Apple Seeds First Beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.3 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.3 update to developers, just one day after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.2 and almost three months after launching the macOS Sierra operating system.

macOS Sierra 10.12.3 is available for download through the Apple Developer Center or through the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store.

Because this is a first beta, we don’t yet know what features are included in the update, but Apple’s release notes say the 10.12.3 update “improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.” We’ll update this post with any changes that are discovered in the beta.

Available since September, macOS Sierra is the latest Mac operating system. It includes Siri support, Apple Pay for the web, Universal Clipboard, Apple Watch auto unlocking, improved iCloud Drive integration, Picture-in-Picture multitasking, and dozens of smaller features that can be found in our macOS Sierra roundup.

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Amazon Prime Video expands to over 200 countries

You’ll be able to stream The Grand Tour in over 200 countries.

Amazon is expanding its Prime Video service to over 200 countries, bringing serious competition to Netflix. The latter launched globally earlier this year, rolling out to 130 countries around the world. Amazon is now following suit by making its original content — including the likes of The Grand Tour, Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, and others — available for streaming to an international audience.

Amazon Prime members in Belgium, Canada, France, India, Italy and Spain will be able to watch Prime Video starting today for no additional cost. If you’re not a member yet, you can sign up for a 30-day trial now for free. In other regions, the subscription will cost $2.99 per month for the first six months, following which it will be $5.99 monthly.

While Netflix rolled out offline downloads at the end of last month, Amazon has offered the ability to view TV shows and movies offline since last year.

You’ll be able to watch all the content available through the Prime Video app on Android phones and tablets, iOS, Amazon Fire tablets and Fire TV Stick, and online at primevideo.com. With The Grand Tour surpassing HBO’s Game of Thrones when it comes to illegal downloads, Amazon will be hoping that the international rollout of Prime Video will convince some of the people pirating the show to pony up for the service.

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I’m really happy with this $13 leather Pixel XL case

With few selling leather cases for the Pixel XL so far, we turn to Amazon, and snail mail from China.

If you just have to have a case on a phone (and that’s a thing I’ve finally come around to), then you have to have a leather case. It’s really the only civilized thing to do, right?

Problem is leather cases for the Pixel XL are pretty hard to come by at this point. Google doesn’t sell any directly, so we’re pretty much on our own to find something. And the something that I’ve found is an inexpensive one from X-Level.

See at Amazon

This PU leather case — the gist is that it’s not quite as nice and absolutely not as expensive as “genuine leather” cases — came in at about $13 for me. I’m wiling to spend more on a case, especially if that means it’s going to hold up longer. But a couple weeks into this one and so far it’s been money well spent. The cutouts for the camera and fingerprint sensor aren’t over-sized. There’s a little bit of daylight visible from the front where the 3.5mm headphone jack sits, but that’s a minor fit-and-finish thing. The case itself fits snug enough and hasn’t once tried to come off.

This actually gives the Pixel XL — the larger of Google’s two 2016 phones — a much better feel. It’s no longer too thin. It’s no longer a little slippery. I can put it down on my desk without worrying about scratching it. And, yes, I’ve even dropped it a couple times, with no additional dings on the phone. (What you can see in the pictures here was what led me to finally get a case in the first place.)

So while we await something a little more official and more expensive from the usual suspects, this X-Level case for the Pixel XL is doing me just fine.

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Digital Offers: Learn to develop apps for Android N for only $17

Got an idea for the next big Android app? With this course, you can make it a reality!

Developing and coding for Android can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve got no previous coding experience. You might be wondering where would I even start? Don’t people usually spend an arm and a leg on schooling to learn how to develop apps?

While it’s true that having good instruction is key to learning how to code for Android, you don’t need to head back to school and you don’t need to break the bank to go become a competent Android developer.

What you need is a thorough, focused course that will teach you the intricacies of developing apps for Android. What’s better than hands-on experience and an instructor who knows exactly what they’re doing?

Android Central has a great deal for you, where you can get [the Complete Android N Developer Course for only just $17. You read that right! You’ll save 91% off the regular price of this course, which features over 32 hours of content split up into 22 different sections, all taught by Cambridge University graduate Rob Percival.

This course will walk you through the process of creating clones of popular Android apps including Instagram, Uber, Flappy Bird, Twitter, and WhatsApp, arming you with the skills, knowledge, and processes you’ll to develop and publish your own apps.

Some of the section titles include:

• Introduction to Android Studio
• Java Deep Dive
• Media: Images, Video and Sound
• Permanent Data Storage
• Submitting your app to Google Play

Have you been meaning to get your app ideas up and running? Why not start right now? The demand for quality apps shows no signs of slowing, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better deal on a developer course like this one. Grab the Complete Android N Developer Course now, because this is a limited time offer that won’t last long.

See at Android Central Digital Offers

Best Strategy Games for Android

Put on your thinking hat with these strategy games for Android

We’re rounding up some of our favorite strategy games on Android for the deep thinkers out there. These are more than just simple puzzles games — these require careful planning and forethought to emerge victorious. You’ll find some great replay value in games like these as well, since the same strategy won’t always work twice.

Strategy gamers, pop on your thinking caps and get downloading these outstanding Android games.

• Clash Royale
• Plague Inc.
• Pandemic: The Board Game
• Vainglory
• Hearthstone
• Plants Vs. Zombies 2
• Star Command

Clash Royale

From the makers of Clash of Clans comes Clash Royale. Battle human opponents in real time via frantic card-based battles where you must take out the enemy’s Crown Towers while defending your own.

To be successful in Clash Royale, you’ll need to learn the strengths and weaknesses of all the different cards, then use them very strategically during battle. Play the wrong card at the wrong time and it might be game over, so be smart, and patient.

The longer the play and the more trophies you collect, the more cards you unlock. In-app purchases can help expedite your progress, but they’re not necessary as you’ll be automatically matched up with opponents at your skill level. Clash Royale is one of the best games of 2016, so download it and find out what the hype is all about.

Download: Clash Royale (Free)

Plague Inc.

Plague Inc. is a rather dark global virus simulation game. Players gently guide a disease from a modest cough to a deadly worldwide pandemic by evolving it with new symptoms, means of transmission, and resistances. Over time, players unlock new disease types with their own unique traits. World events also randomly pop up every game, forcing you to change your evolution path.

With an in-app purchase, you can get rid of ads and add a fast-forward option, or shortcut to new virus types. As morbid as it may be, Plague Inc.’s gameplay is truly infectious.

Download: Plague Inc. (Free)

Pandemic: The Board Game

From spreading the plague, to trying to prevent one, this mobile version of the popular strategic board game of the same name that provides a real challenge whether you’re playing alone or with friends. Your goal: Try to cure four contagious diseases from spreading and taking over the world.

You select your characters at the start of the game, with each character performing specific roles to help eradicate the diseases. Which characters you pick will have a big effect on your team’s ultimate success. This is a pass-and-play game to play with friends, and you’ll all have to work together and use your teams strategically if you want to win. There’s an in-app purchase available for expansions, which improves the replayability of this addictive and challenging game.

Download: Pandemic: The Board Game ($6.99)

Vainglory

Vainglory is the complete package, featuring all the frantic MOBA action fans of the genre have come to expect — jump into a quick match with random teammates and opponents, create your own party of friends and take on all comers, or chill offline and practice your strategies against bots. There are five hero classes featuring a total of 25 unique heroes to unlock, upgrade and take into battle. The touch controls are smooth and easy to pick up, so you’ll be able to jump right into the heat of the battle instantly. As you fight your way down the lane, there’s a significant upgrade system that branches out, allowing you to react and counter your enemies more effectively.

If you’re new to the MOBA genre, no worries! After introducing you to the gameplay fundamentals on first launch, Vainglory also features the Academy, an extensive tutorial section that will help you bolster your skills and abilities in the game. There’s also a ton of things to unlock, live events to participate in, and a bustling online community on Twitch. Jump in!

Download: Vainglory (Free)

Hearthstone

Hearthstone is a free, turn-based card game that follows a familiar formula: players summon creature cards and cast spell cards based on the Warcraft universe in an effort to defeat online opponents.

Every one of the nine heroes has their own unique special ability as well as a sizeable batch of collectible and craftable cards. Casual online games, ranked matches, wacky weekly Tavern Brawls, and gruelling Arena games appeal to varying levels of commitment, as you build your deck and your best strategies.

Hearthstone is without a doubt the best free card game to come to Android to date.

Download: Hearthstone (Free)

Plants Vs. Zombies 2

Plants vs. Zombies is a venerable mobile franchise for a good reason.

The bizarre premise of protecting your back lawn from hordes of undead with sunflowers and pea shooters (literally pea plants turned weapons) is certainly part of that, but there’s a lot of tactical thinking in terms of plant choices before the attack begins, and placement. In Plants vs. Zombies 2, you’re taken back in time to defend against zombies dressed in era garb, and try out all sorts of new mechanics. The zombies are getting smarter, and challenge your reaction speed in a number of ways, though you also have a whole new complement of plants to use. Stages also have new terrain features to keep every round fresh. Plant food can be collected to super-charge any plant when things get especially hairy.

All in all, Plants vs. Zombies 2 presents deep strategic gameplay in a fun, colorful package.

Download: Plants Vs. Zombies 2 (Free)

Star Command

Star Command is a sci-fi strategy game with a retro pixel art style. Players take command of a spaceship that vaguely looks like it could have been pulled out of a Star Trek movie, and recruit a crew, upgrade facilities, and embark on intergalactic adventures that usually end in a firefight with grotesque aliens.

Battles rage between ships with different mini-games for each weapon system, or against boarding parties, where you need to move crew members into position, put out fires, and make sure your people don’t get sucked out into the cold void of space when there’s a hull breach. Over time, your crew increases in skills, enabling them to man the ship’s various stations with increasing effectiveness.

If you’re looking for a fun, light-hearted single-player experience with great writing and a lot of long-term progression, Star Command is where it’s at.

Download: Star Command ($2.99)

What are you playing?

These are our picks, but we love to hear what our readers are playing. Let us know in the comments and your picks just might appear in a future update!

This article was originally published in February 2016. It was last updated in December 2016 with new additions.

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Next-gen fingerprint sensors will live under the glass

Optical fingerprint sensors could be the future.

Next-generation fingerprint sensors won’t be tied to specific buttons, nor will they require cutouts that take up precious space on the phone. Companies like Synaptics now have fingerprint sensor solutions that can be embedded under a phone or tablet’s display glass, “capable of high-resolution scanning through 1mm of full cover glass and enables clean, button-free industrial designs,” the company said in a press release.

That is good, because while many popular Android phones like the Galaxy S7 incorporate a fingerprint sensor into a traditional home button, most Android phones use on-screen navigation, and are forced to find other places to embed biometrics.

The Synaptics FS9100 promises to make fingerprint sensors more water resistant and less prone to degradation over time, and for manufacturers, easier to implement. The main takeaway here is that Synaptics’ solution is optical, not capacitive, which doesn’t require thinning of the surface glass to improve recognition:

Under cover glass biometrics eliminates button cut-outs and glass thinning processes required by capacitive under-glass sensors, leading to glass yield improvements.

Optical sensors have traditionally been less popular than capacitive ones because they require light to function, and because they aren’t typically able to take a 3D reading of a digit. Synaptics claims that these issues have been overcome with this latest generation, and that the FS9100 is even able to accurately read fingerprints through 2.5D glass, which is increasingly common on devices like the Galaxy series.

Could this be the sensor found in the Galaxy S8 Synaptics says that mass shipments will begin in the second quarter of next year, so it’s entirely possible.

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Spy on your pets with a Petcube for just $79 today!

Amazon’s Deal of the Day today can save you $70 on the awesome Petcube camera. Ever wonder what your pets are up to when you leave the house? Well, now you can stop wondering and start checking in on them from anywhere, all for just $79. The Petcube camera not only allows you to see the pets, but also interact with them thanks to the two-way audio, and play games with them through the built-in laser.

This deal is only good for today, December 14, so be sure to act quickly if you are interested in picking one up. Stop guessing what your pets are up to, and start knowing today!

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Should you buy an Amazon Echo Dot?

It’s the impulse buy of the year, and so very worth it.

Choosing between Amazon’s Echo and the new Google Home isn’t an easy choice, especially if you’re a big fan of Google’s services and already have a Chromecast kicking around. Right now, Amazon has a lot more features to explore, but that feature list is never going to include summoning your next Netflix binge session with nothing but your voice. There’s a lot to consider, and a lot of people are trying to figure out which is best for their needs while surrounded by deals and sales and new features being added every day.

I say don’t worry with either of the big expensive speaker assistants, and start out with Amazon’s Echo Dot instead.

Better than the full-sized Echo

Echo Dot does everything Echo does, with one significant difference: Amazon Echo comes with a specially designed speaker so you can enjoy listening to streaming music, and Echo Dot does not. There’s a little speaker in Dot that allows Alexa to respond to you when you give a command, but it’s nowhere near good enough to enjoy listening to music. Echo Dot doesn’t need a speaker, though. It has something much more important — an audio out port.

Amazon is doing to home automation what Google did to streaming video, and that’s great.

That 3.5mm jack in the back of Echo Dot, which doesn’t exist on the Echo, allows you to connect whatever speaker you want to your Echo Dot. This level of flexibility means you can connect to a big expensive stereo system if you happen to have one of those, or a tiny portable speaker that can travel with you throughout the house. Echo Dot is also powered by a Micro-USB port, which means you can buy a Bluetooth speaker with a big battery and take your Echo Dot poolside or out into the garage with you if you don’t want to buy more than one.

The speaker built into the full-sized Echo is decent, but it’s not as good as being able to connect to whatever speaker you want. It’s also not as capable a speaker as the one built into Google Home, so if music streaming is your priority the full-sized Echo just plain isn’t worth the price tag.

Cheap enough to be an impulse buy

Much in the same way that Google’s Chromecast was the big impulse buy and stocking stuffer last year, Amazon’s Echo Dot is cheap enough that you really don’t lose anything by giving it a shot.

What if you prefer Assistant to Alexa? There’s nothing wrong with preferring Google services, especially if you’re an Android user. The truth is, it’s going to be a couple of months before Google Home is able to compete feature for feature with Amazon Echo. You can grab Google Home now and wait for each feature you want to be added, or you can grab an Echo Dot now and figure out how you want to use a household assistant while the competition builds up.

That sounds silly, but consider the price. If you catch them on sale, you can buy three Echo Dots for the price of a single Google Home. If you buy a single Dot now and learn how you want to use a home assistant, but later decide you really need Google in that mix, you aren’t out much. If you decide Echo Dot really is what you want, you can start thinking about expanding Echo Dot into multiple rooms in your home.

What are you waiting for?

Amazon is doing to home automation what Google did to streaming video, and that’s great. By making it so cheap it’s easy to try for a while and see if you want something better later, or make it super easy to expand and fill your house with Alexa, there’s little reason to not give an Echo Dot a try.

What do you think, are you ready to give it a shot? Tell us about it in the comments!

See at Amazon

Uber brings its self-driving cars to San Francisco

Uber’s self-driving cars are now roaming beyond the streets of Pittsburgh. The ridesharing firm has started deploying autonomous vehicles in downtown San Francisco, giving UberX passengers a (small) chance at ordering a robotic ride. There’s still a driver ready to take over when the car can’t navigate by itself, but you’re in for a special experience all the same — especially since these aren’t just the modified Fords from the Pittsburgh test.

The company is taking advantage of its partnership with Volvo to roll out XC90s with more tightly integrated self-driving sensors that complement the SUV’s existing array. It’s even using fewer sensors than the Pittsburgh cars, Uber tells our friends at TechCrunch. While it still has a detailed 360-degree view of the road through cameras, GPS, lidar and radar, it cuts out some sensors that turned out to be superfluous in the Ford vehicles. As a passenger, you still use an iPad in the back to verify your destination and get a simplified view of what the car sees when it’s in self-driving mode.

And in case you’re wondering: yes, Uber is aware of the potential legal questions. It says it looked “carefully” at California’s regulatory environment and doesn’t believe it needs a testing permit. The rules apply to cars that don’t need someone behind the wheel, Uber argues — these autonomous Volvos still do. This test is ostensibly closer to Tesla’s upgraded Autopilot features than a full-fledged driverless project.

With that said, Uber isn’t shy about admitting that it’s pushing boundaries. The company sees the San Francisco pilot as a way of telling California that heavy regulation creates the risk of “slowing innovation.” In other words, Uber would prefer if the state stayed out of its way rather than bend to legal requirements. It’s not certain that California officials see things the same way, but they might not object to a relatively limited experiment like this.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Uber Newsroom