Telltale announces Guardians of the Galaxy series for 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy the latest franchise to get the Telltale treatment.

2017 is shaping up to be a banner year for fans of Star-Lord, Rocket and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Telltale has announced Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, a five-part episodic series of games to be released on Android, as well as PC, console, and iOS in early 2017. Check out the preview trailer:

As with previous Telltale series, episodes will be released periodically and bought individually or all together with a season pass. Previous franchises that Telltale has tackled include Batman, Minecraft, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. This is their first attempt at developing a game for a Marvel property.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was a surprise late-summer hit in 2015, with a sequel due to hit screens next spring. While nothing is currently know about the story or the release schedule for the Telltale episodes, logically it would make sense to expect the first episode to launch in early 2017, to build hype leading up to the film’s release in early May.

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Google On app gets revamped ahead of Google Wifi release

New UI update, name change coincides with release of Google Wifi.

Google is preparing for the imminent release of its new router — Google Wifi — by updating the Google On app that was released alongside the OnHub routers manufactured in partnerships with T-Link and ASUS. Say goodbye to Google On, and hello to its shiny new successor, Google Wifi, as obtained by Android Police.

Photo credit: Android Police

One of the biggest changes to the app UI is the inclusion of three tabs at the top, which should make things smoother for navigating around to access the app’s different functions. Whether you want to review which devices are connected to your network, prioritize a specific device for faster speeds when streaming high-quality video, or set up a guest Wi-Fi network, it’s all the easier within the new app.

The Google Wifi app also adds support for the new Family Wi-Fi Pause feature, which allows you to temporarily disable internet access on certain devices to make time for genuine family time without the distractions of screens. It’s a great feature for parents struggling to limit their kids tech time around the dinner time or at bedtime.

The update is still rolling out through the Google Play Store, but if you’re eager to see the changes for yourself you can download the APK from APK Mirror and go from there.

Andrew’s Favorite Tech of 2016

2016 Andrew’s Favorite Tech

Everyone at Android Central has spent an amazing amount of time with mobile technology, accessories and gear throughout 2016. The goal is simple: use all of this stuff, find out what works the best and let you know the merits of what we determine to be the cream of the crop. 2016 was a fantastic year for new technologies to be released but also for older ones to mature.

Whether you’re looking to buy for someone else or just get the best of the best for yourself this holiday season, here are my personal picks for my favorite tech of the year. It starts with phones, but goes so much further: accessories, smartwatches, headphones, fitness products and even some non-mobile gear. Read on and see what I’ve enjoyed in 2016.

Google Pixel

Not only is this the best phone to ever wear Google’s name, it’s the best Android phone to date. Fantastic build quality, great software, top-end internals and the best camera available today all add up to a great total package. If price is no factor, you can’t go wrong with the powerful, smooth and compact Pixel. If you need extra screen real estate and battery life, I have no hesitation recommending the Pixel XL either.

From $649 Buy Now

OnePlus 3T

The OnePlus 3T gives you almost everything you expect in a flagship phone, but does it at a dramatically lower price. You get all of the top-end specs, great features and slick software for just $439 — that’s a fantastic combination. It destroys the competition in the $400 price category, but also gives top-end phones a run for their money, and that’s impressive.

$439 Buy Now

Google Pixel C

Yes it’s a year old, but then again it’s the only big tablet I’d recommend today. The hardware is fantastic, Nougat makes it far more useful and its perfect integration with the optional (but seriously, not really optional) keyboard accessories turn it into a pseudo-laptop capable of getting some work done. It’s a lot of money to spend on an Android tablet today, but I still use mine daily and enjoy it.

$499 Buy Now

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0

Not everyone wants a big, bulky tablet like the Pixel C. The Galaxy Tab S2 is where I go when I want something that’s compact, insanely light and easy to carry around. For me it’s perfect for casual reading and watching some soccer matches in bed on weekends. The screen is also fantastic and Samsung’s software gets the job done, even though it’s stuck back on Marshmallow for now.

$399 Buy Now

Chromecast Ultra

This tiny media streamer does what most people want: sit behind your TV waiting for commands, and quickly stream all of the content you want in the blink of an eye. The new Chromecast Ultra is insanely fast and capable of fantastic picture quality in 4K and HDR, provided you have the internet speed to support it. There’s actually a good chance that you don’t have (or expect to have) a 4K TV, though — if that’s the case, go pick up two second-gen Chromecasts instead.

$70 Buy Now

Google Home

I’m generally skeptical of “smart” home technology, but Google Home has fit right into our lives sitting on a shelf in the kitchen. We use it for timers, alarms, music, videos (to the Chromecast Ultra) and requests for random bits of information. It has a pretty great speaker considering its size, it fits nicely with our modern home decor and is a reasonable price to give it a try. It has a ways to go in its capabilities compared to the lofty expectations Google set from the start, but for now it’s proving worth the money.

$120 Buy Now

Xiaomi Mi Box

I still like my NVIDIA Shield Android TV, but it’s a bit old to be recommending to new buyers at this point and is still expensive. For those who need a step up from the capabilities of the Chromecast Ultra, I have no problem recommending a Mi Box for the same price to get a full Android TV experience. Just know that with the extra capabilities comes more complexity — some people would prefer to not deal with individual apps, remotes and a big box that has to find room in your entertainment center.

$69 Buy Now

Moto 360 (2015)

It’s tough to make a sales pitch for any smartwatch at this point, but Android Wear is the best way to go if you’re an Android fan. Though it’s old, things haven’t really changed much since the Moto 360 (2015) was introduced — and now you can have it for a solid discount off of its original retail price. If you want a smartwatch with deep Android integration, this is the one to get for now.

From $349 Buy Now

Samsung Gear S3

If you want additional capabilities in your smartwatch, the Gear S3 is basically the only place to go. The new Gear S3 Frontier and Classic are both big and rather bulky — meaning many will prefer the Gear S2 still — but if you can manage the size you’ll get a very nice-looking and well-built watch with more software features than you can shake a stick at. You’ll probably ignore most of the features after the first few weeks, but what you’re left with is a great screen, nice always-on watch faces and communication with your phone for notifications and glanceable information.

$350 Buy Now

Acer Chromebook R13

The Acer Chromebook R13 is the best $399 computer you can buy. It’s well-built, has a great screen and can run over 1 million Android apps on top of all the things Chrome can do. When you want to step up from an entry-level laptop but don’t want to break the bank, the Acer Chromebook R13 is where you should look first.

$399 Buy Now

ASUS Chromebook Flip

For the crowd who want a cheaper and/or smaller machine, the Chromebook Flip is still an excellent choice. It has a good screen, a solid-enough metal build and performance that beats its price. The keyboard will be cramped for anyone with bigger hands (like myself), but then again it’s also super compact and light — you can carry it around in a bag and forget its there, just like any tablet of the same size.

$239 Buy Now

Anker PowerCore Speed 10000 QC battery

When it comes to mobile batteries I value compact designs over extra features and ports. This Anker PowerCore battery offers 10,000 mAh of capacity and Quick Charge 3.0 support over its single USB port, and is smaller than any other battery of this capacity. That’s why it’s in my bag every single time I leave the house, whether it’s for the afternoon or for two weeks.

From $24 Buy Now

iOttie Easy One Touch 3 car mount

When Android Auto finally released its standalone mode for phones, I went looking for a good inexpensive car mount and landed on the well-reviewed iOttie Easy One Touch and am completely impressed. Its two-piece suction cup design locks it down on your dashboard super tight while being completely removable and replaceable, which is extremely important. The “one touch” design is the killer feature, though: just press your phone in, and it automatically clamps down to the right size. Pinch in again, and the phone pops out.

$25 Buy Now

JOBY GPod Mini Magnetic tripod

To take your smartphone photography to the next level, you’ll want a tripod. The problem is tripods are big and bulky … unless you get an awesome super-compact tripod like this one from JOBY. Not only do the legs articulate and wrap around things for tons of positioning, they also have strong magnetic feet to keep things stable whenever possible. I mount phones on this for time lapses and smooth video, and it’s even strong enough to hold my Olympus camera in a pinch. Be sure to pair it up with a good smartphone tripod holder like the one JOBY itself offers.

$13 Buy Now

AKG N60NC headphones

Though I’m continually tempted by the more expensive Bose competition, I’ve been using the AKG N60NC noise-cancelling headphones for most of this year. I travel a lot and these have served me well on every train ride and flight. The noise cancellation is great considering these are smaller on-ear headphones, and while they don’t have Bluetooth connectivity they’re also extremely small and fold up into a small pouch rather than a hefty case. At about $100 less than the Bose QC35 headphones, these are worth a look if you value compactness and price.

$269 Buy Now

Samsung LevelOn

Samsung’s LevelOn headphones come in a couple different flavors, but in either case offer a nice and even-cheaper alternative to Bose and my AKG headphones. They offer both Bluetooth and wired connectivity, as well as active noise cancellation and are a $100+ less than the competition. The on-ear cups can get a little uncomfortable (at least for my ears) after a few hours straight of listening, but you can’t argue they look great and offer tremendous value — not something we can say about every Samsung accessory out there.

$130 Buy Now

Xiaomi Mi Headphones

When you don’t need noise cancellation — they’re actually rather open and leak sound considerably — Xiaomi’s on-ear Mi Headphones for an excellent value and great sound. They’re super comfortable thanks to the rotating ear cups and are built extremely well with great metal accents and a braided tangle-free cord that includes a mic and play/pause button (sorry, no volume keys). For all of this, you would expect to pay more from bigger brand names.

$129 Buy Now

Google Daydream View

I know it’s exclusive to just a couple of phones right now, but if you’re at all interested in VR (and have a compatible phone) you should be picking up a Daydream View rather than a simple Cardboard viewer. The headset is very comfortable, actually looks cool and pivotally includes a remote for navigation and games. That’s a lot to get for just $79, and worth it even if you just use it now and then to play some games or show off to your friends and family.

$79 Buy Now

Samsung Gear VR

Obviously there are far more people who could take advantage of a Gear VR when compared to Daydream View, and the new model is set up to immerse you using a Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, S7, S7 edge or Note 5. You’ll want to invest in a controller if you’re going to play games, but outside of that this is a fully contained headset that’s comfortable and has dramatically more content available for it than Daydream View does.

$99 Buy Now

Samsung Gear Fit 2

After so-so “Fit” efforts in past generations, the Gear Fit 2 is actually a fantastic fitness wearable. It’ll track everything from your regular movements to intense workouts without any of your own intervention, displays it all on a nice screen and includes GPS for all of the runners out there. It’s a little bigger than some non-screen trackers, and gets less battery life due to its features, but it also has the added benefit of bringing some smartwatch functionality like notification mirroring and glanceable information. More people should be checking out the Gear Fit 2.

$148 Buy Now

UA Healthbox

If you want to go all in with a fitness tracking system, Under Armour and HTC have you covered with the Healthbox. The UA Band is a simple fitness tracker you can wear daily with great battery life, and you can simply pair it up with both a heart rate monitor and a connected scale to get a full picture of your fitness and body in the UA Record app. It’s a big investment that’s really situated for the more hardcore workout enthusiasts among us, but perhaps you have some big aspirations for 2017.

From $350 Buy Now

Samsung Gear IconX

Samsung’s Gear IconX are smart, totally wireless earbuds that are tuned specifically for those who want to work out or run without the distraction of wires. The battery life is short and the sound isn’t great, but those features pale in comparison to the extreme ease of use, totally wireless experience and fitness tracking abilities.

$185 Buy Now

Timbuk2 Classic Messenger

This is the messenger bag that has been on my back for hundreds of thousands of miles traveled to a dozen countries, carrying all of my gear and looking good while doing it. Timbuk2 makes excellent bags and accessories, and while this may be more than you’re used to paying for a bag I can say it’s worth the money (and more). Pick up an off-the-shelf design for about $99, or customize one to be totally unique for a bit more. I recommend checking them out in store, if you can, before buying so you know just what size you need.

From $99 Buy Now

MIT’s AI figured out how humans recognize faces

It appears machines may already be catching up to humans, at least in the world of computational biology. A team of researchers at the MIT-based Center for Brains, Minds and Machines (CBMM) found that the system they designed to recognize faces had spontaneously come up with a step that can identify portraits regardless of the rotation of the face. This adds credence to a previous theory about how humans recognize faces that was based studies of MRIs of primate brains.

The as-yet-unnamed system is a computational model of how the human brain recognizes faces, and was trained to identify particular visages from a battery of sample images it was fed. In the process of learning to spot faces, the program created an intermediate processing step that looked at “a face’s degree of rotation – say 45 degrees from center – but not the direction.”

In layman’s terms, this means the system, which was looking for invariance (or non-difference) between faces, was able to do so regardless of whether a face was flipped, as long as it was rotated in the same angle. That property is known as “mirror symmetry.”

This discovery excites scientists because it duplicates a previously observed feature of how primates process faces, indicating that the system might be doing something similar to the brain. However, it’s not for sure. “This is not a proof that we understand what’s going on,” says Tomaso Poggio, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and director of the CBMM.

The researchers’ machine-learning system in this case is a neural network, which has been employed by tech giants such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook. These companies all have their own facial recognition systems in place, and have been investing in machine-learning to enhance their tools.

Understanding how we recognize people could help facial recognition systems get significantly better and more accurate, which has vast applications in tech. Face unlock is an increasingly popular feature of phones and laptops, and identifying people in photos lets companies like Facebook, Apple and Google better sort your pictures. The downside, if you choose to see it that way, is that surveillance systems could also get accurate at finding the exact individuals they wish to seek from the endless amount of security camera footage and DMV photos they have. While this is clearly in early stages, and a tiny step towards implementing human-level facial recognition in machines, it certainly is a sign that artificial intelligence is capable of replicating specific functions of the human brain.

Source: MIT News

The Atlas robot is getting better at chasing you down

Boston Dynamics’ upright-and-walking-on-two-legs Atlas robot is a slightly terrifying while simultaneously an amazing piece of technology. But during its initial demos the DARPA-funded automaton needed a clear and fairly even path to walk. Now thanks to researchers at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IMHC), Atlas is ready to go almost everywhere. Just very very slowly.

The researchers at the institute created a new algorithm for Atlas that helps the robot maintain its balance while navigating difficult terrain like the angled cinder blocks in the video. IMHC notes that it employed “fast, dynamics stepping with the use of angular momentum (lunging of the upper body)” to achieve the feat.

But as the video shows, Atlas isn’t exactly sprinting over those blocks. But thanks to the research and new algorithm eventually Atlas–or other giant and slightly scary robot–will be able to navigate into areas that are unsafe for humans without fear that they’ll just fall over if they steps on a rock wrong.

Source: IHMC Robotics

Professional football is the latest victim of a giant data leak

Big data leaks are becoming more and more common, and today another massive victim has been revealed: professional soccer (or football, if you live anywhere but the US). German publication Der Spiegel just released the first in what will be a steady stream of details about corruption in various European football clubs as well as the sport’s players. A group known as “Football Leaks” got its hands on a whopping 1.9 terabytes of data, covering 18.6 million documents — including secret agreements between clubs and players. Basically, it’s the Snowden release of professional football.

Der Spiegel’s first story focuses on stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Özil and appears to be focused on the players taking advantage of various tax laws to make insane amounts of money. Tax evasion in football is no secret — Lionel Messi was recently convicted of tax fraud — but the judging by the massive amount of documents released, it seems likely that other, potentially more controversial revelations will be forthcoming.

Beyond any of the in-depth details that’ll be released from this data is the sense we’re living in a society where it’s become increasingly hard to keep underhanded dealings secret (that’s a good thing). It’s getting increasingly easy to transmit and share massive data leaks like this one, and it’s somewhat easier to do so under the cover of anonymity than it was a few decades ago.

Source: De Spiegel

2016 claims another victim: Your privacy

In a blow to privacy on par with the Patriot Act, changes to the rules around warrants grant the US government unprecedented hacking powers in any jurisdiction, and on as many devices as they want.

The changes to a measure known as Rule 41 were made earlier this year but went into effect Thursday after lots of opposition. Basically they let any judge issue a warrant to remotely access an unlimited number of computers and devices located in any jurisdiction. There was plenty of objection from senators and congresspeople, groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology, and companies such as Google, who said it’s unconstitutional and invades citizens’ rights to privacy.

All that came to a head this week when months of opposition and requests for inquiry and review came to nothing. In Congress, a bipartisan bill called the Review The Rule Act was introduced but that failed in Washington on Wednesday afternoon.

In a last-ditch effort, civil society organizations, trade associations, and companies sent a letter to lawmakers dated November 21 pleading to delay the implementation of Rule 41’s changes and subject them to further review. “The consequences of this rule change are far from clear, and could be deleterious to security as well as to Fourth Amendment privacy rights,” they wrote.

The letter explained the changes “could be abused to obtain a single warrant to search millions of targets” and “would allow a judge to issue a warrant that would permit law enforcement to search the computers of hundreds of entirely innocent crime victims without their consent.” It’s kind of like searching all the houses on your block, without clearing with the owners first, just to find one bad guy.

Also concerned were 22 senators and congresspeople, who wrote the Attorney General at the Department of Justice in October with a lot of specific questions about implementation.

The DoJ responded to the lawmakers in kind, with a letter. It didn’t answer their questions. Instead, the DoJ reminded them that the use of remote searches isn’t new, and that warrants for these searches are already issued under Rule 41, including ones for multiple computers. Warrant applicants will still have to get the proper probable cause ducks in a row for the judge, they assured.

But of course it remains to be seen whether or not the judges will actually understand what it is they’re rubber-stamping approval for. The letter was also pretty light on explaining the part where if someone gets hacked, the FBI gets to poke around in their computers or devices without the user’s consent — or knowledge until after the fact.

By examining the DoJ’s response, it’s easy to tell that this whole messy mix of desires and half-cocked protectionism is slightly personal for the authorities. The main thrust of Rule 41’s changes are about dealing with its ongoing irritation with online anonymity tool, Tor. The main changes to search warrants and jurisdiction, they said, specifically apply to when a suspect is using anonymizing software. They named Tor specifically.

In that letter the DoJ included a long digression about Tor and the FBI’s investigation into a vile darknet child sexual exploitation website called Playpen. The FBI had taken control of the site and exploited vulnerabilities in Tor to unmask visitors, some of whom are currently being prosecuted. They said that despite successes with the Playpen investigation, “Federal courts have ordered the suppression of evidence in some of the prosecutions because of the lack of clear venue in the current version of Rule 41.”

Pedos can die in a million fires; unquestionably this is the kind of fighting we want to see the FBI doing, as long as it’s being done properly. Consider the FBI’s willingness to take over darknet sites and own site visitors, and it shines a fresh light on how things are about to change in the world of underground sites.

With the legal framework to make anything they find stick, it’s safe to say that the golden age of buying illegal stuff on the darknet is over. It also feels increasingly like the use of anonymity tools automatically makes you a suspect, which is already true in repressive regimes around the world who target Tor users.

Your computer is now a “crime scene”

Where Rule 41’s changes get weirder is when it comes to botnet victims. The DoJ made a case in its letter that the warrant changes are needed for investigation when the victims of computer crime (botnet and ransomware) reside in different jurisdictions. In a blog post, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell likened the computers of botnet victims to a crime scene — that they need access to.

Unlike a regular warrant for search, where the homeowner is notified by authorities before they enter and search the premises, targets under Rule 41 are only notified after they’ve been hacked and searched.

Imagine the FBI breaks into and enters your house in order to find out who you are, to tell you that your house was burgled. And after, they’re like oh, here’s our paperwork that gave us permission to burgle you in the first place.

On one hand, I get what they’re trying to do here, sort of. They’re attempting to deal with things like the Mirai botnet, which shut down half the internet (and is still a growing threat). To do that, current thinking is to intervene and stop the attacks on the victims’ devices. Which means accessing the computers and DVRs of people who don’t know they’re infected with a botnet.

Except trying to fight botnets by expanding FBI hack and search powers is a quick-and-dirty, but highly problematic way to solve this problem. Not to mention how horribly it could be abused. If there’s anything we learned from the Silk Road bust, it’s that if there’s a chance for abuse, there exists someone within the authorities who consider it a chance worth taking.

Combine the anonymity tool unmasking intentions, and the interest in accessing botnet victims’ devices, and now there’s a whole lot of people who are gonna get legally hacked by their own government. Thinking about what this means under a Trump presidency gives it all a much darker cast.

Our president-elect is unapologetically vindictive, openly advocates hacking his opponents, and has called for expanding the NSA’s domestic spying programs — abuse seems all but unavoidable. International cyberwar incidents also appear highly likely, because no one’s said jack about what happens when one of the computers the FBI hacks, surveils, and gathers evidence from is across a border.

I suppose we’ll find out.

Image: stevanovicigor/Getty (Hooded figure)