Western Digital Announces Redesigned My Passport Portable Hard Drives
Western Digital yesterday refreshed its popular portable and desktop hard drive range with a more colorful line-up and increased capacities.
As part of a “reimagined” design that WD says better reflects how data is now “much more of a personal commodity”, the company’s portable USB 2.0/3.0 My Passport drives are available in six vivid colors – Black, Yellow, Red, White, Orange and Blue. The Black color is available pre-formatted for Mac systems, while all the others need reformatting to HFS + Journaled Mac to work with Apple hardware.
The My Passport drives can be had in 1TB ($79.99), 2TB ($94.99), 3TB ($129.99), and 4TB ($139.99) storage capacities.
Meanwhile, the company’s redesigned My Book USB 3.0 desktop storage solution will soon be available in 3TB ($129.99), 4TB ($129.99?), 6TB ($199.99), and 8TB ($249.99) capacities, and is compatible with Mac and Windows systems out of the box.
All the WD drives come with an Auto backup schedule feature as part of the Time Machine-compatible WD Backup software, as well as password protection, 256-bit AES hardware encryption tools, and a two-year warranty.
In conjunction with the new HD drives, for the first time Western Digital also announced a range of internal SSD drives for desktop and laptop PC computers.
Tag: Western Digital
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Blackberry DTEK60 all but confirmed with leaked pre-order page
Blackberry’s 2016 flagship phone the DTEK60, codenamed Argon has fallen foul to yet another leak, this time courtesy of US retailer B&H Photo. The DTEK60 was listed as a pre-order on the retailer’s site for $499.99, before being taken down, although there wasn’t an expected shipping date.
- Blackberry DTEK60: What’s the story so far?
B&H Photo also published the full list of specs on the page and they match up with the list that Blackberry itself published last month.
The DTEK60 will sport a 5.5-inch 2560 x 1550 Quad HD touchscreen display with 534ppi and will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM. It will pack in 32GB of internal storage but can be expanded up to 2TB and will run on Android, although as for which version it will have out-the-box is unclear.
There will also be a 21-megapixel rear-facing camera which can record 4K and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera with 84 degree wide angle lens.
But even though Blackberry published the specs and B&H Photo leaked a pre-order page, Blackberry has yet to officially announce the phone’s existence.
- Blackberry publishes full Argon specs online
- Blackberry DTEK60 passes through FCC, renders appear online
Rumours pointed to two possible release dates: October 11 and October 17, considering we’re already on the 12th and there’s been no official announcement, we’ll wait until the 17th to see if Blackberry says anything. B&H Photo posted a list price of $499.99 for an unlocked, SIM-free version which marries up with previous rumours. We’re expecting it to cost between £500-£600 when it’s released in the UK.
Amazon Music Unlimited Launches With $3.99 Echo-Only Subscription Option
Amazon today launched Amazon Music Unlimited, its new, standalone, on-demand streaming service.
Amazon Music Unlimited is distinct from the company’s Prime-only limited music library, in that it promises access to “tens of millions” of songs from all the major labels. Prices start at $7.99 per month for Prime members and $9.99 per month for non-members, the latter of which puts it in the same cost bracket as Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, and Tidal’s standard price plans. A similar free 30-day trial is also being offered.
In addition, Amazon is offering a separate $3.99 subscription plan for owners of connected speakers from the company’s popular Echo range. The plan lets them stream music to Amazon’s devices, but only those devices. A $14.99 per month (or $149 per year) family subscription plan for up to six people is currently in the works, and should become live later this year.
Amazon says its library includes music from Sony, Universal, and Warner, as well as thousands of indie labels, with thousands of curated playlists and personalized stations also included. However, the service enters a crowded market already commanding millions of subscribers, which makes it increasingly difficult for newcomers to differentiate their service. In this respect, Amazon is likely betting on its Echo-only option, which could prove popular with an existing user base already familiar with the company’s eco-system.
For example, the Echo-based service plan integrates with the speakers’ intelligent assistant Alexa, meaning voice commands can be used to play particular songs and/or playlists based on specific criteria – to play songs from a particular decade, or to match a mood, say. Indeed, Echo owners can sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited simply by asking Alexa to start their free trial.
Amazon is estimated to have sold over 4 million smart speakers so far, and is hoping to sell 10 million by the end of 2017, which could put it on course for a subscription coup. Amazon Music Unlimited goes live in the U.S. today and is set to debut in the U.K., Germany and Austria later this year.
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Echo, Amazon Music Unlimited
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Amazon Music Unlimited launches, prices start at $3.99 for Echo-only subscription
Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon’s first fully-fledged music streaming service, has launched in the US, with several different subscriptions available.
- Amazon will properly join the music streaming market with Music Unlimited
Music Unlimited will be more of a rival to the streaming giants such as Spotify and Apple Music, as it has a much larger catalogue of “tens of millions” of songs from the major labels, compared to the company’s Prime-only streaming service; Prime Music.
Amazon hasn’t confirmed the bit-rate of its catalogue, but we’ll take a guess and say it will be 320kbps, just like Spotify’s Extreme tier.
Music Unlimited has launched for $9.99/month for non-Prime members and $7.99/month or $79/year ($6.58/month) for those with a Prime subscription, making it less than its main two rivals.
It was also always rumoured that the company would offer an Echo-only subscription and those rumours have come true. Amazon will offer you access to the same catalogue of music for $3.99/month, but you can only listen to it through its Echo devices: Echo, Echo Dot and Amazon Tap.
By being made available on Echo devices, you can naturally use your voice to play music. But rather than just say “Alexa, play some Steely Dan” everytime, Alexa will learn your music preferences so you’ll eventually be able to just say “Play some music” and it will play personalised tracks.
If you don’t know the name of a song, or who recorded it, you can also give Alexa some of the lyrics, it will work out what the song is and play it for you.
A third subscription option will be a Family Plan, which will let up to six users use the same Music Unlimited account for $14.99/month or $149/year ($12.40/month). The Family Plan isn’t available yet, but will go live “soon”.
- Amazon Prime Music: What is it and why should Apple and Spotify be worried?
- Apple Music explained: What is it and how does it work?
- Which is the best music streaming service in the UK?: Apple Music vs Spotify vs Tidal and more
To go with the launch of the new service, Amazon has given its Music app a bit of a makeover, putting more emphasis on album art and music discovery. There’s a Home section that has updates from Amazon’s music editors with songs and albums that are trending, the Recommended section has personalised playlists and Now Playing comes with synchronised lyrics.
While Amazon Music Unlimited has initially launched in the US, it’s been confirmed it will be made available in the UK, Germany and Austria later this year.
Amazon’s standalone music streaming service is finally here
Based on a string of rumors that began circulating in January of this year, it was only a matter of time before Amazon rolled out its fully fledged music service. And today is that day. Enter Amazon Music Unlimited, a standalone offering set to rival the likes of Apple Music and Spotify. It is, of course, a complement to Prime Music, the free streaming service for people who are part of Amazon’s $99-per-year membership. Naturally, Prime subscribers get the benefit of paying less for Music Unlimited: $8 monthly compared to $10 for everyone else.
Now, the service is even cheaper if you own an Echo speaker. Amazon has a $4-per-month tier, dubbed “For Echo,” which gives you full access to the service on one Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap device. The company says “tens of millions of songs” are part of its catalogue, including over two million that were already available on Prime Music, but it did not share specific numbers when asked. That said, Director of Amazon Music Ryan Redington tells Engadget that all three major labels are onboard — Sony, Universal and Warner.
As part of the launch, Amazon redesigned its Music app for iOS, Android, desktop and Fire products from the ground up. Not only will it work for both Prime Music and Music Unlimited users (including offline), but Redington says every aspect of the application has been tweaked to be simpler and easier to navigate. But the most important part about Music Unlimited, he notes, is the integration with Alexa and Echo devices. For example, you can say things like, “Alexa, play the song of the day?” or “Alexa, play Greenday’s latest album?”
What’s more, Redington says Alexa is capable of playing tracks based on your mood, as well as tell you who sings a song even if you only know part of the lyrics. I was given a demo of these features and they worked seamlessly, but that’s not really surprising since Alexa has an excellent reputation as a virtual assistant. Redington claims Alexa will keep getting better with time too, as it learns more about your listening habits through Amazon Music Unlimited.
For Prime members, Amazon Music Unlimited seems to be a no brainer, namely because it only costs $8 per month. Apple Music and Spotify, for reference, are $10 each for a regular, non-student account. That said, it might be hard for people who already have a streaming sub elsewhere to jump ship — building a whole new library and set of playlists would be a tedious process.
Music Unlimited is only available for US customers right now, but the company says it “will continue to expand and enhance” the service. For starters, it’s expected to launch in the UK, Germany and Austria later this year, though no clear timeline was given by Amazon. A family plan is also going to be available soon, which will allow up to six people to stream music simultaneously for $15 monthly.
According to Redington, the long-rumored service was part of Amazon’s business strategy since the launch of Prime Music in 2014. Still, it wasn’t until this year that his team actually went all in on the idea, with the goal being to develop a “fun and engaging” product. And with Alexa and Echo in people’s homes now, he says, it felt like the natural time to introduce Music Unlimited. It sounds like a good start, but we’ll see if listeners are willing to give it a chance in the crowded music-streaming space.
Boeing pushes space taxi’s first ISS mission to late 2018
Boeing’s CS-100 Starliner won’t be ferrying astronauts to the ISS until December 2018 (or maybe even later), according to Aviation Week. The aerospace corp was supposed to help end NASA’s dependence on Russia’s Soyuz rockets by 2017, but it announced in May this year that its space taxi won’t be ready until mid-2018. Unfortunately, Boeing has no choice but to delay that historic flight even further due to a handful of manufacturing issues.
Aviation Week says Boeing had to scrap one of the Starliner’s major structural elements due to a design flaw. The company also experienced difficulties making the most complex components of the spacecraft. John Mulholland, Starliner’s program manager, said his team already worked through these problems, but it took them a couple of months longer than expected. “When we were faced with these issues it was time for us to step back and say: ‘Hey listen, we have to readdress [this] and say what’s real and lay in where we are going forward’,” he explained.
As a result, the unmanned orbital flight test that was originally going to take place in December 2017 is now scheduled for June 2018. Starliner’s first ever manned flight that was supposed to launch in February 2018 now won’t take place until August that year. NASA wasn’t taken by surprise, though: the agency’s Office of Inspector General spotted issues with the development of both the Starliner and SpaceX’s Dragon 2 capsule. The office recently published a report saying it doesn’t expect both companies to be able to take astronauts to the ISS before 2018.
NASA commissioned both Boeing and SpaceX to build space taxis that can take its astronauts to orbit back in 2012. The project originally aimed for a 2015 launch, but that proved to be unrealistic. Elon Musk’s company has yet to reveal whether it’s also pushing back the Dragon 2’s first manned flight to the ISS, though. If it manages to stick to schedule, it’ll be able send astronauts to the station as soon as 2017. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility for SpaceX to follow Boeing’s lead, considering one of its Falcon 9 rockets blew up on the launch pad in September.
Via: The Verge
Source: Aviation Week
Samsung says Canadians can return their Note 7s for a refund or GS7 replacement
How do I return my Galaxy Note 7 in Canada?
Samsung Canada has issued a statement assuring Canadians that starting October 13 they will be able to bring their original or replacement Galaxy Note 7s to their point of purchase for a full refund or exchange.
The notice comes after Samsung’s unprecedented global cancellation of the popular flagship. In a press release, Samsung Canada’s COO & EVP, Mobile and Enterprise Solutions, Paul Brannen, said, “We are committed to working closely with our carrier and retail partners to make this as easy as possible for consumers. We appreciate the support we’ve received over the past few weeks.”
Canadians will be able to bring their devices into their point of purchase for a full refund, including all accessories purchased at the same location, or an exchange for a brand new Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, with an equivalent outfit of peripherals. The company also notes that customers who purchased the Note 7 unlocked through Samsung.com will receive an individual message from a representative in the coming days to arrange an exchange or refund.
More: Samsung going to great lengths to force return of recalled Note 7s
Have you dealt with Samsung Canada’s return or exchange process for the Note 7? Let us know in the comments!
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Galaxy Note 7 fires, recall and cancellation: Everything you need to know
- Do not buy a Galaxy Note 7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
HP’s new laptops and all-in-one are slimmer than ever
Just as it did last year, HP is updating its convertible, all-in-one and thin-and-light laptop again. This time, the company is making sure its devices are (more than) slim enough for your bags and crowded desks. In addition to losing weight and girth, the Envy 13, the Spectre x360 13.3 and the 27-inch Envy All-In-One and display are all getting refreshed with the latest processors and improved battery lives (for the laptops). While neither the new Envy 13 nor the Spectre x360 convertible can steal the title of skinniest notebook from the Spectre laptop, they’re still impressively svelte with profiles measuring just 14mm and 13.8mm respectively.
Both the new Envy 13 laptop and Spectre x360 convertible offer configurations with the latest seventh-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, up to 1TB solid state drives as well as Bang & Olufsen audio enhancements. They’re supposed to last 15 and 14 hours respectively and support HP Fast Charge. The latter is supposed to bring the laptops’ batteries from zero to 90 percent in 90 minutes of charging.
The new Spectre convertible looks as gorgeous as it did before, but now has a new hinge, smaller size and a so-called micro-edge display bezel that’s narrower than its predecessor. It also has a new dual fan design to keep it cool when it’s running taxing tasks. You’ll get a full HD IPS display and two USB Type C ports that support Thunderbolt 3. In addition to a webcam with a 12 percent wider field of view than before, the x360 also sports an infrared camera that enables Windows Hello for face-recognition logins.
Display options are aplenty on the new Envy. You can pick from full HD, quad HD and ultra HD display resolutions with touchscreen choices starting from QHD. It now has two USB 3.0 ports (one of which is dedicated to sleep and charge), as well as one USB Type C slot. Like the Spectre x360, it also has a narrower bezel.
For those interested in larger systems for the desktop, HP’s also refreshed its Envy AIO 27 to feature an integrated four speaker sound bar and a floating Technicolor Color Certified HD display that is 15 mm thin. The motherboard has been moved to the base to make the screen as thin as it is, and you can pick from sixth-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 chips, as well as an optional discrete NVIDIA GTX 950M graphics card.
The Spectre x360 is already available today, starting at $1,050, while the Envy is out on October 26 for a base price of $850. The Envy All-In-One 27 is expected to retail later this month starting at $1,300.
Graphene-fed silkworms can spin super threads
Turns out graphene, the wonder material with so many potential applications, is also the secret sauce to making tougher silk. A team of scientists from Tsinghua University in Beijing successfully created silk that’s twice as tough simply by feeding the material to silkworms. In order to do so, they coated leaves with a solution that contains either carbon nanotubes or graphene. Carbon nanotubes are essentially rolled up graphene, which is a single layer of tightly packed carbon atoms. The researchers opted for the feeding method, because it’s much simpler and more environmentally friendly than treating the final product in chemicals.
Upon closer inspection, the team found that their “super silk” can conduct electricity and has a more ordered crystal structure than typical silk. The carbon materials weren’t visible in cross sections of the silk threads, probably because they only made up 0.2 percent of the aqueous solution’s weight. Still, the final product can withstand 50 percent more stress than usual before breaking. The scientists still don’t know how much of the the carbon materials made it to final product and how much ended up excreted or metabolized, though. That’s something they’ll have to figure out when they conduct further studies.
This experiment proves, though, that it’s possible to make super silk in big batches by feeding worms graphene. The team believes that in the future, the tougher silk could be used to make biodegradable medical implants and even eco-friendly wearable electronics.
Source: Scientific American
Apple Announces New R&D Center in Shenzhen, China to Attract Software Developers
Apple announced tonight that it would open a new research and development center in Shenzhen, China, continuing attempts to boost its presence in the country, reports Reuters. The move comes a couple weeks after Apple opened a Beijing R&D center, which was announced in August.
Shenzhen’s High-Tech Industrial Park, Photo by Brucke Osteuropa
Cook announced the new Shenzhen plan during a meeting with officials from the city. The Apple CEO is reportedly attending a “nation-wide innovation” event.
“We are excited to be opening a new Research and Development center here next year so our engineering team can work even more closely and collaboratively with our manufacturing partners,” Cupertino-based Apple spokesman Josh Rosenstock said in emailed comments.
Apple is interested in attracting talented software developers in Shenzhen to its platform. The Cupertino company told Reuters that the new Shenzhen and Beijing centers are aimed at “strengthening relationships” with local partners and universities across the country.
The new centers are also seen as the company’s response to concern about its future in China, where consumers are opting for low-cost alternatives to the iPhone. Additionally, Apple has experienced a number of road blocks in its China plans, including the closure of the iTunes and iBooks stores.
Apple has also set up R&D centers in Japan, Israel and the U.K, and is reportedly planning similar centers in Canada, India, Vietnam and more.
Tag: China
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