Saturday 23 December 2017

The Morning After: Weekend Edition

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Saturday, December 23, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Welcome to the weekend. SpaceX’s rocket launch had a funny side effect on southern California, and Edward Snowden just released an app.

It wasn’t aliens or a North Korean nuke

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch leaves a creepy cloud over LA

Last night SpaceX launched one of its Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg Air Force Base with Iridium satellites on board. The interesting thing about this launch is what happened afterward as the rocket’s trail was visible across southern California and Arizona.

None of the data captured is relayed to third-party servers.

Edward Snowden's Haven app uses your phone to detect intruders

Forget phone calls — a new app from The Guardian Project, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and Edward Snowden aims to turn Android smartphones into tiny, unobtrusive security systems. Haven, released today in public beta, was designed to use a phone's built-in sensors to track sudden changes in the environment around it.

A different kind of caroling.

Listen to a 1950s era computer sing 'Jingle Bells'

Here's a new version of Jingle Bells you won't hear played in malls, and it's courtesy of one of the oldest computers in history. Turing archive director Jack Copeland and composer Jason Long have recreated Ferranti Mark 1's Christmas performance for the BBC back in 1951.

Planned obsolescence.

Apple faces lawsuits over intentional iPhone slowdowns

Now that word is out about Apple’s technique for dealing with battery problems; a few iPhone owners have filed lawsuits. Their claim is that the company slowed down their devices in an attempt to make them upgrade.

Nothing subtle about that.

Elon Musk shows off the Tesla Roadster he's prepping for space

Musk is flexing on us with a set of seven photos that show his cherry red Tesla Roadster prepping to head into orbit near Mars.

Power, tech and safety in an elegant package.

The Mercedes C63S is a rare mix of style and nerdery

The Mercedes-Benz AMG C63S sedan is a good car not because it's fast (though it is very fast with a zero-to-60 time of 3.9 seconds) -- it's a good car because it delivers everything you'd expect from a high-tech, luxury sports sedan.

But wait, there's more...

1. 2017 laid the foundation for faster, smarter AI in 2018

2. China's most popular game just launched in the US

3. Engadget's 2017 in review: Here's to a better tomorrow

4. This is Magic Leap's mixed reality headset

5. Google Home Max review: An assistant for music lovers

6. Chrome will block the most annoying ads starting February 15th

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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Friday 22 December 2017

Editor's Pick: 6 Ways SMBs Can Meet Online Shoppers' High Shipping Expectations

6 Ways SMBs Can Meet Online Shoppers' High Shipping Expectations

Richard Adhikari Dec 22, 2017 5:00 AM PT
	For many online shoppers, shipping has become a pivotal issue, and one of the worst things an etailer can do is allow a shipment to be late. On-time arrival is such a high expectation that many shoppers find late delivery worse than other notoriously disagreeable things, a recent DHL survey of 1,400-plus online shoppers suggests. Also, consumers want shipping to be free. [More...]

More Picks:

AI Self-Service: Smile for Your Supper
Cali Group has announced a pilot program using kiosks equipped with facial recognition software and AI to ease the ordering process for regular customers at the Pasadena, California, location of its international CaliBurger restaurant chain. The kiosks use NEC's NeoFace facial recognition software to identify registered customers and pull up their order preferences and loyalty accounts. [More...]

Zealot Loads Cryptocurrency Miner on Linux, Windows Machines
A new Apache Struts campaign that researchers named "Zealot" has come to light in recent weeks. Zealot loads Windows or Linux-based machines by installing a miner for Monero, which has become one of the hottest cryptocurrencies used in recent malware attacks. Zealot uses NSA-linked EternalBlue and EternalSynergy exploits, according to the F5 Labs researchers who discovered the campaign. [More...]

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E-Commerce Minute

E-Commerce Minute: Friday -- December 22, 2017

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
6 Ways SMBs Can Meet Online Shoppers' High Shipping Expectations
Full Disclosure Applies to Internal Security Too
AI Self-Service: Smile for Your Supper
Uber Is Great Until It Leaves You Out in the Cold
The FCC Screwed Up! My Firsthand Experience Without Net Neutrality
B2B Digital Ad Spending to Jump Next Year

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Today's Story Highlights

6 Ways SMBs Can Meet Online Shoppers' High Shipping Expectations

For many online shoppers, shipping has become a pivotal issue, and one
of the worst things an etailer can do is allow a shipment to be late.
On-time arrival is such a high expectation that many shoppers find late
delivery worse than other notoriously disagreeable things, a recent DHL
survey of 1,400-plus online shoppers suggests. Also, consumers want
shipping to be free.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85021.html

Full Disclosure Applies to Internal Security Too

If you've been keeping up with the news, you've probably noticed a few
recent reports about companies that may have been a little less than
candid about security issues. For example, we recently learned that Uber
experienced a breach in 2016. As we've also learned from subsequent
press reports, the company may have paid the attacker to remain silent
about that breach instead of acknowledging it publicly and openly.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85024.html

AI Self-Service: Smile for Your Supper

Cali Group has announced a pilot program using kiosks equipped with
facial recognition software and AI to ease the ordering process for
regular customers at the Pasadena, California, location of its
international CaliBurger restaurant chain. The kiosks use NEC's NeoFace
facial recognition software to identify registered customers and pull up
their order preferences and loyalty accounts.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85025.html

Uber Is Great Until It Leaves You Out in the Cold

Uber works great -- until it stops working, leaving your kid walking
home alone on a cold winter night. Wireless technology opens up new
avenues for innovation and excitement, with companies like Uber and
Lyft. Most of the time, their technologies work just fine, but don't let
your guard down. Prepare for the moment when something goes wrong,
because eventually something always goes wrong.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85020.html

The FCC Screwed Up! My Firsthand Experience Without Net Neutrality

As a high-tech industry analyst, I have worked from home for more than a
decade. As someone who tracks new technology and is always on the
lookout for a better communications solution, I migrated to a Voice over
Internet Protocol service through Vonage early after its introduction.
The service was great. I had great call quality and the flexibility to
take the service anywhere.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85017.html

B2B Digital Ad Spending to Jump Next Year

B2B ad spending will increase 13 percent in 2018 to hit $4.6 billion
from this year's estimated $4.07 billion, eMarketer has predicted.
However, its proportion of all U.S. digital ad spending will remain
unchanged at 4.9 percent, which implies growth in other digital ad spend
areas as well. Desktops and laptops will continue to attract the bulk of
B2B digital ad spend, according to eMarketer.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85015.html

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The Morning After: Which smartphone has the best camera?

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Friday, December 22, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

As we prepare for the holiday break, there’s some surprising news from Google’s parent company and our big smartphone camera head-to-head competition.

Interesting.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will step down as executive chairman at Alphabet

Since Google co-founder Larry Page took over for him as CEO in 2011, Eric Schmidt has served as executive chairman of the company and maintained that role through the formation of its parent company Alphabet. On Thursday Schmidt announced he’s transitioning to become a “technical advisor on science and technology issues.” He said, “Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet's evolution for this transition.”

Guess which one won.

Tested: the best smartphone cameras compared

So which smartphone has the best camera? We put the iPhone X, Pixel 2, Note 8 and Mate 10 Pro to the test in scenarios that are particularly tricky for smartphone cameras and their small sensors: scenes with high contrast, backlighting or substantial vibration.

Tablet-top gaming.

'Civilization VI' comes to the iPad for $30

If you have a relatively new and powerful iPad, then you can play Civilization -- yes, the full game, mods and all -- on it. Not sure the experience is worth $30? The first 60 turns are free.

Take your chances.

Apple now requires that games disclose odds of 'loot box' rewards

Apple has added a new requirement for games that offer loot boxes with randomized rewards for purchase. If your game has them, you now have to disclose the odds of receiving the prizes promised.

An important upgrade.

Razer gives its phone a major camera update

Our review of the first Razer Phone showed it has plenty of power, a quad HD display and loud front-facing speakers, but the camera doesn't quite measure up. Now Razer has released an update that promises better colors, shadows and low-light performance. The tweaks won’t stop there, either -- Razer says another update is incoming that will put its performance on par with the cameras found in other flagship phones.

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