Saturday 7 December 2019

The end is coming for Google Glass Explorer Edition

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It's Saturday, December 07, 2019.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Welcome to your weekend! While this week has included plenty of 2019 recaps (Apple App Store, Google Play, YouTube, Spotify), there’s still some time left on the clock. Well, not as much for Google Glass Explorer Edition, but we’ll get to that. Also, a jury decided in Elon Musk’s favor on that "pedo guy" defamation lawsuit. Check below for the details plus a few other key stories from the last week.

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That’s all folks.

Google is ending support for the Explorer Edition of Glass

Google is rolling out one more update for the Explorer Edition of Glass before cutting off support for its old wearable (the Enterprise version for businesses will continue on). In a support page detailing the final update, Google says users will need to manually download, unzip and install the file. Doing so will allow them to pair Glass with their phone -- MyGlass will no longer work, but Bluetooth pairing will stay -- as well as take photos and videos, as usual. After February 25th, the update will be required just to use the device anymore.

The labels feature a built-in printed battery capable of at least 500 activations.

These Coca-Cola bottles use OLEDs to light up Rey and Kylo Ren’s lightsabers

Unfortunately, if you want to get your hands on these limited-edition bottles, you'll need to book a trip to Singapore.

Our long shopping list nightmare is finally over.

Google Assistant can finally connect to Keep and other notes apps

An update has rolled out to Google Assistant and Google-powered smart displays that finally lets them access list and notes in apps that you already use, instead of relying on a weird different list that’s not linked to anything else. Now it supports note apps including Google’s own Keep, Any.do, AnyList, or Bring!.

Other tweaks you’ll notice in Assistant are the ability to search for podcasts by topic, order food and drinks from Dunkin’ Donuts, assign reminders to partners or roommate and look up/share photos using just your voice.

Musk also paid an investigator $50,000 to dig up dirt on Unsworth.

Elon Musk wins defamation trial over ‘pedo’ remarks

A lawyer representing Vernon Unsworth called Elon Musk a "billionaire bully," and sought up to $190 million in damages but a jury decided in the CEO's favor anyway. They ruled that his 2018 tweets that referenced Unsworth as a "pedo guy" and promised a "signed dollar" if it was true were not defamatory.

The Google co-founders are taking another step back.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin give Sundar Pichai control of Alphabet and Google

Alphabet has announced that Larry Page and Sergey Brin are stepping down as the respective CEO and president of the company, with Google CEO Sundar Pichai taking the lead at both companies, effective immediately. Page and Brin will still be involved as co-founders, board members and shareholders.

The two outgoing execs explained this as a "natural time" to streamline management now that Alphabet is "well-established" and its various brands (including Google) are operating smoothly as independent companies. In a tweet, Pichai said, "We have a timeless mission, enduring values and a culture of collaboration & exploration."

But wait, there's more...

1. Magic Leap reportedly only sold 6,000 AR headsets in six months

2. Reddit bans 61 accounts linked to 'suspected campaign from Russia'

3. Apple plans software fix for 16-inch MacBook Pro 'speaker popping'

4. 2019 Engadget Holiday Gift Guide: PC and mobile accessories that'll make great gifts

5. 'Death Stranding' update will fix tiny, hard-to-read text

6. Take a look inside the original PlayStation on its 25th anniversary

7. 'Reno 911!' is coming back as a Quibi exclusive

8. Google Fiber drops its 100Mbps tier in favor of gigabit-only service

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Friday 6 December 2019

Editor's Pick: Your Smart TV Could Give Hackers a Window on Your World

Your Smart TV Could Give Hackers a Window on Your World

Peter Suciu Dec 6, 2019 4:00 AM PT
	Cybercriminals have discovered ways to compromise smart TVs, the FBI recently warned. Smart TV owners should do their due diligence to secure the devices, the bureau urged. Smart TVs are just as accessible to unauthorized parties as computers or other Internet-connected devices. Because many TVs now feature microphones and cameras, predators could commit serious privacy intrusions. [More...]

More Picks:

Linux For All Shines on LXDE Desktop
Linux For All very well could be a unifying Linux distribution that provides a common computing platform. LFA comes in just one flavor, the LXDE environment. However, LXDE is an inviting option that eliminates confusion and complexity in favor of a powerful desktop that is lightweight enough to run on low-powered aging hardware. A major advantage is better hardware support for Nvidia graphics. [More...]

Amazon Ratchets Up Competition in 5G, Hybrid IT
Among the highlights of Amazon Web Services re:Invent are three announcements that strengthen its presence in the enterprise hybrid IT infrastructure market: AWS is teaming with Verizon to deliver 5G edge cloud computing; the first AWS Local Zone is located in Los Angeles; and AWS Outposts are generally available. These moves "close some huge competitive gaps," observed tech analyst Rob Enderle. [More...]

Twitter Sets Up Privacy Center but Moves to Skirt GDPR
Twitter's new Privacy Center will give users more clarity on what it does to protect the information people share. The center will host everything relevant to Twitter's privacy and data protection work, including initiatives, announcements, new privacy products and communication about security incidents, noted Twitter Data Protection Officer Damien Kieran and Product Lead Kayvon Beykpour. [More...]

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Spotify wrapped up 2019, and more iPhone rumors

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It's Friday, December 06, 2019.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

2019 isn’t quite over, but everyone is looking back, from YouTube to Spotify. Qualcomm’s latest chip will power even more powerful mixed reality headsets, and Uber has released its first safety report. Oh, and a future iPhone could lose the Lightning port entirely.

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Post Malone, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande were the most streamed artists of 2019.

Spotify Wrapped showcases your top tracks of 2019 and the past decade

Spotify has released 2019 Wrapped, its latest showcase of the most popular songs, artists and genres. On the website or app, it’ll show you infographics about what you were listening to throughout the four seasons of this year, who your most-listened to artists were, which countries your favorite artists come from and information about your most-listened to types of music. Going further back, Wrapped also displays information about your listening habits of the past decade (i.e. between 2009 and 2019).

First it was the headphone jack...

Apple may ditch the Lightning port on a 2021 iPhone

The latest rumor from well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is that the "highest-end" 2021 iPhone will ditch the Lightning port in favor of a "completely wireless experience." He also predicted that Apple would have an iPhone SE2 Plus with a full-screen 5.5- or 6.1-inch design, but only a small notch to save space -- instead of Face ID, you'd use Touch ID built into the power button. Both devices are potentially quite a way off, so plans could change or sources could be incorrect -- still, keep some space clear for that wireless charger.

Now Riot is an indie dev game publisher.

Riot Games is expanding the 'League of Legends' universe with third-party titles

Riot is teaming up with independent third-party studios under a new publishing label called Riot Forge, which it says will "complement [its own] research and development program." The games will be made for PC, console and mobile, but it has yet to reveal the current crop of studios it's working with.

Save big on the best devices. And get them on the network more people rely on. It's a holiday wishlist come true.

A future update will add a toggle.

Apple explains why the iPhone 11 is always checking your location

Security researcher Brian Krebs recently raised eyebrows when he discovered that the iPhone 11 Pro (and by extension, the iPhone 11) is constantly checking for your location, even if you've disabled Location Services. In a statement, the company said this is due to “international regulatory requirements” that force it to turn off ultra wideband wireless in some places and keep all the data on-device.

It can handle seven on-device cameras at once.

Qualcomm's new chipset promises better AR and VR anywhere

The new Snapdragon XR2 platform features a lot of firsts: Qualcomm says it's the world's first 5G-enabled extended reality system, which should allow for a new breed of experiences that rely on low latency, super-fast data connections. (Eventually, anyway.) The Snapdragon XR2 is also apparently the first XR platform to allow for 8K, 360-degree video playback. This high-end sequel offers double the CPU and GPU performance of its predecessors and supports display panels as pixel-dense as 3K by 3K per eye, running at 90 frames per second.