Tuesday, 24 January 2017

The Morning After: Facial recognition instead of passports and Einstein the robot

It's Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

Hey, good morning!

Prepare for a busy Tuesday, where we’re expecting an earnings report from Verizon, details on Blizzard’s new Overwatch expansion and oh yeah, our new show 'The Future IRL' debuts at 9AM ET. But first up are the things you may have missed, like a massive update for Google Voice, the name of the new Star Wars movie and why cassette sales are way, way up.

Fitbit’s recent acquisitions hint at a device we'd actually want to buy.

I'm excited for Fitbit's mythical smartwatch

It hasn't been a great year for wearables, with sluggish sales and underwhelming products dominating the space. Several smartwatches have disappeared over the last twelve months, and for Dan Cooper, devices from Apple, Samsung and Google that try to recreate the smartphone experience on the wrist just aren't compelling. However, those companies are increasingly the only games in town after the demise of low-power wearable companies like Pebble, Vector and Basis. However, with Fitbit picking up multiple smartwatch minnows, perhaps it can swoop in and produce a smartwatch that people actually want to use.

Grand Central

Big Google Voice update brings a new look, MMS and group messaging

Google hasn’t tweaked Voice in what feels like forever, but with the latest update it’s added all the finest texting features 2005 had to offer. Group messaging and MMS are big additions, while a new look modernizes the app and website significantly. You may not see the updates just yet, but they’ll roll out to users over the next few weeks.

Missing the big show

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 won’t come to MWC

The investigation into the Galaxy Note 7 had one more side-effect: delaying development of the upcoming Galaxy S8. Samsung says its reveal could be pushed back to late April, but as usual, the new phone will appear eventually.

Steadicam Volt Smartphone Stabilizer blows Kickstarter goal out of the water.

Smile for the camera

With “Seamless Traveler” your face is your passport

Australia has a plan to replace passport-scanning SmartGates with a suite of biometric scans, ready for facial, iris and fingerprint recognition. Sound a bit creepy? Perhaps, but it could mean travelers can enter the country without flipping open a passport or even speaking to an agent. A trial program will start in July, and it’s expected to roll out at all international airports by March 2019.

Be kind, rewind.

Cassette sales actually went up in 2016

US cassette tape sales actually grew in 2016, with 129,000 copies sold. That might not be as many as the number of vinyl albums sold in the same year (somehow, 13.1 million), but it's an impressive 74-percent increase from the 74,000 sold in 2015.

Little genius

This 14-inch Einstein robot is designed to be your favorite teacher

In a world full of digital assistants, Hanson Robotics is building a personal genius for kids. When it’s online, natural language processing keeps the conversation going, and while offline, kids can connect via a Stein-o-Matic app and work through simple science concepts. The price for all those legendary smarts? $250, as a part of its just-launched Kickstarter.

But wait, there's more...

1. What's on TV: Resident Evil 7, and Netflix's cellphone superhero flick iBoy

2. LG G6 photo shows off some rounded corners

3. Corsair's new K95 gaming keyboard is surprisingly classy

4. Meet Funnie, the beer-and-pizza-fetching bot

5. 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' is called 'The Last Jedi'

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Monday, 23 January 2017

The Morning After: The real problem with the Galaxy Note 7

It's Monday, January 23, 2017.

Oh, it's the morning.

It’s Monday morning, and Samsung’s had some explaining to do. The full investigation into its Note 7 battery woes is out. Meanwhile, we test health gadgets that push supplements, and take a look back at Obama’s tech legacy.

Those burning questions.

Samsung blames two different battery flaws for the Note 7 fires

After months of speculation, Samsung has announced that those Galaxy Note 7 fires were caused by two different battery flaws, not a hardware or software issue. The first flaw had to do with how the Note 7's original batteries were manufactured: their casings were too small to safely fit the electrode assembly inside, which lead to short-circuiting. When Samsung's suppliers replaced those batteries with safer versions, a completely different production flaw was introduced. Welding defects inside the batteries made those supposedly safe replacements prone to short-circuiting and bursting into flames as well. The company is promising several changes to its internal processes to avoid making the same mistake again, including assigning teams to own the crucial final checks for each device's core components, and putting batteries through an 8-point test. This will include visual and X-ray inspection, as well as full disassembly.

A wearable, a connected scale and a smart bottle, But eat what you want?

This system of health gadgets exists to sell you supplements

Andrew Tarantola believes he’s the kind of guy who could stand to lose a few pounds. The Styr Lab regimen seemed like a great way to do so, and he was genuinely excited to give the fitness-tracking system a try. However, while each device will recommend a specific in-house line of supplements (vitamins for the wearable, protein for the scale and electrolytes for the water bottle) that are tailored to the user, the system has no way of letting you tightly monitor whatever else you put in your body: The app will track whether you've eaten a snack, small meal or large meal, but that's it. By those metrics, a McDonald's two-cheeseburger meal with medium fries and soda carries the same nutritional value as eating 8 ounces of fish with a mixed-green salad and water. Not recommended for New Year’s resolutions.

The White House's first social media ninja.

Obama’s legacy: The most tech-savvy president

When Barack Obama moved into the White House in 2009, the federal government was in the digital dark ages. Even as late as 2011, he was complaining that the White House was 30 years behind. Among other things, Obama was the first president to carry a BlackBerry, and even so, it wasn't until 2016 that the leader of the free world was finally able to trade in his aging RIM device for a modern smartphone. Love him or hate him, for better or worse, when it comes to science and technology, Barack Obama has had a bigger impact than almost any president in history.

Akai’s MPC is back.

Hip-hop's most influential sampler gets a 2017 reboot

The impact of Akai's MPC series on hip-hop cannot be overstated. The first model -- the MPC60 -- hit the market in the late 80s, perfectly timed with hip-hop's culture of sampling classic beats and melodies. The MPC's iconic pad-based design and relatively accessible price opened up music production to a whole new audience.

They should all be reusable after this.

SpaceX is launching one of its last disposable rockets

SpaceX won't have to intentionally crash some of its rockets going forward. Elon Musk has revealed that SpaceX's next flight, which has a Falcon 9 delivering an EchoStar satellite as soon as January 30th, should use the company's last expendable rocket. This rocket will burn too much fuel for its first stage to attempt a landing (the satellite is simply too heavy at 5.4 imperial tons), but future big-payload launches will use either the higher-performance Falcon 9 (Block 5) or Falcon Heavy and shouldn't have trouble coping with the weight. The new Falcon should lift off at the end of 2017.

Just send me the damn chocolate.

Amazon made a Dash button just for boxes of candy

Because we need all need emergency $18 boxes of assorted chocolate and candy these days.

But wait, there's more...

1. Apple is reportedly reinventing the iPhone's fingerprint reader

2. Scientists prove that microbes could survive on Mars

3. 'Terminator' reboot will have James Cameron's oversight

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Saturday, 21 January 2017

Editor's Pick: Samsung's Note7 Post Mortem Turns Up 2 Problems

Samsung's Note7 Post Mortem Turns Up 2 Problems

Richard Adhikari
Jan 21, 2017 5:00 AM PT

Samsung is set to release the results of its Galaxy Note7 investigation on Monday, explaining the underlying causes of the problems that led to the phone's demise. The three independent quality control and supply chain analysis firms Samsung engaged to conduct the investigation concluded that the Note7 was affected by two separate issues. One was a battery issue; the other was the rush to market. [More...]

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New LinkedIn Site Design Encourages Engagement
LinkedIn has announced a new look tied to a complete overhaul of its technology architecture, which brings conversations and content front and center. The redesign brings the LinkedIn desktop in line with the mobile browser version launched in 2015. LinkedIn will roll out its new desktop globally over the next few weeks. Among the changes are a streamlined navigation bar and smarter messaging. [More...]

Luckey Dons Virtual Flak Jacket for Zenimax Testimony
Palmer Luckey on Wednesday denied that he stole proprietary code from ZeniMax Media, in the little-known company's blockbuster $2 billion lawsuit against Oculus VR and Facebook. ZeniMax has alleged that in 2012, when Luckey was just a video game enthusiast, he corresponded with John Carmack, who allegedly used proprietary hardware and software information to develop the Oculus Rift VR headset. [More...]

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