favorite contacts list, or use the phone’s camera without opening the cover. Just keep in mind that the photos you take with the window will have a square aspect ratio. You also won’t be able to use the front-facing camera when the cover is closed.

Notifications act the same through the S-View, except you now have a smaller display. When you tap on a notification, it’ll tell you to open the cover to view more details. Music playback control also works through the S-View. For example, the Spotify app lets you pause or skip a song without opening the cover.

When you receive a phone call, you can swipe right to accept or swipe left to reject the call. You can also swipe up to reject a call with a message.

You can change the wallpaper that shows up in the S-View by going to Settings > Accessories > S View windows wallpaper. It doesn’t affect the wallpaper option on your normal lock screen.

Above the 3-inch window, there’s a cutout for the earpiece, so you’ll still be able to hear your callers. The case doesn’t cover the sim slot on top or the audio jack, micro-USB port, microphone, and speakers at the bottom. The power button on the right side is accessible through a spacious cutout, but the front cover can sometimes get in the way. Moving your thumb toward the back helps.

There are no holes on the left side for the volume buttons, but there are labels to show you where to press.

The back has the cutout for the camera and the flash, and we don’t see anything here that gets in the way of taking photos or videos. You can even still use the camera when the front cover is fully flipped over, but we don’t recommend it especially when using flash.

Another smart feature is that the phone automatically sleeps or wakes when the cover is opened or closed. This can save battery life and reduce the need to reach for the power button.

And if you were wondering about wireless charging, the S-View Flip Cover is compatible. There were no issues when placing our Samsung Galaxy S7 edge with the case on the Fast Charge Wireless Charging Stand.

Overall, this is a nice case if you want to protect both the front and back of your Galaxy S7 edge. We like that the S-View window is actually functional, and not just a gimmick. We just wish there was an option for leather with this case.

The S-view Flip Cover is originally $49.99, but you can find it on Amazon for about $30 to $40. Are you getting it? Let us know in the comments!

See at Amazon