ICYMI: Screaming down a magnetic levitation tube
Today on In Case You Missed It: Hyperloop One is a concept design to put a high-speed transit line between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, cutting the commute time from two hours to 12 minutes. If the 760MPH speed frightens you, perhaps you’d be more interested in Zero Motorcycles’ new lineup, which increased range to 200 miles in one charge.
If you’re interested in Simple Habit the meditation app, that’s here, and a news story from Canada on its immigration website crash is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Nikon’s D5600 is a minor update with a focus on connectivity
If you’re holding out for a replacement for Nikon’s mid-range D5500 DSLR, you may be disappointed with the latest model. The D5600 is a very minor refresh that is obviously intended to act as a stop-gap until an all-new version comes along. Nikon added new wireless capability via NFC and Bluetooth, which gives you a constant connection to your smartphone via the not-very-beloved SnapBridge app. It’s also got new options for the 3.2-inch touchscreen, including cropping and a frame-advance bar.
Nikon also added the time-lapse movie functions available on pricier models, but otherwise, the D5600 is exactly the same as the D5500. That means you’ll get a 24.2-megapixel sensor with no optical low-pass filter, up to 25,600 ISO, an Expeed 4 image processor, WiFi and a 5 fps maximum shooting speed. For video, never Nikon’s strong point, it can do up to 1080p at 60fps. Nikon didn’t reveal the price, but the D5500 was $900 when it launched last year. The company said it will reveal US availability at a later date.
Source: Nikon
Buy Snapchat’s Spectacles at this weirdo vending machine
Spectacles, Snapchat’s odd but intriguing move into wearable hardware, is starting to make its way into the wild. The company just announced how you’ll be able to purchase Spectacles, and it’s about as weird as you’d expect. The glasses will only be available at custom vending machines called Snapbots — the first one arrived in Los Angeles, near Snapchat’s headquarters, earlier today.
That’s about all we know so far. You can purchase the $129 Spectacles at one of these vending machines, but there’s no word on where they’ll be or how long they’ll stay there. Snapchat specifically said that the Snapbots won’t stay in one place for very long, so if you’re in LA and want to get a pair, don’t hesitate.
pic.twitter.com/ECQhbYZBPa
— Spectacles (@Spectacles) November 10, 2016
We’ll hand it to Snapchat — this is a hell of a lot more fun than going to pick up a pair in Best Buy, and it fits in with the company’s plan to do this launch slowly and with the company’s signature goofy flair. If you’re itching to get a pair of Spectacles for yourself, your best bet is probably to keep an eye on the Spectacles Twitter page. It announced the first Snapbot drop and will probably reveal future locations as time goes on. Or, just visit the Spectacles home page and click the “find a bot” button — it brings up a Google map with the one current location. We’re sure there will be more soon.
Via: Mashable
Source: Snapchat
Yahoo admits some staff knew of 2014 hack
As Yahoo attempts to piece together how a hacker accessed 500 million user accounts back in 2014, the company has now admitted that some employees knew of a security breach when it happened. In a filing with the SEC, Yahoo said that while it only disclosed news of the attack in August, a “state-sponsored actor” had accessed its network two years ago but it didn’t quite know the extent of the damage at the time.
“The Company had identified that a state-sponsored actor had access to the Company’s network in late 2014,” Yahoo said in its filing. “An Independent Committee of the Board, advised by independent counsel and a forensic expert, is investigating, among other things, the scope of knowledge within the Company in 2014 and thereafter regarding this access, the Security Incident, the extent to which certain users’ account information had been accessed.”
In the same statement, Yahoo said it is looking into whether the same hacker was able to create cookies that would allow them to access user account data without the need for a password. Since the disclosure, law enforcement agencies have also shared data provided by an attacker. Yahoo is now assessing whether user details are from the 2014 hack or from a separate intrusion.
Account information stolen in the attack is thought to include email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority of which were encrypted) and possibly security questions and answers too. The hack has already cost Yahoo $1 million, but it may run into the billions if Verizon pushes for money off its latest acquisition.
Via: Financial Times
Source: Yahoo (SEC)
YouTube’s new VR app lands on Google Daydream first
We’ve known about Google’s plan for a dedicated YouTube VR app since Daydream was first announced back in May. Today, the version of the video hub arrives that’s optimized for virtual reality. There’s a catch: It’s only available on Google’s Daydream platform right now. This means that you’ll need a compatible phone, like the Pixel and the Daydream View headset and controller to start watching.
YouTube has supported VR videos for over a year, but now there’s an app to provide a more immersive viewing experience. The new software makes every video from the site viewable in a virtual reality setting. Of course, 360-degree footage and content that’s designed for VR will offer a more believable feel of “going inside,” but regular videos can be viewed in a new theater mode. Voice search is there to help you find exactly what you’re after and you’ll be able to sign in so any channels you subscribe to and your playlists are easily accessible.
Daydream View launches today, so the new YouTube VR app will be ready for action when your headset arrives. There’s also an NFL VR series that debuts Thanksgiving day on YouTube, so you’ll be able to watch that as well.
Source: YouTube Blog
Apple TV Universal Search Now Includes MUBI, Hopster, and CW Seed
Apple recently expanded the universal search feature on its fourth-generation Apple TV to include MUBI, Hopster, and CW Seed. MUBI’s universal search functionality has been added in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, while Hopster has been added in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, only users in the U.S. can take advantage of having CW Seed in universal search.
For those unfamiliar, MUBI is a $5.99 per month service that gives subscribers a new film every day, with up to a month to watch it, “so there will always be 30 extraordinary films” for users to watch each time they open the app. Hopster is also a straight-forward $4.99 per month streaming service, aimed at providing “safe and ad-free” entertainment for kids. The CW Seed app is an offshoot of the main CW network, and is home to shorter digital series, as well as older shows like Pushing Daisies and V, but it doesn’t include currently-running CW series, which are housed in the main app for The CW.
With these apps added, users will now receive content updates from each service within relevant universal search prompts. Universal search lets Apple TV users conduct Siri voice searches or text-based searches to find TV shows and movies across any app supporting the feature. When the Apple TV launched, not many apps were included in universal search, but Apple has slowly been expanding its reach ever since.
The current list of all apps supported in universal search, broken down by countries, can be found here.
Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Caution)
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AirPods Will Launch Next Week Says European Reseller
Last month, Apple delayed the launch of its all-new AirPods beyond the late October timeframe it originally promised, saying it needed “a little more time” before the wireless earphones are ready for customers. Since then, AirPods have remained listed as “currently unavailable” on Apple’s website.
Shortly thereafter, a report citing supply chain sources indicated AirPods will not launch until January 2017, suggesting they will not be available in time for this year’s holiday shopping season. But that timeline would seem awfully late, especially considering some Apple retail stores have already received AirPods demo units.
Lending credence to a launch sooner rather than later, an employee at Apple reseller Conrad has reportedly told a customer it will receive AirPods stock on November 17, and make them available to purchase by November 18-19. Here is the loosely translated quote from German blog Apfelpage.de:
Hello, I have just talked with an employee of the Conrad Online Store, since I am there on 14.10 the AirPods ordered and I wanted to cancel today. According to information from the employee, they have stockpiles from 17.11, I will then have them between November 18-19.
Conrad’s website still says AirPods will be available for delivery in 7 to 8 weeks, so it is entirely possible the employee provided incorrect information, but there now remains at least some hope that customers will be able to purchase AirPods in time for the holidays. Nevertheless, treat the conversation as anecdotal evidence at best.
Tag: AirPods
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Apple Maps Now Provides Traffic Conditions in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Slovenia
Apple Maps has recently been updated with all-new traffic data in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Slovenia, providing users with real-time updates about vehicular traffic in three more European countries. As usual, highly congested areas will display orange or red lines along the roads to indicate that drivers may face delays. The traffic feature is also now available in Gibraltar, a small British territory on Spain’s south coast.
Apple Maps traffic data is available in over 40 other countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Gibraltar, and select other regions in Europe.
Tags: Apple Maps, Europe
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Samsung files patent for a bizarre folding smartphone
Samsung has filed a patent with the Korean Intellectural Property Office for a smartphone with a that could be folded in half like a flip phone. The device would also have a secondary screen, presumable on the outside, that’s activated when it’s folded shut, according to the claims. The screen even has a complex “semiautomatic” powered folding action as one of the options. Of course, patents don’t usually lead directly to products, but this one stands out because Samsung is reportedly working on smartphones with bendable OLED screens.
Even if the patent leads nowhere, it’s fun to see what a company’s engineers are dreaming about. For instance, bendable screens once seemed like a silly idea, but Samsung eventually deployed them in its popular curved-screen Galaxy S6 Edge and S7 Edge products. Lenovo is also playing with the idea, and developed a smartphone you can bend around your wrist.
Unlike a split-screen phone or tablet à la Sony’s crazy Tablet P, the device would work with a flexible OLED screen that also folds, either midway or further down. It looks an awful lot like the mockup phone Samsung showed off for its flexible Youm display back in 2013 (see the tacky video, below). A device like that would certainly be fun, but at this point Samsung’s probably just making sure it doesn’t mess up its next Galaxy S8 smartphone release.
Via: The Verge
Source: Korean Patent Office
The first VR-ready Windows 10 phone is incredibly basic
Google is leading the mobile VR race with its Daydream platform and headset, but Microsoft is getting ready to join in too. Alcatel has made a $470 Windows 10-powered version of its Idol 4S phone, and it’s the first mobile device running this OS to have virtual reality capabilities. Like its Android brother, the new Idol also comes with its own headset. I played around with it to see if this first stab at VR on Windows 10 Mobile is any good. Unfortunately, it isn’t.
First off, the Idol 4S Windows 10 doesn’t simply have a different operating system than its Android sibling, which I reviewed earlier this year. It also packs a more powerful Snapdragon processor, sharper camera, more RAM and storage, but uses weaker speakers and a lower-res full HD display.
That lower resolution was evident when I hunted down the walking dead in Zombie VR, where things like poles and seats in an abandoned subway car were clearly pixelated. The Android Idol didn’t have super smooth graphics either, but artifacts are more obvious on the Windows version.
The virtual reality experience was developed in-house by Alcatel, but Microsoft collaborated with the Chinese firm on testing for quality and compatibility. Microsoft didn’t seem to really play a part in implementing the VR, here. When asked what the company’s plans were for supporting such mobile virtual reality platforms, a Microsoft spokesperson said it looks forward to sharing more in the future. Meanwhile, what you have is a VR content store that Alcatel created, as well as an app called Tube 360, for discovering media.
The VR app store here is incredibly basic. It has two categories – Games and 360-degree Media. The former contains just seven titles right now, while the latter offers two immersive pictures and one video. That’s it. These are pulled from the Windows app store, and Alcatel said that it will add more content as it is created for the OS. Tube 360 is a preloaded third-party app that aggregates 360-degree content from YouTube and offers dozens more clips than the store does.
You can launch all these games and files directly from the Windows 10 All Apps menu, or start your VR adventure with the included launcher. It’s nearly identical to the one Alcatel made for the Android version, with the same seven icons floating in a horizontal row over a starry backdrop. The only difference I spotted was in the games: instead of using the on-goggles buttons to trigger actions, you’ll have to hold your cursor (by tilting your head) over special items or symbols until a ring fills up. It’s very Kinect-like, which will be intuitive for those who use that system, but is slower than tapping the physical keys on the headset.
In the game, I could only move my head around to aim my crosshair at attacking zombies. My in-game gun fired automatically whenever I lined up my target, and I had no say over when to shoot. If I could at least use the two buttons available on Alcatel’s goggles, I could actually pull the trigger myself, and use the other key to reload or navigate.
Another problem: sounds and music in the VR apps, including the games, will only play through the phone’s speakers. I tried plugging in three different types of headphones, and the audio still streamed out of the phone. This only affected VR content, media from other sources, such as YouTube or Spotify, flowed through the headphones. Alcatel said it’s aware of this issue, and that it’s working on an over-the-air app update as soon as possible. My Idol 4S Windows 10 was a pre-production unit, too, so here’s hoping that consumer-ready versions will ship with the fix in place.
Ultimately, it feels like Microsoft could have worked better with Alcatel on this attempt to make Windows 10 Mobile VR-ready. Even though the Android version was not crafted in partnership with Google, and Alcatel will likely need to adopt Daydream’s launcher at some point, it’s still a better-implemented experience. For a phone that targets “professionals, gamers and general tech enthusiasts alike,” according to the Windows blog announcing this device, the Idol 4S with Windows needs a more cohesive virtual reality launcher and content library. It will likely get better over time with more software updates, but as it stands, the VR part of this phone is not going to win over users.
AIVAnet 