Tuesday 21 March 2017

The Morning After: Samsung's Siri rival appears.

Engadget Email Newsletter

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It's Tuesday, March 21, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Welcome to the Morning After, and the start of Adult Week here at Engadget. (We mean it in the grown-up sense, not the sexy one.) We also break down Samsung’s new, weirdly-named Siri competitor, and introduce the app the world deserves: a selfie rating service. Smile!

Grown-ups are talking.

Welcome to Engadget's Adult Week
 

Welcome to Engadget's Adult Week<br />   

It's time to become an independent and constructive member of society, and Engadget can give you some tips on how to do it. All week we’ll be bringing you stories about how to use technology to become a better grownup and navigate our tech-saturated world in a manner befitting a real deal adult. First up, is advice on how to do some good online.

A "biomarker" protein hangs out on cells where the virus hides from treatment.
 

HIV breakthrough may help scientists kill sleeping virus cells
 

HIV breakthrough may help scientists kill sleeping virus cells<br />   

AIDS patients must endure a lifetime of drugs because the virus conceals itself in the immune system and reactivates with a vengeance once the treatment stops. However, French scientists have discovered a marker that makes it possible to identify dormant, HIV-infected T-cells from healthy ones. That could lead to drugs that target those "reservoir cells," eradicating the virus completely and curing the patient.
 

Bixby?
 

Samsung unveils its Siri competitor ahead of the Galaxy S8
 

Samsung unveils its Siri competitor ahead of the Galaxy S8<br />   

It was only a matter of time until Samsung launched a full-fledged virtual assistant of its very own -- "S Voice" just never quite cut it. Today the company unveiled Bixby, a new assistant that'll debut with the Galaxy S8 on March 29th. Naturally, it's meant to help Samsung differentiate itself from Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant. Bixby seems different on a conceptual level: It's meant to serve as a new voice-based interface for controlling your apps, rather than just something that you can ask a few questions.
 

Rate our editors.
 

What the world needs now: an app that lets people rate your selfies.
 

What the world needs now: an app that lets people rate your selfies.<br />   

59.8. That is Dan Cooper’s average score, as calculated by the swaths of people using a selfie-judging app called Spontana. He spent the past few days sharing pictures of himself on the service and receiving the unvarnished truth in response. Thankfully, he also got to deal judgements out.

The 4-day ban also covers some African carriers.
 

US temporarily bans most electronics on Middle Eastern airlines

US temporarily bans most electronics on Middle Eastern airlines

The US just made traveling to certain parts of the world considerably more complicated, at least if you're a technology fan. Middle Eastern and African airlines (including Royal Jordanian and Saudia) say the US has asked them to institute a 96-hour ban on carrying most electronics on flights to or from the US, starting on March 21st. You can sit down with your phone or any necessary medical devices, but cameras, laptops and other gadgets will have to go into your checked baggage. A US official speaking anonymously to the BBC says the device ban would affect nine airlines in 10 airports. It’s believed to be in response to intelligence reports hinting at threats.
 

Work smart, not hard.

ARM ‘DynamIQ’ chips are ready for an all-AI future
 

Processor heads are familiar with the ARM tech that powers everything from mobile devices to game consoles, and the company just announced what’s next for its multicore processor designs. Called DynamIQ, it improves on existing designs by allowing for multiple CPU cores that are designed for specific purposes. It’s all done to work better with AI and machine learning, perfect for not only tomorrow’s smart phones, but also self-driving cars and servers.

Trying to avert the #YouTubeIsOverParty
 

YouTube apologizes for ‘Restricted Mode’ blocking LGBTQ+ content
 

YouTube apologizes for ‘Restricted Mode’ blocking LGBTQ+ content<br />   

Over the last few days, YouTubers caught on to the fact that a screen to block mature content from school computers and the like was going too far. Restricted Mode made a habit of blocking anything with a hint of LGBTQ+ content, even if it was completely innocent. Now, the company has unblocked some content, and VP Johanna Wright says that “We're sorry and we're going to fix it.”

But wait, there's more...

1. What's on TV: 'Mass Effect: Andromeda,' Dave Chappelle and Formula 1

2. Comcast's latest all-you-can-watch event includes free Netflix

3. Trump's quiet war on data begins

4. Tiny liquid battery cools chips while powering them

5. Guess' Android Wear smartwatch is classically styled

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe.

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Monday 20 March 2017

Editor's Pick: Why Tech Can't Help Donald Trump and Most CEOs


Rob Enderle
Mar 20, 2017 10:15 AM PT
The new president is making almost the identical mistake President Obama made during his first two years. Trump has picked a major entitlement to hang his hat on -- the same major entitlement, healthcare -- and shortly will discover what most CIOs know: You don't mess with anything that touches everybody. The likely outcome will be that like Obama, Trump will lose the house in the next election. [More...]

More Picks:
Intelligence-Driven Supply Chain Resilience
Information security practices are undergoing a transformation. For at least a decade, environments have been becoming less perimeter-centric: Gone are the good old days when in-line controls protected the trusted, safe interior from the "wild west" of the outside. As environments become more complex and externalized, the traditional "perimeter" loses meaning. [More...]
ProsperWorks Adds In-App Comms to its Google CRM Solution
ProsperWorks, which provides CRM for Google's G Suite business tools, last week announced the addition of in-app cloud communications functionality. The new features are available through a custom integration with RingCentral, which provides enterprise cloud communications and collaboration solutions. The integration lets users make, receive and log calls without leaving the CRM solution. [More...]
IBM Launches Enterprise-Strength Blockchain as a Service
IBM has unveiled the first enterprise-ready Blockchain as a Service offering based on The Linux Foundation's open source Hyperledger Fabric. IBM Blockchain, which lets developers quickly establish highly secure blockchain networks on the IBM cloud, is a transformative step in being able to deploy high-speed, secure business transactions through the network on a large scale, the company said. [More...]
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The Morning After: Uber president quits

Engadget Email Newsletter

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It's Monday, March 20, 2017.

Hey, good morning!

Is there such a thing as a good Monday morning? Hopefully, you’ve managed to calibrate to the clock changes last week, as we kick of this one with the weekend’s highlight. After all that bad Uber news, its president has quit, while Tesla is killing its (slightly more) affordable 60kWh Model S. Our weekly After Math breaks down all the numbers from the last seven days too -- no calculators required.

Say bye-bye to the Model S 60 and 60D... again.
 

Tesla kills its relatively affordable 60kWh Model S options
 

Tesla kills its relatively affordable 60kWh Model S options<br />   

After April 16th, people will no longer be able to buy the most affordable Tesla cars available today. The automaker has decided to stop offering the Model S 60 and 60D options to "simplify the ordering process," according to a newsletter it sent to subscribers. They're merely software-locked to 60kWh, and customers can pay an additional fee to unlock the remaining 15kWh. Tesla says most people ended up paying for the software unlock, so it sees no reason to continue selling the 60kWh versions of the vehicle.

The browser now supports WebGL 2.0's advanced visuals.
 

Chrome quietly received a big 3D graphics boost

Chrome quietly received a big 3D graphics boost

Notice a boost to 3D web graphics while using Chrome? It's not just you. Google says that Chrome version 56 and later releases support the WebGL 2.0 standard. You should see faster performance, new texture types and visual effects (such as volume-based effects and tone mapping). And importantly, it's now on par with the same OpenGL ES 3 spec you see in newer mobile games
 

This wasn't the company he thought he joined.
 

Uber president quits following a rough few months

Uber might be on the hunt for a second-in-command to keep its behavior in line, but that isn't stopping one key executive from heading out the door. Company president Jeff Jones is leaving after having been on the job for less than a year. Reportedly, the string of controversies in recent weeks were simply too much. In a statement, he said that his values and leadership style are "inconsistent with what [he] saw and experienced at Uber," and that he "can no longer continue" at the company.

FB's Building 8 works on everything from augmented reality to brain scans.

Facebook may show off new hardware very soon

Facebook may show off new hardware very soon

When Facebook launched its hardware-focused Building 8, it raised all kinds of questions: just what was it making in there, and when would you see the first fruits of its labor? You might not have to wait long to get the details. Sources speaking to Business Insider claim to have a broad overview of not only what Building 8 is creating, but when you might get to see it. The team is reportedly working on four advanced technology projects, and is poised to play a key role in Facebook's F8 conference in April. At least it won’t be another effort to ape Snapchat. Unless it's specs?

But wait, there's more...

1. After Math: Potpurri

2. Amazon will judge your daily outfit choices

3. Watch your weather forecast in virtual reality

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe.

Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

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Friday 17 March 2017

Editor's Pick: Crafty Phishing Technique Can Trick Even Tech-Savvy Gmail Users


David Jones
Mar 17, 2017 10:45 AM PT
Gmail users recently have been targeted by a sophisticated series of phishing attacks that use emails from a known contact. The emails contain an image of an attachment that appears to be legitimate, according to Wordfence. The sophisticated attack displays "accounts.gmail.com" in the browser's location bar and leads users to what appears to be a legitimate Google sign-in page. [More...]

More Picks:
Verizon Wakes Up to Join Mobile TV Race
Following decades of slow movement due to cable companies facing no competition, the television world is changing rapidly. Lots of challengers have arisen in the pay-TV space in recent years. One of the latest comes from Verizon, which has improved its FiOS mobile app to offer data-free streaming. AT&T's DirecTV started this ball rolling with its wireless TV, or mobile TV, offering. [More...]
Slackel Openbox Plays Hard to Get
Slackel's Openbox edition is a lightweight operating system that offers reliable performance once you get the box open. It is not an ideal OS for every user, though. Slackel 6.0.8 Openbox was released by developer Dimitris Tzemos last fall. Slackel is a Linux distro that offers several benefits for users who step away from the typical mainstream Debian-based Linux distros. [More...]
McDonald's Puts Mobile Ordering to the Test
McDonald's has begun testing new mobile ordering and payment functionality at 29 of its restaurants in California. It will expand the pilot to another 51 restaurants in Washington on March 20. The company will run multiple pilots to gather customer feedback, work out any issues that arise, and streamline integration with its IT systems before rolling out its updated mobile app more broadly. [More...]
Analytics and Workflow
There's a big difference between B2C and B2B analytics that no vendors seem to be addressing, and it involves the consumption model. I recently spoke with K.V. Rao, founder and chief strategy officer of Aviso, an analytics company focused on sales, and his unabashed opinion is that "if you're trying to expose insights and make things consumable, you have to address workflow." [More...]
Linux Academy Rolls Out New Cloud-Based Training Platform
Linux Academy, an online training platform for the Linux OS and cloud computing, has announced a public beta rollout of its Cloud Assessments platform, designed to let large enterprise firms train and assess their IT workers and prospective job candidates. The academy offers training on a variety of cloud-based platforms, including Amazon Web Services, Open Stack, DevOps, Azure and others. [More...]
Federal Agencies Mirror Commercial Websites for Encryption
Private and public sector organizations share a common goal in hosting Internet websites: making sure that connections with customers and citizens are secure. However, complete security is not yet universal in either sector. Google and Mozilla, for example, are among many entities promoting Internet security via the adoption of HTTPS versus the basic and less secure HTTP technology. [More...]
Follow Us

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