Monday 3 July 2017

The Morning After: Self-driving cars' newest enemy? Kangaroos.

Engadget Email Newsletter

Engadget Email Newsletter

eng-daily-newsletter

It's Monday, July 03, 2017.

Hey, good morning!

Yes, it’s Monday, but you might’ve missed some interesting things over the weekend: kangaroos that confuse self-driving cars, some ‘Zelda’ DLC that’s a perfect fit and a new Sony smartphone that could be a contender.
 

But only in South Korea.
 

Samsung's resurrected Galaxy Note 7 launches on July 7th
 

Samsung's resurrected Galaxy Note 7 launches on July 7th<br />   

If you've missed the Galaxy Note 7 since it was discontinued over chronic battery fires, you now have a second chance at ownership... if you're willing to book a flight to Seoul. Samsung has confirmed recent rumors and its own teaser by announcing a refurbished version of the Note 7, the Galaxy Note Fan Edition, that will launch in South Korea on (appropriately enough) July 7th. As you might guess, it's largely the same phone hardware-wise -- the big difference is the use of safer, smaller-capacity batteries, which have, thankfully, passed stricter testing standards.
 

The same things that made the core game great.

The new 'Zelda' DLC is all about exploration and survival
 

The new 'Zelda' DLC is all about exploration and survival<br />   

Fans were worried Nintendo would stumble when it came to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s DLC packs. Rest easy, Hylian hero, Breath of the Wild's first DLC drop is light, but actually pretty good. Mostly because it focuses on what made the game great in the first place: survival, exploration and problem solving.
 

Sony’s latest Xperia is a terrific slow-mo shooter, with caveats.
 

The XZ Premium is a perfectly capable phone if you can find enough use for its standout feature
 

The XZ Premium is a perfectly capable phone if you can find enough use for its standout feature<br />   

At long last, Sony has made a seriously compelling flagship. Not only is the Xperia XZ Premium the best-looking handset the company has made in years but it also boasts a high-end camera capable of extreme slow-mo video recording. Plus it’s one of the first phones to use the Snapdragon 835 chipset, which supports Gigabit LTE speeds where available. And, it has a sumptuous 5.5-inch 4K display that is HDR-ready. That's a whole lot of reasons to check out the phone, but is it worth splurging $800 on?
 

The kit serves up a whopping 87 feedback points for under $549.

bHaptics' TactSuit is VR haptic feedback done right.
 

bHaptics' TactSuit is VR haptic feedback done right.<br />   

Every now and then, we come across a new attempt to bring haptic feedback to VR, but we've yet to see a fully convincing one; most tend to be both pricey and far from ready for prime time. At HTC’s Vive X demo day in Shanghai, we got some hands-on time with bHaptics’ TactSuit, a wireless kit with a haptic mask (which is a rarity), two haptic sleeves and a haptic vest. The fascinating part, though, is its total of 87 feedback points, which is a lot more generous than what the other suits offer.
 

But wait, there's more...

1. Recommended Reading: Netflix has another winner with 'GLOW'

2. ThermoReal lets you feel heat, cold and even pain in VR and AR

3. Volvo's self-driving cars are thrown off by kangaroos

4. Kanye West reportedly quits Tidal over money dispute

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.

Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.
engadget-twitter engadget-facebook engadget-youtube engadget-reddit engadget-instagram

Copyright © 2016 Aol Inc. All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
AOL
770 Broadway #4
New York, NY 10003

You are receiving this email because you opted in at engadget.com.

Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe from this newsletter.

Saturday 1 July 2017

Editor's Pick: Amazon Starts the Clock on Prime Day Hoopla


David Jones
Jul 1, 2017 10:40 AM PT
Amazon has set its third annual Prime Day promotion for July 11, promising its biggest-ever promotion with 30 hours of deals starting at 6:00 p.m. PT on July 10. The company has expanded the event to China, India and Mexico, to reach a total of 13 international markets. Amazon will go head-to-head with some of its most important international rivals, including Chinese e-commerce player Alibaba. [More...]

More Picks:
Naming the Ephemeral
So much is happening as we approach the end of Q2 -- our industry's busiest quarter, at least by some measures. I'm flying around seeing things but not always able to comment from a middle seat on a red-eye. So this piece is an attempt to catch up and set some markers for the traditionally slower summer. I've been searching for a word to describe a new category I see: Service as a Service. [More...]
VA Gives Thumbs Up to Commercial IT Software
A Veterans Affairs decision to pursue a new direction in processing health records has created a highly visible endorsement of the use of COTS information technology by federal agencies. President Trump cited the VA's action as an example of the administration's commitment to vastly improve federal IT management. The sheer size of the VA makes the decision to use an outside contractor noteworthy. [More...]
Xinix Offers Linux Lovers a Path to Zen
Xinix is an innovative newcomer to the world of Linux distros. Now in beta, this distro has been spearheaded by a single developer who slowly is bringing other programmers on board to move things along. Despite its early development status, Xinix has potential for Linux fans who like to experiment with new platform concepts and do not mind trying out an OS that is not yet fully functional. [More...]
Google Gives Up Scanning Personal Gmail
Google recently announced the end of its policy of scanning user emails for targeted advertising purposes -- a controversial practice that riled privacy advocates and spurred legal challenges. Gmail is the world's most widely used email provider, with more than 1.2 billion users. Google attributed its decision to gains it has made in the enterprise. [More...]
At 10, the World-Changing iPhone Is Kind of the Same
Apple celebrated the 10th anniversary of its iconic iPhone on Thursday. Since former CEO Steve Jobs debuted the original device, the company has gone on to sell more than a billion handsets worldwide, and the iPhone has become one of the most successful product categories in the electronics industry. The iPhone proved to be a major disrupter in the mobile phone category after its unveiling. [More...]
Follow Us

This Editor's Pick alert is a premium service provided to ECT News Network newsletter subscribers. If you wish to make changes to your subscription settings, please click to manage your account.

Copyright 2017 ECT News Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ECT News Network, Inc. 16133 Ventura Blvd., Suite 700, Encino, CA 91436

The Morning After: Weekend Edition

Engadget Email Newsletter

Engadget Email Newsletter

eng-daily-newsletter

It's Saturday, July 01, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Welcome to the weekend. The feds have made an arrest following the Fyre Festival debacle, and no, it’s not Ja Rule or any Instagram influencer. We’ll also dig into this week’s retro gaming news with a look at StarCraft Remastered and the SNES Classic Edition.

Who didn’t see this coming?

Fyre Festival founder arrested, charged with wire fraud

Fyre Festival founder arrested, charged with wire fraud

Remember Fyre Festival? The Instagram influencer-pushed, millennial-targeting Bahamas disaster from April? The FBI does, and now it has arrested the man behind it, Fyre Media founder Billy McFarland. He’s facing a charge of wire fraud for allegedly lying to potential investors about how much money the company was making and his financial resources.

Zerg rush in 4K

‘StarCraft: Remastered’ arrives August 14th

‘StarCraft: Remastered’ arrives August 14th

Blizzard has announced the release date and price ($15) for its upcoming StarCraft re-release. The remastered version will include the original game and its Brood War expansion, retouched with new graphics and audio (that can be toggled on/off at the press of a button) in Ultra HD, as well as a modernized multiplayer setup with matchmaking and leaderboards. Pre-orders are open now.

Newsflash: Nintendo likes making money

The SNES Classic is real and will launch September 29th

The SNES Classic is real and will launch September 29th

In another bit of nostalgia-fueled gaming news, Nintendo announced that it would follow up last year’s NEC Classic Edition with this SNES version. The SNES Classic Edition will be another  closed system, however for $80 you can expect controllers with longer cords this time. In the US, it will not only include hit games like Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country, F-Zero, Super Metroid, Mega Man X and Yoshi's Island, but also the never-released Star Fox 2 game. It’s mostly good news -- unless you're hoping for an N64 Classic.

Every day is the same day

Bad Password: The hot new cyberattack that's sweeping the nation

Bad Password: The hot new cyberattack that's sweeping the nation

It’s hard to tell which infection was worse: Tuesday’s cyberattack itself or the race to write and publish something (anything!) about it, framing it just like the last "massive" cyberattack explosion to hit the whole world. Outside of Ukraine, columnist Violet Blue notes that Petya/NotPetya’s next biggest hit was infosec Twitter. Take a look for some advice on how to interpret headlines during the (inevitable) next outbreak.

Its first iteration lasted from 1958 to 1973

Revived National Space Council will guide Trump admin policy

Revived National Space Council will guide Trump admin policy

As President Trump said to Buzz Aldrin yesterday, “This is infinity here. It could be infinity. We don't really know. But it could be. It has to be something -- but it could be infinity, right? Okay.”

Just in time for the holiday weekend

'GTA Online' update brings new multiplayer mode and patriotic swag

'GTA Online' update brings new multiplayer mode and patriotic swag

Don’t get left off of the new Dewbauchee Vagner supercar.

But wait, there's more...

1. Vivo beats Apple to an under-display fingerprint scanner

2. The rise of electric cars will kill the gas station

3. 'Rocket League' is the latest X Games eSport on ESPN

4. Amazon Echo Show review: Seeing is believing

5. 'Silicon Valley's' ridiculous Not Hotdog app hits Android

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.

Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.
engadget-twitter engadget-facebook engadget-youtube engadget-reddit engadget-instagram

Copyright © 2016 Aol Inc. All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
AOL
770 Broadway #4
New York, NY 10003

You are receiving this email because you opted in at engadget.com.

Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe from this newsletter.