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Here are some of the best outlet deals to make your smart home even smarter http://ift.tt/2CfUILT Whether you received an Amazon Echo, Homekit, or saved big gifting yourself a smart home bundle this holiday season, you are probably ready to step up your smart home game. Smart outlets are one of the easiest ways to get started in home automation. They essentially allow you to make almost any device a ‘smart’ device by taking control of your electrical outlets with apps and voice commands. You can choose when your devices go on and off and even setting unique schedules that fit best with your lifestyle. Setup usually isn’t that difficult, but it never hurts to read up on how to get started with home automation to you can ensure you get it right the first time. Making the switch to a fully automated home isn’t a cheap process, but it is completely worth it. In an effort to help keep costs down as you take the next step in your smart home journey, we’ve rounded up some of the best smart outlet deals available right now. TP-Link Smart PlugAn easy to install smart outlet, the TP-Link Smart Plug allows you to control devices at your convenience. As an Amazon Favorite product, this smart plug lets you automatically power electronics on and off as needed, such as setting lights to switch on at dusk or turn off at sunrise. Like many popular smart plugs, you can create schedules for each device any day of the week, or customize it by a specific time of day. This smart home device also helps you keep energy bills low with a built-in feature that helps you effectively manage devices that use the most power. The scheduling feature also allows you to prevent power-hungry devices from being left on longer than needed. This model plugs into any standard wall outlet and lets you switch electronics on or off from anywhere with your tablet or smartphone using the free Kasa app. Though these outlets work with Amazon Alexa, there’s no hub required. The TP-Link Smart Plug normally retails for $40 but is currently reduced to $29 on Amazon with free shipping for Prime members. Wemo Insight Smart PlugUsing your existing home Wi-Fi network, the WeMo Insight Smart Plug allows you to control your lights and appliances and set worry-free schedules from a phone or tablet. It gives you handsfree voice control and works with a variety of platforms including Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Nest, and If This Than That, also known as IFTTT. To use the smart device, simply plug in a WeNo Insight Smart Plug and download the WeMo app from the iTunes or Google Play Store. The smart plug provides real-time energy monitoring reports on how much energy your devices are consuming so you can monitor factors such as how much a space heater is costing you or how much energy a particular room consumes. It also has a handy ‘Away’ mode built into the smart switch that will turn plugged-in lights on and off randomly to create the illusion that you’re home even when you’re not. The WeMo Insight Smart Plug regularly retails for $40 but is currently discounted to $35 on Amazon, saving you $5 (13 percent). You can also pick up the WeMo Mini for $30. Securifi Peanut Smart PlugThis one-of-a-kind smart home device is a Zigbee enabled smart plug which enables you to control your home appliances from anywhere. It works with Echo Plus, Almond 3, Almond+, and Almond 2015 and can be operated via the free Almond app for iOS and Android or using a standard web browser. The smart plug works with everything you need including lights, appliances, washers, dryers, heaters, in-wall air conditioners, fans, TVs, game consoles, and much more. With a handy set-it-and-forget-it feature, you can schedule your sensors once and they will remember your routine until you change your mind. The smart plug allows you to control multiple devices at the tap of a button and save money as you monitor your energy usage each month. Pick one up today for $19 on Amazon after a $21 (53 percent) discount. Sochoose WiFi Smart PlugInstantly control devices connected to this smart plug wherever you have Wi-Fi network using the free TuyaSmart app on your smartphone. The smart plug is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home as well as with Android 4.4. above and iOS 8 above phone system. Additionally, you can enjoy voice control as the plug works with Amazon Alexa as well as Amazon Echo, Echo show, and Echo dot. With the timer setting, you can schedule the smart plug to automatically power electronics on and off as you needed and make sure devices can be powered off when not in use to help you save on energy costs. This model has been certificated for ETL and FCC and ensure 18-month replacement warranty free of charge. Snag one today on Amazon for $16 after a $4 (20 percent) discount. Samsung SmartThings OutletThis smart plug connects to your Samsung SmartThings Hub to automate and monitor your home from the SmartThings smartphone app. The plug helps you connect wirelessly to a wide range of smart devices including those from top manufacturers such as Amazon, Bose, Schlage, Yale, Cree, Osram Lightify, Honeywell, First Alert, and more. The plug helps you control lights, electronics, and small appliances from your smartphone such as powering coffee machines, crock-pots, A/C units, portable heaters, and fans. It’s wireless, simple to install, and lets you control your devices from anywhere. The plug also uniquely allows you to make your Samsung smart devices smarter, providing notifications when tasks have been completed and giving you a greater control over how you use them. The Samsung SmartThings Outlet normally retails for $45 but is currently marked down to $40 on Amazon, saving you $5 (11 percent). Looking for more great deals on tech and electronics? Check out our tech deals or sign up for our DT Deals email for the latest savings and sales
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Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC December 28, 2017 at 05:50PM
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How ‘Coco VR’ convinced Pixar to put its pixels (and pride) into virtual reality http://ift.tt/2pT10Mw Pixar is one of the few studios that creates movies that truly appeal to the young and old alike. Its latest effort, Coco, is no different, telling the heartwarming story of budding musician Miguel Rivera against the visually stunning backdrop of the Dia de los Muertos. In the movie, Rivera finds himself transported to the land of the dead for his adventure. Coco VR allows Oculus Rift owners to do the same, crossing over from the land of the living by putting on their headset. This is the first time that Pixar has dabbled in VR — and it may well have changed how the company approaches the filmmaking process altogether. Virtual experimentMarc Sondheimer is an Academy Award-winning producer at Pixar, who has worked on a number of beloved projects over the last sixteen years. Coco VR, however, offered up a novel challenge. “It was new and different for me, and for most people here at Pixar since we hadn’t done anything in that space before,” he said when he spoke to Digital Trends earlier this month. “If we had known what we know now, it probably wouldn’t have happened. We just jumped in head first.” That comment shouldn’t indicate any regrets about how the project turned out — it simply illustrates the fact that Coco VR turned out to be much more ambitious than expected. The number of activities on offer and the level of interactivity involved are far beyond what was initially conceived. Initially, Pixar was unsure whether to create a smaller VR experiment in support of last year’s Cars 3, or something slightly larger to coincide with Coco. “For a couple of months we talking about different ideas, what we could achieve and what we couldn’t achieve,” explained Sondheimer. “We really felt that Coco was the right property to use, because visually it’s so appealing and stunning, and it’s an imaginary world that we thought would lend itself well to people immersing themselves.” One of the biggest questions early in the development process was how much of a narrative component should be included. Pixar sought guidance from both partners Magnopus and Oculus, given their personnel’s experience working with the technology. “Frankly, we weren’t sure how much to lean into the narrative piece, versus choosing an adventure or making it more like a game,” reflected Sondheimer. “That was kind of unknown or uncertain; what’s entertaining in virtual reality, or how to tell a good story.” VR for EveryoneMuch like the majority of Pixar’s back catalogue, Coco is a movie that’s be enjoyed by adults and children alike, and both sections of the audience will find something to appreciate in its VR companion. An immersive concept art gallery offers a very different experience to the opportunity to star in a musical celebration of Dia de los Muertos — but since Coco VR is self-guided, users can pick and choose the activities that appeal to them. “Our goal was to provide a choice of thing to do, and to give the visitor agency over which parts they want to concentrate on and which areas of the universe they’re most interested in,” explained Alex Henning, co-founder of Magnopus, the VR specialist that collaborated with Pixar to create Coco VR, speaking to Digital Trends. Much has been said about the cost of entry associated with VR, even though headset prices are falling. Magnopus wanted to create an experience that adult Pixar fans and VR enthusiasts could enjoy, but it was also important that children who got caught up in the world of Coco would be able to explore Coco VR. To ensure that this was the case, Disney and Oculus took a proactive approach. Coco VR was playable in Disney stores, AMC theaters, at the film’s premiere, and at various Dia de los Muertos events. “I was thrilled that a broader audience was going to get to experience it,” said Henning. “Not just people who happened to own a gaming PC and the other hardware.” Magnopus is committed to pushing the boundaries of VR, both in terms of what’s possible using the technology and how broad the audience for this content is. Henning anticipates a future where everyone — from young children to his parents’ generation — are excited about putting on a headset and stepping into a virtual world. Pixar’s movies have a broad appeal, so Coco VR might convince someone who’s unfamiliar with the technology to try it out for themselves. Of course, that means that the experience has to be stellar to ensure that those newcomers aren’t put off. The Benefit of ExperienceHenning and fellow co-founders Rodrigo Teixeira and Ben Grossmann were inspired to establish Magnopus based on their experience in the film industry, and an expectation that new technology was set to change the entertainment landscape. Virtual reality stood out because it seemed to diverge from the information overload of modern society, offering up something closer to the experiential memories of their respective childhoods. Despite the fact that Coco VR is the first VR adaptation of a Pixar property, the studio’s strong track record means that it has to meet some exacting standards — both in terms of the fan base and the creative forces behind the movie. The company garnered plenty of praise when Mission: ISS -- a simulation of life aboard the International Space Station developed in collaboration with NASA, the ESA, and the CSA – was released in March 2017. In October 2017, Blade Runner 2049: Memory Lab gave fans the opportunity to step into the world of the cyberpunk sequel. Memory Lab is broadly similar to Coco VR, in that both experiences are intended to expand upon their source material. For Henning, focusing on the world of the source material is crucial for this kind of project. “You’re serving a lot of masters simultaneously, right?” he said. “On the one hand you’ve got a primary focus with these pieces that are movie tie-ins, which is to promote the movie itself. But for us, we look at all of these projects as an opportunity — and really a responsibility — to push this immersive medium forward.” Henning explained that Magnopus feels the need to cover new ground with each project, whether it’s building upon work that’s been done by other studios working with VR or establishing entirely new techniques. He points to the holographic capture process used in Memory Lab and the novel social mechanics that are present in Coco VR. “You’re always looking for like, ‘what is a thing we could try here that might unlock some greater potential,'” added Henning. Stepping into the SceneCoco VR was an opportunity for Pixar to work with a new medium. For a studio that helped bring computer animation to the mainstream in the 1990s, that’s an exciting prospect. What’s more, the process is set to have an impact on the company’s upcoming slate of films — albeit perhaps not in the way you might expect. In June 2018, Pixar will release Incredibles 2, its next feature. There’s no word on whether or not it will be accompanied by an experience along the lines of Coco VR -- but even if the studio never releases content of this kind again, there should be no doubt as to the impact the project had on its development process. “We’re using some techniques that we developed for Coco VR in Toy Story 4,” said Sondheimer. The upcoming sequel will join the ranks of one of the most critically acclaimed and financially successful series of all time, so you can bet that Pixar must be on board with VR if the technology is to contribute to its production. Fans shouldn’t necessarily expect to be donning their headset to go to infinity and beyond, though. While a VR companion is definitely possible, Pixar seems to be particularly excited about how the technology might be used behind the scenes. “As we were building the experience, we were actually collaborating inside of VR, together,” said Henning. “You would have Pixar’s creatives and project leads walking around as skeletons with our creatives and project leads, all together, actually in the experience — them in Emeryville and us in Los Angeles — exploring the space together and making decisions natively in the medium, as opposed to just doing a video conference or a phone call.” As you can imagine, being able to physically inhabit a virtual space rather than just view it as a collection of 3D models has a certain appeal for a studio that specializes in computer animation. VR could help Pixar adapt practices from live-action filmmaking that were previously unattainable. “We model it, then we drop the filmmakers in those spaces to get a feel for scale, design, and to start finding some of their camera shots that they might want to achieve,” said Sondheimer. “That’s new, for us, but it’s also very exciting, for sure.” The future of filmmakingSondheimer describes the studio’s exposure to this kind of technology as being “completely unexpected, but extremely valuable.” There was no preconception that the social, multi-user aspects of Coco VR could factor into the creation of future film projects. However, it’s impact on the team’s ability to collaborate with one another and get on the same page. “I know that it’s something that they’re using now in our filmmaking — you get a production designer, a director, and the head of our camera department all in, doing a walkthrough of a space together, virtually,” added Sondheimer. “Coco VR unlocked that door, at least in three dimensions.” It’s easy to pigeonhole VR as a new type of entertainment, something that blurs the lines between movie and video game without every really belonging to either category. However, we’re seeing the technology used for practical purposes more and more. “I think it’s a tool,” said Sondheimer. “I think it’s a great tool for filmmaking.” Pixar set out to make an entertaining experience, and ended up discovering a new way to leverage technology to benefit its filmmaking process. This is part of a broader trend that spans both VR and augmented reality – whether it’s diagnosing concussions or tracking tools on a job site, these headsets have a place in the world of work. On the surface, wearing a headset might seem isolating, but Pixar discovered how a shared virtual space can help people tackle a project together. In time, we might see all kinds of industries use social VR to foster communication and collaboration in the workplace.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC December 28, 2017 at 05:50PM
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What Makes Instagram's 'Recommended' Posts So Awful? http://ift.tt/2pVrc9B Social feeds are getting cluttered with posts no one asked for, and unfortunately, Instagram is following suit. No one I’ve spoken to about Instagram’s recently announced feature of “recommended” posts from complete strangers appearing in feeds is excited about the change. Admittedly, that group of people is a relatively small sample size, composed largely of other tech journalists. I don’t love it. But I can’t quite put my finger on why. On the hierarchy of nuisance posts, I’d put Instagram’s recommendations below Twitter’s “in case you missed it” notifications (oh my god, please stop) and Facebook’s incessant need to tell me when events are being attended by people I’ve met once or twice, but slightly above promoted posts from advertisers. As far as anyone knows, Instagram won’t be pushing notifications about these posts you didn’t ask for but also won’t provide an option to turn them off. Advertisement Part of that may be influenced by how I use Instagram. Unlike Twitter, my Instagram feed is composed almost entirely of close friends. While, in theory, anyone would enthusiastically opt into broadening their social and intellectual horizons, I can’t imagine a version of Instagram where the meals, vacations, and observations of people I’ve known for years is enhanced by content from people I don’t know at all. And all in some half-assed attempt to increase the “stickiness” (see: addictive potential) of Instagram to, one assumes, appease advertisers. Keep in mind, Instagram already had a method for finding new things easily on its explore page, although this change suggests not enough people were using it. There’s also the consideration that this is yet another change straying further from Instagram’s original mission. The first, and most personally onerous, was the abandonment of a chronological timeline. Seeing a friend, for instance, at a restaurant I’d been to recently might spur on a text message recommendation for an appetizer. Seeing that same photo three days later does no one any good. (I feel the same way about the ‘stories’ feature, which exists entirely so Facebook could Advertisement And then there’s the unspoken creepiness. Who are these people whose posts I’m seeing? Did they opt into this new feed scheme? Will my photos, likewise, be visible to people I neither follow nor want to follow? There are good ways to recommend out-of-network content—Tumblr is a good example—but for my money, this isn’t it. Then again, I’ve been known to be distrustful, pessimistic, and a general crank about most things. So let’s hear from you, dear reader—are you jazzed to see a more diversified Instagram, or is this as obnoxious as I’m making it out to seem? And in either case, why? Digital Trends via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com December 28, 2017 at 05:42PM
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Uber’s Unreal $70 Billion Valuation Really Was Unreal http://ift.tt/2DrTjyO Today Uber, the biggest ride-sharing company in much of the world, got its hands on even more money by selling up to 20 percent of itself to Softbank and other investors in exchange for a giant sack of cash. But those investment dollars come with a catch. In order to raise more money, Uber sold a chunk of itself at a lower price than investors were once willing to pay. And with that, the company’s estimated worth suddenly looks incredibly different. It’s dropped by more than $20 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Uber has made headlines for years over how much investors imagined the company was worth, based on what now looks like generous guesswork. But for more than a year, that figure was a jaw-dropping $70 billion. Overnight and into the new year, you’re going to see a different number in headlines about Uber’s business. According to the Wall Street Journal, that price is now $48 billion—still very, very big. But big as it is, we’re looking at a more than 31-percent drop from its earlier value. Uber’s unreal-looking valuation, it turns out, really was quite unreal. Advertisement As for what’s causing the drop, maybe it’s because Uber, as of a year ago, was still losing billions of dollars. Or maybe the company’s awful behavior has simply caught up to it this year, resulting in new regulatory hurdles, swaths of legal battles, and, ultimately, a smaller-but-still-gigantic valuation. Reached for comment, an Uber spokesperson did not address the details from the Journal’s report, only saying, “We look forward to working with the purchasers to close the overall transaction, which we expect to support our technology investments, fuel our growth, and strengthen our corporate governance.” Uber may no longer be worth more than Ford’s 114-year-old automobile business. And apparently, it’s no longer double the value of its home-sharing counterpart, Airbnb. But as far as we know, Uber is still making billions of dollars from rides, and now that the Softbank deal is done, the company is on schedule to go public in 2019. Someday soon, Uber’s price tag could soar yet again, no matter what new secrets are dug up about how the company has operated between now and then. Digital Trends via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com December 28, 2017 at 05:24PM
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Can’t see all of a sudden? Our quick guide on defogging your car windows http://ift.tt/2C8B70X We’ve all been there. You’re driving along, probably through some sort of inclement of weather and then — bam — out of nowhere, your windows begin to fog up from variances in temperatures and humidity levels and you can no longer see. While foggy car windows are not the end of the world, it creates an unsafe situation and can completely inhibit your exterior visibility while driving. There are several reasons as to why car windows and windshields might fog up and again, it’s all dependent on the weather conditions. For instance, if you’re driving through a cold, wintry climate, windows fogging up from the inside might occur quite frequently as the cold ambient temperatures create the perfect breeding grounds for condensation while occupants keep warm on the inside. The result heats up the moisture inside the passenger cell along with the air. When that heated moisture hits the cold glass, condensation, or “fogging” occurs. Alternatively, if you’re driving through humid, summery conditions, passengers might have the air conditioning engaged to keep the interior cool. This ultimately also cools the vehicle’s windows from the inside, causing them to fog up on the outside. But thankfully, this can easily be remedied through the use of windshield wipers or by simply rolling the windows down, and then back up. If your windows fog up from the inside, don’t panic! Here are a few basic and easy steps that can help you defog your windows safely and while on the go. At first instinct, it might seem like a good idea to simply wipe the condensation off your car windows as a temporary fix. While you can do that as a temporary measure just to be able to see again, particularly in front of you on the windshield, we actually don’t recommend you do that. Wiping a foggy window with your bare hands can actually worsen the situation by smearing whatever oils and contaminants caught on your hand — such as skin oils and other dirt. When the condensation returns, it will be harder to see than prior to wiping it with your hand. So what do we recommend you do instead? Turn on your air conditioningWhether it be in the dead of winter when it’s cold outside or in the heat of the summer, your car’s air conditioner does more than just cool the interior air. Not only does it act as a method of cooling the passenger cabin, but it doubles as a dehumidifier. On most newer cars, interior HVAC systems with an “automatic” function typically keeps the AC compressor on by default for the most optimal interior comfort. That said, just enable the window “defroster” mode, as depicted by the icon below. If you don’t have automatic climate control, make sure the AC compressor is engaged by pressing the button or flicking the switch on your center console with “AC” labeled on it until it’s indicated as on. The “defroster” mode sets the blower fan to its max setting, vents actuate to channel the airflow to the outlets on the dashboard, aimed toward your windshield. In most cars with automatic climate control, the AC compressor automatically kicks in in this defroster mode. In cars with manual climate control, you often have to double check that the AC compressor is on. As long as your car’s HVAC system and AC compressor are functioning, your windows should defog themselves in no time and on the go, with the help of the climate control system. No need to pull over and give all your windows a quick wipe-down. What to do if your car’s AC is malfunctioningHave an older car or drive one with a disabled AC compressor? No worries. We totally understand since AC system repairs can get costly real fast. You can still use the HVAC system and heating to clear your windows in the winter. But if you’re driving on a hot and humid day in the summer, this option sadly won’t work, especially if there’s no cool, dry air available from a malfunctioning AC compressor, which also prevents the evaporator from functioning. That said, we recommend keeping a roll of paper towels, napkins, or a set of clean rags inside your car and within easy reach. That way, you can avoid using your dirty, oily hands on your windscreen and windows when wiping off condensation. If you do need to exert some physical and manual labor to clear up your windows, it’s best to pull over on the side of the road to avoid any accidents. And the best way to keep your windows from fogging up…?Aside from just keeping the AC compressor running whenever using your car’s HVAC system to keep the interior air dry, always keep your windows extra clean. You can use a generic window cleaner, such as Windex. But if not wiped away properly, Windex can leave behind residue, which also causes smearing and streaks when windows fog up, making it even more difficult to clean and see through. That said, we suggest using dedicated car window cleaner, such as Rain-X or Invisible Glass window cleaner. They’re specially formulated to prevent streaks and windows from fogging from leaving minimal residue. Those can easily be picked up at any of your local auto parts or department stores. If you want to take an extra step, you can also treat your windows with a product like Rain-X glass cleaner and water repellent. This leaves behind a clear, thin film on your glass, preventing condensation from forming. And that’s it! Fogging windows is a very frequent occurrence and thus hopefully, these quick tips should help you defog your windows in a safe manner with some extra advice on how to prevent it from happening while on the road. For better edification, here’s by YouTuber Mark Rober, who explains some of the best methods to defogging your windows using science.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC December 28, 2017 at 05:22PM
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No batteries. No wires. No friction. These bike lights are powered by physics http://ift.tt/2pNXsv7 When it comes to lights, cyclists typically have one of two options: Either a battery-powered light which needs replacing every so often or a dynamo-powered light which uses the spinning of your bike’s wheels to generate power, but which cause friction that can slow you down. A new Kickstarter campaign seems to offer a perfect third solution, however: Smart brake lights that work courtesy of a completely contactless dynamo-powered battery. The promise? Endless light without resistance — via so-called eddy currents, loops of electrical current induced within conductors thanks to a changing magnetic field. To fit them, simply exchange your regular brake pads with the new brake lights. No batteries or cables required! “When faced with Magnic Light for the first time, many believe that this is either a fake or a perpetual motion generator,” inventor Dirk Strothmann told Digital Trends. “Both aren’t true, but the underlying eddy current technology is so fascinating because the magnetic fields only appear when there is motion — in our case the rotating rim. By hiding a rotating magnet wheel inside a black box, the perpetual motion illusion is perfect. But in our case, this is more than a magic trick because this concept has several advantages over standard dynamos: an air gap between wheel and generator means no problems with dirt, rain or snow, and an encapsulated unit without external cables is better protected and feels like a battery light that is never empty.” In addition to excellent illumination, Strothmann has also created smart versions of the brake lights which offer a turn signal that’s triggered via a quick double pump of the brake handle, alongside smartphone-controlled navigation signals and sensor-free speed tracking. Strothmann is no stranger to Kickstarter. He has two successful Kickstarter campaigns he has delivered in the past, which means that people willing to stump up some pre-order cash aren’t doing so on an unproven entity. If you would like to get hold of some of his new lights, you can currently place an order on Kickstarter, where he is selling a set of both the smart new rear lights and also front lights for 99 euros (around $118). Other price options are also available — including a basic set of front and rear lights for a frankly ridiculous $1.20 (!!) for the first 1,000 people to sign up. Shipping is set to take place in November 2018.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC December 28, 2017 at 05:22PM
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TWB Podcast: iPhone price cut rumor; smart home hack; delivery robot http://ift.tt/2C6HX7m iPhone Price Drops & Apple Lawsuits: It appears that the revelation that Apple has indeed been slowing down older models if iPhones is still going to be giving them headaches for quite some time. At least 8 lawsuits have been filed, including one for $999 billion. Another rumor from Digitimes states that the Apple may be lowering the price for the iPhone X by $50 to $100, in the new year. Would that be enough of a difference for you to purchase one? Smart Home Device Hacks: Many consumers have purchased a Smart Home device, or speaker of some kind, over this past year. Wired is reporting that hackers have figured out how to play sounds, over Sonos One, Sonos Play 1 and some Bose SoundTouch speakers, remotely. This in itself may not seem like a huge hack on the surface, but the implications are enormous and show the need for greater security as we become evermore connected. E-Novia Self-Driving Delivery Robot: While there have been several previous attempts to master the concept of a delivery bot, E-Novia seems to have taken things a step futher. The YAPE (Your Autonomous Pony Express) has a pretty incredible range and speeds, that it can reach. The key component of security, is that it unlocks it’s package to the end consumer, using Facial Recognition. Each week, we gather a round table of tech experts from the Digital Trends staff, along with the occasional celebrity guest, to discuss all things tech. Topics range from the big tech stories of the week to predicting the future, all while maintaining a somewhat civil decorum. Throughout the show we answer your questions. This week’s episode features Adrien Warner, Brandon Widder, Caleb Denison, and Greg Nibler.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC December 28, 2017 at 05:22PM
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Scientists Observe Strange Double Whirlpool Effect in Ocean for First Time http://ift.tt/2C47JJg Slow waves meander westward out in the deep ocean south of Australia. Sometimes they carry with them carry large eddies, whirlpools over 100 miles across. But every so often, these whirlpools combine into double whirlpools and travel across the ocean 10 times faster than the rest of the whirlpools, moving in sync for months and potentially transporting minerals and nutrients with them. Scientists announced their observations of these “modons” for the first time in a new paper based on satellite data. These double whirlpools are important for more than just proving a theorized but previously unobserved oceanic anomaly, though. They could perhaps explain a new way to transport water quickly to other parts of the ocean. Advertisement “Especially in the Tasman Sea, they represent an unusual pathway for propagation of water with different properties into the open ocean,” the authors write in the study, published this month in Geophysical Research Letters. Here’s the thing about Earth: It’s a big, spinning ball. That comes with consequences for the things not firmly attached to the planet itself, like the atmosphere and the oceans, which experience a “Coriolis force,” in which some objects’ paths bend as they travel away from or towards the poles. The different amount of bending at different latitudes in the ocean manifests as “Rossby waves,” a slow and westward movement of disturbances in the ocean water. That creates enormous circles of water called mesoscale eddies, which slowly travel westward—think of these eddies like the ocean weather patterns. Through satellite observations, scientists saw that when two of these eddies link up to create the “modon,” crazy things happen. Rather than travel westward at speeds of 1-2 centimeters per second (like, .02 to .04 miles per hour, literally the speed of a snail), they might travel eastward at 10-20 centimeters per second (a lightning fast .2 to .4 miles per hour, which is perhaps closer to the speed of a tortoise). Advertisement Sorry if you were picturing super-fast vortexes of ocean water—but this video does speed things up a bit:
These double whirlpools aren’t like, horrible ship-killing storms, nor are they “fast moving” except by comparison to how fast (i.e., very slow) they normally move. But they haven’t been observed before, and the researchers speculate that the behavior could have important implications for ocean life. These faster-moving whirlpools bring colder water to places where the water is usually warm, and vice versa. Perhaps they even transport food and nutrients for sea life. Advertisement The scientists have hit a sort-of limit of how well they can probe these eddies with today’s technology, and hope that new satellites, like the upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite, can help increase their understanding. The exciting thing about this research is that the ocean is still managing to surprise us even today, from its deepest depths to its churning surface. [Geophysical Research Letters] Digital Trends via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com December 28, 2017 at 05:06PM
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Apple Gives In To Furious Customers, Slashes Price on iPhone Slowdown Fix http://ift.tt/2EbthRB Apple has finally recognized that it will have to do more to calm customers’ ire after admitting to, and then apologizing for slowing down their old iPhones. In a letter my mother would have said was “passive aggressive” and “not really apologetic at all” had I written it, Apple wrote: “We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize.” To that end, the company has slashed the price of battery replacements for iPhone 6, 6s, and 7 devices from $80 to $30. The letter, which comes eight days afterApple confirmed rumors it was slowing down phones with aging batteries, possessed a frustrated tone, and if you know anything about how batteries age you might be just as frustrated as Apple sounds. That’s because by all accounts, Apple slowed down older iPhones in an effort to prevent an even more frustrating problem—the unexpected shutdown of phones. Advertisement In iOS 10.2 and earlier, iPhones had an obnoxious issue. As the batteries in these devices aged (and there’s really no way to prevent a battery in a phone from aging), the operating time naturally shortened, but in periods of “peak load” the phone would shut down, often unexpectedly, and even when the battery appeared to have have 40 percent of more of its life left—I know because my iPhone 6 was affected by the issue. It was deeply frustrating, and after spending three months with a battery pack strapped to my phone because otherwise I couldn’t trust it to actually be on when I needed it to be on, I went out and picked up a battery replacement kit from iFixit for $30. But had I been one of those people who regularly updated my iPhone 6, I would have updated to iOS 10.2.1, which included a quiet fix for the shutdown problem. Instead of the phone mysteriously going caput at a moment’s notice, the phone’s operating system would instead throttle the processor and keep the phone alive. So you’d be able to make calls—but gaming, browsing, and everything else would move at a slower pace. Advertisement This is where Apple screwed up. Instead of displaying a pop-up that said something like, “Your phone is going into Ultra Low Power Mode, please service your battery at your earliest convenience,” the software just did its business and left many users feeling frustrated. Now only was their phone not lasting as long (the batteries were still bad and had shorter than expected lifespans), but their phone was slow as heck, too. AsGeekbench noted when it analyzed the data it had secured from it’s own users, the slowdown became even more pronounced in iOS 11.2, sparking rumors that Apple was purposely slowing down older phones to force people to upgrade. The rumor had so much weight behind it that Halte à l’Obsolescence Programmée, a French consumer advocacy group, filed a suit yesterday in France under a 2015 law that forbids companies from purposely making older technology obsolete, and last week two separate class actions were filed here in the US. That might be difficult to prove as Apple is correct: Old batteries do lose their ability to maintain a charge, and thanks to the mad dash to make phones water resistant, most phones no longer allow for the battery to be easily replaced. Yet, as HTC and Motorola told the Verge today, neither throttling or unexpected shutdowns are the typical intended behavior for phones with aging batteries, either. Apple’s response to older batteries on the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7 has been a departure both for the company and the phone community as a whole. Advertisement But dropping the price on battery replacements is a nice step in a better direction (and one I can only hope becomes standard for Apple and all other phone makers). While an iPhone battery can be procured online for $15, a kit, including all the necessary tools, starts at $25 on iFixit and goes up to $50 for an iPhone 7 Plus. And the repair itself can be dangerous or destructive if you don’t know what you’re doing. Paying $30 to have someone else do the entire repair is a steal for most people. In addition to the cut in cost of battery replacement for the affected phones, Apple has also promised an update to iOS:
It’s unclear what this update will look like. It could be as simple as an app (there are plenty of those available currently), or it could even be a notification that lets you know when its time to consider a battery replacement. Advertisement Either way, as phones become more costly and consumers grow more reluctant to upgrade every year or two, we are likely to see more stories like this—phones giving up the ghost far soon than you’d expect given their price tags. [Apple] Digital Trends via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com December 28, 2017 at 05:00PM
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The Best, Worst, and Most Unforgettable Movie Moments of 2017 http://ift.tt/2lnfvmg
It doesn’t matter if a movie’s good, bad, or just mediocre—any film can have a moment that makes your jaw drop in awe or tears come to your eyes, or makes you shudder in irritation and disgust. Here are all the greatest and worst individual moments from the cinematic releases of 2017. Note: Many of these moments are major reveals in their films, so proceed at your own risk! Wonder Woman makes her debut in Wonder WomanShe’s in the trenches of World War I, and it seems like nothing could be more horrific. Everyone is trapped, knowing that rising an inch above the trench means instant death, but that death could still come at any moment. Diana is horrified by what she sees, and decides to put a stop to it. She takes off her jacket and climbs up to the battlefield. The music soars. The bullets fly. And she runs right at the enemy—not in anger, but to protect those who need protecting. Wonder Woman’s first appearance in Man’s World is literally perfect—not just because it’s incredibly badass, and not just because it’s the long-awaited arrival of the most famous, most popular female superhero on the big screen, right where she belongs. It’s also because it gets everything right about Wonder Woman, a character DC Comics often has trouble defining. The Throne Room battle in Star Wars: The Last JediThe Last Jedi is filled with exciting moments, so we forced ourselves to pick a single one, rather than flood this list with them. So we’re going with the Throne Room scene, where Kylo Ren shockingly kills Supreme Leader Snoke by quietly spinning Rey’s lightsaber on his armrest and turning it on, piercing Snoke’s body and killing him almost instantly. Then Kylo and Rey turn back to back in slow motion to prepare for an epic lightsaber battle with Snoke’s Pratorean Guard. It’s the “holy shit” moment in a movie full of “holy shit” moments, balancing that surprise with action-packed excitement in an unforgettable way. The final car in Get OutThe ending to Get Out is one intense action scene after another, to the point where it’s almost exhausting—as it’s intended to be. After surviving countless attacks, Chris collapses in the street as he realizes the fight is over.... which is when you see the flashing lights approach. Admit it, you gasped. We all knew exactly what those sirens meant—and, what’s worse, both Chris and Rose did, too. Director Jordan Peele originally thought to have the movie end just about the way you’d expect from the scene—but honestly, the fact that it was actually Chris’ friend pulling up was much better. It subverted our expectations and gave Chris the ending he deserved. Superman’s side-eye of the Flash in Justice LeaguePutting aside the movie as a whole, there were few moments this year that were as entertaining as this one. Superman has been resurrected (in a very dumb way) but he’s disoriented and very, very angry. The Justice League members try to restrain him to calm him down, but Supes is having none of it, tossing them around easily. So the Flash starts running to help his friends with his incredible speed, to the point where everyone else looks like they’re frozen in time—until Superman’s eye slowly turns to follow the Flash as he races around the Man of Steel. Seeing Superman’s eyes follow him despite his insane pace is as chilling for the Flash as it is thrilling for the audience. Then Superman slowly speeds up to match his fellow hero, whom he takes out efficiently—and quickly. Justice League has its issues—so many issues—but these scene was truly a joy to behold. The ending of SpiltM. Night Shyamalan’s Split was entertaining on its own, but right before the film ends, everything gets taken to another level. The Horde has escaped and the film suddenly cuts to a diner where the news is on, discussing the villain. Then a few people say this sounds familiar... like a story a few years ago about a guy named... what was his name? “Mr. Glass,” says David Dunn, played again by Bruce Willis. Out of nowhere you find out that you’ve been watching a backdoor sequel set in the Unbreakable universe—a sequel fans have been dreaming about for almost 20 years and didn’t know even existed until this moment. After years of wishing Shyamalan would stop forcing these sorts of twists into his film, we finally forgot about them—and he shocked us with the biggest reveal since the ending of The Sixth Sense. The final performance of “Remember Me” in CocoThe last 30 minutes of Coco left us shattered. The movie’s messages about family, forgiveness, and the fear of being forgotten are excellent. But it all culminates in Miguel’s final efforts to save Hector’s memory. He runs to Coco, guitar in hand, pleading with her to remember her father. But she’s old, and tired, and doesn’t have a lot more to give. So Miguel starts singing “Remember Me,” the song Hector had written for her, as he continues to sing, tears stream down his face, and Coco’s own face lights up as she starts singing along. In that moment, Miguel not only saved Hector’s legacy, he also saved his family. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have so many somethings in our eyes. Laura goes berserk in LoganAfter learning that Logan would likely be Hugh Jackman’s last appearance as Wolverine, fans were both excited and trepidatious when it was revealed that X-23, a.k.a. his clone-daughter Laura, would make her debut in one of the X-universe’s many dystopian futures. We needn’t have worried. Newcomer Dafne Keen’s turn as Laura was both shockingly good and shockingly violent; she was a tiny but fierce force of nature, and watching her tear through dozens of guys just as her clone-daddy used to was great. Laura’s conflict between being a kid and her killer instincts were a fantastic mirror not only to Hugh Jackman’s early, angry Wolverine, but also the conflict inside of Old Man Logan, who was trying to ignore his nature, too. The big fake-out in Blade Runner 2049In the sequel to Ridley Scott’s beloved scifi noir classic, Ryan Gosling’s Officer K is hunting for something that shouldn’t exist—somehow, a replicant has had a child. In a moment that gains significance as the movie progresses, K meets the artist who designs replicant memories while confined inside a glass dome due to her illness. A memory she describes is one that K shares, making him think he’s the replicant baby. The moment when he finds out that he isn’t is cruel but perfect. K does wind up finding a sense of meaning for his life, but it’s not the one that he was so dead-set on. Spidey arrives at Liz’s house in Spider-Man: HomecomingFew films flipped on a dime like Spider-Man: Homecoming did. When Peter Parker opens the door to take Liz to prom, her dad opens the door—and Peter suddenly realizes her dad is the Vulture, played by Michael Keaton. The whole dynamic and tone of the film instantly shifts when that door opens. While the reveal may or may not have been a shock to the audience, it was definitely a gut-punch to Peter, a lesson that he can’t be a normal kid and be Spider-Man, too. It’s Marvel Studios’ way of telling Peter “with great power comes great responsibility” without actually saying it. The opening of Valerian and the City of a Thousand CitiesEverything fans hoped Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Cities would be comes to life in the film’s opening. The movie has to show thousands upon thousands of years of space evolution, so it plays some David Bowie music over a non-stop barrage of alien civilizations meeting each other. And it keeps going and going. When it’s finally finished, the result is that the hyper-scifi universe of Valerian is grounded in reality, giving the bizarre and (literally) out-of-this- world story depth and stakes. Unfortunately, that incredible opening wasn’t nearly enough to make the rest of the film worth watching. The ending of LifeScifi action film Life never found a huge audience, and that may be for the best. It has one of the most surprising, downer endings you’ll ever see. After a space monster kills almost everyone on their ship, the final two astronauts make a choice: One will sacrifice himself and take the creature into deep space, and the other will return to Earth so she can tell the story. Things do not go as planned, and the woman who was supposed to go safely home is flung permanently into space, while the man crash-lands on Earth... with an unstoppable killer alien in tow. All Life needed was a post-credits scene where everyone on Earth died. Yondu’s funeral in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was filled with feelings. Dad feelings in particular. While Yondu wasn’t particularly sympathetic in the first film, the sequel did an incredible job of fleshing out his character. It helped that the movie focused so heavily on father figures; Peter “Star-Lord” Quill finally met his dad, Ego the Living Planet, before realizing that his foster father, Yondu, was a more loving parent, as well as being much, much less of an asshole. Yes, Yondu did some very bad things, but he also did some very good things, including sacrificing himself for Peter. This was emotional enough, but then came his funeral. Seeing Yondu’s former partners from across the galaxy salute the fallen Ravager was visually gorgeous, and heart-achingly emotional, too.
“She was Asian all along!” in Ghost in the ShellThe live-action Ghost in the Shell movie was in trouble from the very beginning after casting noted non-Japanese person Scarlett Johansson in the lead role of Major Motoko Kusanagi, the Japanese character from the Japanese anime series (and manga) that the US film was based upon. So the movie renamed her character the Major, which of course fixed nothing. Its next solution was to address the disconnect within the film, by revealing that the Major—a character wrestling with her identity, specifically wondering if she is more machine than human—was actually a Japanese woman whose mind had been transplanted into a white woman’s body. It might have sounded like an interesting intellectual exercise on paper, but in practice it was an appalling instance of whitewashing that left fans, particularly Asian fans, upset. Rita Repulsa eats a donut in Power RangersWe can’t remember the last time product placement was this unironically brazen in a movie. Krispy Kreme’s role in Power Rangers isn’t a one-off joke or the occasional shot of a store in the background of a scene, it’s vital to the culmination of Rita’s evil plan. She’s running around demanding these pitiful humans tell her where the Krispy Kreme is, and then there’s even an extended shot of her nonchalantly eating a doughnut mid-battle. It flies way beyond jokey reference and into some really gross shilling. The flute scene in Alien: CovenantRidley Scott’s decision to focus the continuation of the Alien franchise on his artificial intelligence designs has proved contentious at best, but at worst it resulted in an Alien: Covenant scene that was so bad it elicited immature laughter from audiences. Prometheus’ David comes face to face with Walter, an almost identical fellow android, and as the two attempt to learn from each other, the scene takes a surprising turn—one probably not meant to be homoerotic, but who knows? As David tries to teach Walter to play the flute, he says, “I’ll do the fingering.” It was weird. It was bad. It was weird and bad. Tom Cruise fails to become a Mummy in The MummyMost of The Mummy is very, very bad, but the worst part has to be what happens with the Tom Cruise character at the end of the film. This movie is set in the Dark Universe, a place designed to be populated by horror icons like Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and more. So what monster does Tom Cruise transform into? This is The Mummy, after all—he must be the new Mummy, right? Nope. He’s just a slightly more monstrous but otherwise totally nondescript Tom Cruise. Ugh. The incredibly unsecret history of the Autobots in Transformers: The Last KnightEverything that needs to be said about this nonsense is said right here. All the teleconferences in Geostorm
Geostorm is a movie about an array of satellites that are supposed to protect Earth from violent weather—but mysteriously turn against us. Instead, the satellites are causing violent weather and major natural disasters. Sounds exciting, right? Well, the movie isn’t mostly made up of huge, effects-laden action sequences—instead, it’s full of characters talking about the cataclysm. But since some characters are in space and others are on Earth, they have to do it via video conference. And it happens again. And again. And over and over and over until it stops being bad and becomes hilarious... and bad. It’s awful, is what we’re saying. Cyborg and Flash go graverobbing in Justice LeagueThe world is under attack by an uber-powerful army from another dimension. The world’s richest and most calculating man needs to resurrect Superman in order to save it. How to procure Superman’s body? By giving Flash and Cyborg a couple of shovels, apparently. This is just so, so dumb, it’s practically unfathomable. Digital Trends via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com December 28, 2017 at 04:54PM |
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