UC Santa Barbara has had enough of retailers selling its patented LED light bulb technology without authorization. This week, the university filed a lawsuit charging Amazon, IKEA, Walmart, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond with infringing its patents….
Source: Engadget – UC Santa Barbara sues Amazon and IKEA over LED lighting
Monthly Archives: July 2019
Sniper Elite 4 And Wipeout Omega Collection Are August's PlayStation Plus Games
August’s PlayStation Plus games are pretty different. As always, they’re only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription.
Source: Kotaku – Sniper Elite 4 And Wipeout Omega Collection Are August’s PlayStation Plus Games
Facebook might bring major streaming services to its Portal for TVs
Last year, reports emerged Facebook was working on a video chat camera you’d plug into your TV. It sounds a bit like its Portal smart display, albeit without the need for a dedicated screen. One reported aspect of the device is that it’d offer video…
Source: Engadget – Facebook might bring major streaming services to its Portal for TVs
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Boasts SD855 Muscle And Optional LTE To Battle iPad Pro
After weeks of leaks, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S6 professional tablet has finally been officially unveiled to the world. If you’ve been following our coverage on the leaks, you’re probably already familiar with the looks of the Galaxy Tab S6, but Samsung today is confirming many of the specs and features that were previously rumored.
The most
Source: Hot Hardware – Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Boasts SD855 Muscle And Optional LTE To Battle iPad Pro
How to structure a multi-file C program: Part 2
In Part 1, I laid out the structure for a multi-file C program called MeowMeow that implements a toy codec. I also talked about the Unix philosophy of program design, laying out a number of empty files to start with a good structure from the very beginning. Lastly, I touched on what a Makefile is and what it can do for you. This article picks up where the other one left off and now I’ll get to the actual implementation of our silly (but instructional) MeowMeow codec.
Source: LXer – How to structure a multi-file C program: Part 2
Facebook Is Developing A Computer That Radically Transforms Your Brain's Thoughts Into Text
It already seems like big tech companies can read our minds—it’s a bit eerie to see an ad for something that we were thinking about. You can chalk those instances up to a combination of fancy predicative algorithms and coincidence. Nevertheless, Facebook is actually developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) that can actually transcribe your
Source: Hot Hardware – Facebook Is Developing A Computer That Radically Transforms Your Brain’s Thoughts Into Text
Android Auto’s biggest upgrade ever is finally rolling out
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The new Android Auto. The big change is the system bar at the bottom, which can now show tiny app controls. Here are music controls. [credit:
Google
]
Earlier this year at Google I/O, Google announced a big upgrade to Android Auto, its smartphone-powered car interface and competitor to Apple’s CarPlay. Now, around three months later, the interface is finally rolling out to the general public via an app update. This version of Android Auto represents the interface’s first major upgrade since its launch in 2014.
The biggest change to this new version of Android Auto is the way the bottom system bar works. The old version of Auto used the bottom bar kind of like a MacOS app dock. It housed shortcuts to your Maps, Contacts, and Music apps, but it also mixed in system-level navigation icons for “Home” the useless “car” screen. The new version does away with all that, sticking a home button on the left, a notification and voice command button on the right, and a middle section that keeps important controls at your fingertips.
On a smartphone, Android will spawn controllable ongoing notifications for things like currently playing music or Google Maps navigation, and the middle section of the bar kind of works the same way. If you’re playing music and not on the music screen, you’ll see music controls. If you’re navigation and not on the maps screen, your next turn-by-turn direction will pop up instead. This is a big boost to the ability to multitask on the car display—just make sure you’re paying attention to the road, too.
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Source: Ars Technica – Android Auto’s biggest upgrade ever is finally rolling out
iPhone Bluetooth Traffic Leaks Phone Numbers — in Certain Scenarios
Security researchers say they can extract a user’s phone number from the Bluetooth traffic coming from an iPhone smartphone during certain operations. From a report: The attack works because, when Bluetooth is enabled on an Apple device, the device sends BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) packets in all directions, broadcasting the device’s position and various details. This behavior is part of the Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL), a protocol that can work either via WiFi or BLE to interconnect and allow data transfers between nearby devices. Previous academic research has revealed that AWDL BLE traffic contains device identification details such as the phone status, Wi-Fi status, OS version, buffer availability, and others. However, in new research published last week, security researchers from Hexway said that during certain operations these BLE packets can also contain a SHA256 hash of the device’s phone number.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – iPhone Bluetooth Traffic Leaks Phone Numbers — in Certain Scenarios
Back to school: The audio gear you need in the dorm, library and everywhere else
Please enjoy this guide to the speakers, headphones and streaming apps we recommend to students, just one part of our larger 2019 back-to-school series. In addition to top picks in 11 categories — everything from laptops to smartphones to gaming and…
Source: Engadget – Back to school: The audio gear you need in the dorm, library and everywhere else
Five Pounds of Gummi Bears For $11 Is the Best Deal of the Day
Here’s five pounds (pounds!) of Albanese Candy Gummi Bears for $11. There are 12 flavors in the bag, and they have amazing reviews. I don’t know what else to tell you except that if you don’t buy them, you’re a cop.
Source: LifeHacker – Five Pounds of Gummi Bears For Is the Best Deal of the Day
Review: NOS4A2 is a haunting fable about the steep cost of creative gifts
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Ashleigh Cummings plays Vic McQueen, a “strong creative” with a gift for finding lost things. [credit:
AMC ]
You may have missed AMC’s evocative new horror series, NOS4A2, in the jumble of hotly anticipated movies and TV series over the past few months. It has largely flown under the radar in terms of media coverage, but this haunting fable of the high cost of supernatural gifts won over sufficient fans for AMC to already approve a second season—one week before the show’s two-part season one finale aired.
(Some spoilers for the novel and series below.)
The series is an adaption of the 2013 award-winning horror novel of the same name by Joe Hill. Hill comes by his horror chops naturally; his dad is some obscure novelist named Stephen King. (Hill also created the fantastic comic book series, Locke and Key, about a mysterious Keyhouse filled with portals to other dimensions that can be opened by various keys. The beleaguered TV adaption project for that series is now with Netflix.)
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Source: Ars Technica – Review: NOS4A2 is a haunting fable about the steep cost of creative gifts
Star Wars' Captain Phasma Has Become So Much More Than a Boring Masked Badass
Captain Phasma is essentially the Boba Fett of the Star Wars sequels. She exists to be a very cool character design that can sell a lot of toys and can never live up to the hype of that design, narratively speaking. She, also like Boba Fett, has gone on to have a much more explored backstory within tie-in fiction to…
Source: io9 – Star Wars’ Captain Phasma Has Become So Much More Than a Boring Masked Badass
Netflix Is Testing 'Physical Activity' Tracking for Some Reason
Netflix collects a lot of data about you. But now, some Android users are finding that it’s also tracking ‘physical activity’ data via their phones.
Source: Gizmodo – Netflix Is Testing ‘Physical Activity’ Tracking for Some Reason
Surfline’s Apple Watch app will record your next big wave ride
If you surf, there’s a good chance you use Surfline. The call-in swell forecasting service started in the ’80s and has blossomed into a video-streaming source of information that surfers rely on to plan trips and or just hit their local break. But th…
Source: Engadget – Surfline’s Apple Watch app will record your next big wave ride
Youtube's Auto-Generated Closed Captions For 'The Strongest Irish Accent You'll Ever Hear'
This is a video from Ireland’s TODAY Show, who sent reporter Colm Flynn to interview Killarney local legend Sham. Sham has all of three teeth and arguably the thickest Irish accent I’ve ever heard. Trying to understand what he’s saying is like pulling teeth, which apparently people have tried. Thankfully, we have Youtube’s auto-generated closed captioning to help us better have no clue what in the hell he’s going on about.
Keep going for the video while I run to the corner store for a Guinness and give the video a re-watch.
Source: Geekologie – Youtube’s Auto-Generated Closed Captions For ‘The Strongest Irish Accent You’ll Ever Hear’
ADATA Launches XPG Gammix S50: A PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD
ADATA has introduced its first PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD, which is aimed at the latest AMD Ryzen-based PCs using the AMD X570 platform. The ADATA XPG Gammix S50 will be the company’s new flagship drive for users looking for the maximum performance possible today.
Set to be available in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities, the XPG Gammix S50 drive is based on Phison’s PS5016-E16 controller (the only PCIe 4.0 SSD controller available today) paired with 3D TLC NAND memory. The drive comes in an M.2-2280 form-factor and features a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface (an, of course, the unit is backwards compatible with PCIe 3.0 systems). What is a bit surprising is that unlike other SSDs powered by the same controller, ADATA’s XPG Gammix S50 is not equipped with a large heat spreader, but comes with a relatively regular sized one.
As far as performance is concerned, ADATA says that the XPG Gammix S50 offers up to 5000 MB/s sequential read speeds and up to 4400 MB/s sequential write speeds when SLC caching is used (data based on CDM benchmark). Meanwhile, the SSD is rated for up to 750K random read/write IOPS.
When it comes to endurance and reliability levels, the XPG Spectrix S50 drives feature up to 1800 or 3600 TB written over a five-year warranty period, depending on the drive’s capacity.
| ADATA XPG Gammix S50 Specifications | ||
| Capacity | 1 TB | 2TB |
| Model Number | AGAMMIXS50-1TT-C | AGAMMIXS50-2TT-C |
| Controller | Phison PS5016-E16 | |
| NAND Flash | 3D TLC NAND | |
| Form-Factor, Interface | M.2-2280, PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 | |
| Sequential Read | 5000 MB/s | |
| Sequential Write | 4400 MB/s | |
| Random Read IOPS | 750K IOPS | |
| Random Write IOPS | 750K IOPS | |
| Pseudo-SLC Caching | Supported | |
| DRAM Buffer | Yes, capacity unknown | |
| TCG Opal Encryption | No | |
| Power Management | DevSleep, Slumber (0.05 W). | |
| Warranty | 5 years | |
| MTBF | 1,700,000 hours | |
| TBW | 1800 TB | 3600 TB |
| Additional Information | Link | |
| MSRP | ? | ? |
ADATA’s XPG Gammix S50 will be available in the near future. Prices will vary by region.
Related Reading:
- Phison’s PS5016-E16 & PS5019-E19: The First PCIe 4.0 Client SSD Controllers
- Phison PS5016-E16 PCIe 4.0 SSDs: Random Read/Write Performance Disclosed
- TeamGroup Cardea Zero PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD: Up to 1 TB
- More 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD Options: Patriot with Custom Firmware coming Q4
- Galax Goes White: A PCIe 4.0 2TB SSD with a White PCB
Source: ADATA
Source: AnandTech – ADATA Launches XPG Gammix S50: A PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD
How to Talk to Your Kids About LGBTQ+ Issues
As a recently out gay woman, I was a little unsure at first about how to talk with my kids about LGBTQ+ topics. But, even before I accepted my identity and told my family I was gay, having these conversations was something that was important to me. I wanted my kids to be allies, not just for me, but for the queer…
Source: LifeHacker – How to Talk to Your Kids About LGBTQ+ Issues
Hotel group eliminates mini toiletries
InterContinental Hotels Group says it will replace with bulk versions to cut down on plastic waste.
Source: TreeHugger – Hotel group eliminates mini toiletries
'The Irishman' trailer shows Scorsese and Netflix chasing critical glory
If there was any doubt that Netflix was hunting for awards with Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, it just got erased. The streaming service has released a teaser (really, a first trailer) for the mob epic, and it’s clear the movie is a callback to Scor…
Source: Engadget – ‘The Irishman’ trailer shows Scorsese and Netflix chasing critical glory
Wednesday's Best Deals: Gaming Rig Gold Box, Brother Printer, Star Wars Film Collection, and More
An HP Gaming Computers and Redragon Accessory Gold Box, a printer that is actually good, and Star Wars: The Complete Saga lead off Wednesday’s best deals from around the web.
Source: LifeHacker – Wednesday’s Best Deals: Gaming Rig Gold Box, Brother Printer, Star Wars Film Collection, and More