Britney Spears’ New Album ‘Glory’ to Stream Exclusively on Apple Music

Britney Spears has announced that Glory, her first album in three years, will be available on Apple Music from August 26, in what looks like another high-profile exclusive for the streaming service.

Spears revealed the news yesterday through her Twitter account and called the fresh release “the beginning of a new era”, as she notified fans they could pre-order the album on iTunes from midnight Wednesday Eastern Time.

While it’s unclear if Glory will remain exclusive to Apple Music, the album’s streaming debut is another victory for Apple in its battle for music service supremacy, coming quick on the heels of news that R&B singer Frank Ocean’s long-awaited album Boys Don’t Cry will also be released exclusively on the service this Friday.

Other recent high-profile exclusive Apple Music releases have included Drake’s Views album, Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour LIVE film, and Katy Perry’s single “Rise”.

Rival streaming service Tidal has tried to fight off Apple’s competing service with its own album exclusives, but a series of tweets by Tidal co-owner Kanye West last week suggest the company is looking to negotiate a buyout deal with Apple.

Earlier in the year, Kanye said his new album The Life of Pablo would stay exclusive to Tidal and “never” be made available on Apple Music, only for it to appear on Apple’s streaming service the following month.

Tag: Apple Music
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LG V20 will be unveiled on September 6

LG announced that the V20 will be the first phone to offer Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, and now we have an announcement date. The upcoming flagship will be unveiled on September 6 in San Francisco.

The invitation features a colorful pop-up book with a “Play More” tagline, hinting at the phone’s multimedia capabilities. LG is one of the partners for Google’s Daydream VR platform, and we could see the company’s efforts in this segment with the V20.

With Samsung rolling out its second flagship in the Galaxy Note 7, it will be interesting to see what LG has in store with the V20. With just over a month to go and LG’s propensity to serve up details before the official announcement, we should know more about the phone in the coming weeks.

IBM researcher builds a phase-change capable artificial neuron

Computers have long been compared to artificial brains, but now IBM has followed the comparison and built a working artificial neuron. The tech giant’s research center in Zurich created 500 of them to simulate a signal transfer similar to how the process works in an organic brain.

As other research in artificial signaling demonstrate, the real milestones are had when elements can be shrunk down to microscopic scale and still work. That’s what makes IBM’s accomplishment significant: their faux neurons are built out of well-known materials that can scale down to a few nanometers but can still activate with low energy, points out Ars Technica.

Organic neurons have membranes acting as signal gates that take a certain amount of energy to absorb. In the IBM version, that role is taken by a square of Germanium-Antimony-Tellerium (GST), a common ingredient in optical disks. Heat the GST enough and it changes its physical phase, from an amorphous insulator to a crystalline conductor. In other words, signal passes through when the faux membrane is hit with enough electricity to change into its crystal phase, then it resets to its amorphous one.

But the scientists needed the artificial neuron to have another characteristic of its organic counterpart: stochiasticity, or some randomness in when signals will fire. IBM says its neurons achieve this because its GST membranes never reset to the same configuration. This lets groups of them unexpectedly accomplish things that they could not if their results were perfectly predictable.

With these neurons, scientists may be able to create computers mimicking the efficient, parallel processing design of organic brains and apply its style of approach to decision-making and processing sensory information, suggests Ars Technica. But as they point out, constructing it might be the easy point: writing software for that kind of setup will be another challenge entirely.

Via: The Economist, Ars Technica

Source: IBM press

NASA maps the thawed parts of the Greenland ice sheet

NASA has created the first map of the bottom of the Greenland ice sheet, showing which parts have begun thawing and which remain frozen as ever. This is the first time what’s underneath the surface of the massive block of ice has been mapped, because the only access scientists have to it is a few bore holes. They’ve been trying to find out what’s going on underneath for a long time, since it’s essential for predicting the sheet’s movements in the future. “If the ice at its bottom is at the melting point temperature, or thawed,” said NASA Goddard glaciologist and team leader Joe MacGregor, “then there could be enough liquid water there for the ice to flow faster and affect how quickly it responds to climate change.”

See, the ice sheet is in the Arctic, which is believed to be rapidly warming up, so it’s vulnerable to climate change. And since it covers around 80 percent of the country’s surface, global sea levels could rise by 24 feet if it were to melt.

In order to conjure up the map, NASA had to combine four different methods:

The team studied results from eight computer models that predict bottom temperatures, which are tens of degrees warmer than temp on the surface.
They looked at the ice sheet’s layers detected by the NASA Operation IceBridge aircraft’s radars.
They examined the ice surface speed measured by satellites. The team then determined whether it’s exceeding the max speed at which it could flow and still be frozen and anchored to the rock underneath.
They looked for rugged parts on the sheet’s surface that indicate ice sliding over a thawed bed using images taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers on the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites.

The result? As you can see below, NASA still didn’t get enough data to come to a conclusion for a third of the ice sheet. However, they gathered enough to determine that the southwestern and northeastern areas are already thawed, while the central and western areas remain frozen.

Source: NASA

Pepper the robot is ready to greet the great American public

Pepper’s resume is already packed with an impressive list of multinationals in both Japan and Asia, but now the robot is ready to meet and greet in English, specifically in San Francisco, where it’ll be working inside tech retailer b8ta’s flagship store. It’ll only be there a week, so it’s best to think of it as a kind of overseas work experience for the wee robot. The internship starts August 11th, and will involve Pepper greeting and guiding customers, presumably alongside awkward banter and robotic arm flourishes. The tech store says there will be special events and prize giveaways during the robot’s stay, with a special developers’ workshop for robot programmers of the future. That kicks off on the evening of August 16th. Hit up the store’s Facebook page for all the details — and see how the robot fared when we first met it on US soil after the break.

Pokémon Go expands south of the border to Central and South America

Niantic Labs has now expanded the reach of its hit augmented reality game Pokémon Go to the countries of Central and South America.

The news was revealed on the game’s official Facebook page:

Central and South America – Break out the sneakers and Poké Balls, and get ready to explore the world around you. We are excited to officially be putting Pokémon GO in the hands of our Latin American fans, visitors, and the Olympic athletes in Rio!

The AR adaptation of the popular game first launched in early July in Australia and New Zealand, and later expanded to the U.S. in mid-July, followed by a big European push at the end of that month. That expansion will continue, according to Niantic:

We have been working long hours to fix many other bugs and bring some exciting new features to Pokémon GO in the future. However, next up for us is the continued roll-out of Pokémon GO to more countries around the world.

Pokémon Go

• Join our Pokémon Go forums!
• How to deal with GPS errors in-game
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• The Ultimate Pokémon Go Game Guide!
• Listen to the Pokémon Go podcast!

New York governor legalizes daily fantasy sports

Daily fantasy sports leagues have seen serious ups and downs in the last few months as regulatory agencies grapple with whether risking money on their services constitutes gambling. New York state banned the popular sites DraftKings and FanDuel at least until a September appeal, but it seems they got an early reprieve. In June, legislators proposed to allow daily fantasy so long as they obeyed regulations and pay fees, which governor Cuomo just signed into law. As of today, it’s legal in NY.

Any league that wants to participate must register with the New York State Gaming Commission and abide by its rules. According to the bill, that includes a fee of 15 percent of gross revenue plus up to $50,000 more, which could rake in $5.5 million in revenue for the state according to a state senator who backed the legislation. Cuomo’s office now estimates that it could raise $4 million for education aid alone.

Putting these leagues under the Commission’s regulation also ensures some protections for consumers. These include introductory procedures for new players, identifying experienced ones, prohibition of minors, and perhaps most importantly, protection of deposited funds.

The key issue at stake was whether fantasy sports would be considered risk-based gambling akin to picking horses at the races and be subject to appropriate state laws. According to the legislation, it isn’t. First, the ability to select each member of your roster weights choice heavier than chance; and second, that they aren’t just wagers on the outcome of future sporting events.

Or, in the bill’s language: ” …the outcome of each contest is not dependent upon the performance of any one player or any one actual team. The outcome of any fantasy sports contest does not correspond to the outcome of any one sporting event. Instead, the outcome depends on how the performances of participants’ fantasy roster choices compare to the performance of others’ roster choices.”

Source: Governor’s Office, New York State

Pokemon Go player hit with £3700 roaming bill abroad: How to avoid that

A Japanese gymnast apparently didn’t think about getting an international data plan before catching all the Pokemon in Rio.

Kohei Uchimura, the reigning gold medalist and world champion, is addicted to Pokemon Go. (Listen – we all have our vices). He’s in Brazil preparing for the Rio Olympics, but when he’s not swinging on bars and rings, he’s scouring the countryside trying to catch ’em all. Unfortunately, however, that resulted in him getting slapped with a 500,000 yen (£3,700) bill in roaming charges.

Uchimura didn’t have a flat rate plan for overseas data usage. His teammate, Kenzo Shirai, told Phys.org that Uchimura “looked dead at the team meal” the same day he discovered how much his bit of fun had cost him. Don’t feel too bad for the athlete, however, as he managed to sweet-talk his phone company and got out of paying most of his bill. The final damage was just 3,000 yen (£20).

Uchimura said he “really lucked out”. Yeah, no kidding. But for those of you who don’t have such pull with your network, here’s some quick tips on how to avoid roaming charges but still get away with playing Pokemon Go while traveling abroad.

How can you avoid roaming charges abroad?

Get an international data plan

This one may sound pretty obvious, but it’s worth mentioning. Call your phone company and see if they offer an affordable fixed-rate plan that will let you consume lots of data while abroad. Simples. Check out Pocket-lint’s guide on which is the cheapest network for EU and abroad. You could even pick up a travel-only plan through companies like MTX Connect. It’s a mobile operator that provides data-only, pay-as-you-go plans for US travelers going to specific European countries. Simply request a free MTX SIM card for your unlocked tablet or smartphone, and a basic plan will cost you about 10 cents per megabyte, while a 1GB plan is available for $50 (£40).

Use an unlocked phone

Make sure your phone is unlocked so it can be used on any cellular network. Some phone companies, like AT&T in the US, will let you unlock your phone permanently once your contract expires, while other companies, like Verizon in the US, even sells some unlocked. Google Play also sells unlocked Android Phones, and so doesn’t Amazon, Best Buy, etc. Just browse around and see what you can find. Once you have an unlocked phone, get a lock SIM card when you reach your destination and use the phone on that local network. The SIM card and pre-paid rates will be cheaper than international roaming chargers. Check out Vodafone, too, as it sells SIM cards for data-use that work anywhere in its Europe Zone.

Rent a new phone

Rent a new phone that works in the country you’re visiting. It’s doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It just has to be able to download Pokemon Go (and don’t worry, you can download the app, then log into your Google Account, and all your achievements and hard work will be there, waiting for you). Companies like Cellular Abroad offer a range of phones you can rent for around $40 to $70 a week. Cellular Abroad specifically promises that its pay-as-you-go data rates are a “small fraction” of what the major carriers charge. The idea is that renting and paying-as-you-go should be way cheaper than racking up tonnes of international roaming charges from using your own device while abroad.

Stick to Wi-Fi

Here’s another obvious one: just turn off your cellular data. To remain connected, enable a Wi-Fi connection and only access the internet using hotspots in your destination.

What are some data-saving tips and tricks?

• Download all app updates and in-app purchases over Wi-Fi.
• Set a mobile data limit for yourself. On Android, go to Settings > Wireless & Networks > Data Usage > Data Usage Date Cycle > And select a date range. On iPhone, you’ll have to either ask your carrier to contact you or download a free data-tracking app. On iPhone, you can disable the app from using data altogether by going to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Usage.
• Avoid downloading/streaming videos, music, and media while playing.
• Close out of other open apps that may be sucking up data.
• Restrict background app data. On Android, go to Settings > Application or Apps > Pokemon Go > Data Usage > Restrict Background Data. On iPhone, you can stop apps from refreshing in the background by going to Settings > General > Background App Refresh> Pokemon Go.
• Disable notifications under your phone’s Settings app. Email and push notifications from various apps also eat into data.

READ MORE: Pokemon Go: How to stop your data usage from getting out of control

Does Pokemon Go use a lot of data?

No. According to The Wall Street Journal Verizon said that Pokemon Go, which has become one of the top downloads since it was released in the US last month, makes up less than 1 per cent of its overall network data traffic. A separate network analytics firm, called P3 communications, reportedly also determined the app only consumes between 5MB to 10MB of data per hour. If the game sucks at most 10MB per hour, you would have to play for about 7 hours a day for 30-days straight to consume a standard 2GB data plan, which costs $55 a month. CNET ran a test as well and found that, on the iPhone, Pokemon Go is a battery hog — but not a data one.

Tesla ramps up production to meet aggressive delivery goals

In Tesla’s second quarter earnings release (PDF), the company announced it had completed the design phase on the long-awaited Model 3 while also missing the mark on delivery numbers for current production models. Although CFO Jason Wheeler said on an accompanying conference call that Tesla is “clearly disappointed” about those deliveries, CEO Elon Musk was characteristically upbeat when talking about the future of his company as it launches part two of its Master Plan.

Despite the low delivery numbers, Tesla has ramped up production to 2,000 vehicles per week, cranking out a total of 14,402 vehicles in the second quarter for a 43 percent increase over the same period last year. (About two-thirds of those were Model S sedans, while the remaining 4,638 were Model X SUVs.) In total, Tesla has produced 18,345 electric vehicles through June. While still short of their goal to produce 20,000 cars in the first half of the year, Musk and company feel confident that the increase in production capacity will help them deliver another 50,000 vehicles by the end of 2016. As for the Model 3, Musk explained that vehicle’s planned production date of July 1st, 2017 will likely get pushed back slightly due to issues with suppliers, but not significantly.

Production notes aside, Musk also said he was looking forward to sharing what the company has planned for Autopilot and other autonomous systems. “Full autonomy is going to come a lot faster than anyone thinks it will. And what we’ve got coming is going to blow people’s minds,” Musk said. “I mean, it blows my mind.”