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“Verizon CEO: We’ll switch to 5G standard when it’s final, but won’t wait for it” plus 29 more VentureBeat

“Verizon CEO: We’ll switch to 5G standard when it’s final, but won’t wait for it” plus 29 more VentureBeat


Verizon CEO: We’ll switch to 5G standard when it’s final, but won’t wait for it

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 01:36 PM PST


Verizon’s CES announcement of a small-scale U.S. 5G rollout in 2018 may have been met with a mix of uncertainty and disbelief, but CEO Lowell McAdam was unambiguous in a conference call today: 5G is indeed coming this year, critics be damned.

Dismissing rivals who portrayed Verizon as focused on “fixed, pre-standards 5G” instead of mobile, globally standardized 5G, McAdam explained that the company would rather start building residential broadband, mobile, and IoT infrastructure now than wait until the entire 5G standard is finished. Consequently, Verizon will rely on a “proprietary” version of 5G at first, then follow the global 5G standard “very, very quickly in ’18.”

McAdam noted that he was pleased by the company’s 5G testing results to date. Verizon has tested millimeter waves at roughly 2,000-foot distances, reaching peak speeds of 10 Gbps. Referring to the expected 5G standard’s promised minimum service speeds, McAdam said that Verizon is “very comfortable with being able to deliver a Gigabit of service to everyone that we’re providing service to.”

Moving from proprietary to standardized 5G might be trivial for Verizon. Thanks in part to the company’s three- to five-city rollout — comparable to city-scale tests announced in other countries — the network’s switch could be accomplished with updates to proprietary equipment, much of which will be supplied by Qualcomm, Ericsson, and Samsung. Which cities will get early 5G service? McAdam noted that he’s personally meeting with mayors to firm up the initial lineup, “and the reception has been extremely positive.”

While it might be easy for a multi-billion-dollar company to swap 5G hardware, early consumer 5G hardware might not be upgradeable to the final industry standard. Verizon’s rollout is expected to begin with high-speed broadband service, which the company could swap at no charge to early customers.

But mobile devices are another story. McAdam believes that early 5G mobile devices will hit the market later this year, with greater availability in 2019. Whether the early devices will ever be standards-compliant remains to be seen.

AMD hires former Nvidia Tegra exec and Synaptics leader to run its graphics chip division

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 01:15 PM PST


Advanced Micro Devices is appointing two seasoned executives to lead its graphics chip division at a critical time in its competition with rivals Nvidia and Intel. Mike Rayfield, a former executive at Micron and Nvidia, and David Wang, formerly of Synaptics, will take on the senior executive roles at AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group.

They replace Raja Koduri, the former AMD graphics chief who surprisingly defected to join rival Intel in November. Staying competitive in the graphics processing unit (GPU) business is important, as it generates billions of dollars a year for Santa Clara, California-based AMD and it differentiates AMD’s central processing units (CPUs) from its chief rival Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker.

Rayfield will serve as senior vice president and general manager of the AMD Radeon Technologies Group. He will be responsible for strategy and business management of the graphics business as well as semi-custom products, which generate a large amount of revenue for AMD. The semi-custom products include game console chips for Microsoft and Sony as well as a custom graphics chip for Intel. Rayfield has 30 years of tech industry experience, including running Nvidia’s ARM-based Tegra processor business in its early days. Since the semi-custom business is heavily linked to graphics, AMD is bringing the divisions under single leadership in Rayfield.

Above: Mike Rayfield is a new graphics executive at AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group.

Image Credit: AMD

AMD’s Radeon chips are based on the Vega graphics architecture that Koduri spearheaded. The Vega-based chips provide an alternative to Nvidia’s GPUs, and Intel embraced them in part with a combined chip solution that leads to smaller and more power-efficient laptops.

“These two appointments show me that Rayfield and Wang are confident in the roadmap” at AMD, said Patrick Moorhead, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “No seasoned veteran would take this job right now without that. I like that Wang was in AMD Radeon graphics prior and that Rayfield spent many years at Nvidia.”

Wang will be the senior vice president of engineering at the Radeon Technologies Group. He comes from Synaptics but previously worked at AMD. He will be responsible for graphics engineering, including technical strategy, architecture, hardware, and software for AMD graphics products. His past roles at AMD included the position of corporate vice president responsible for SOC development of processor products, including GPUs, CPUs and combination chips known as accelerated processing units (APUs).

Wang’s 25 years of work at chip industry jobs included stints at ATI, ArtX, SGI, Axil Workstations and LSI Logic. He spent 14 years at ArtX/ATI/AMD previously, and worked on multiple game console programs plus every generation of GPU from the AMD Radeon R300 family through the HD 7000 series. At Synaptics, he was senior vice president of systems silicon engineering.

Both executives will report to AMD CEO Lisa Su.

Above: David Wang is senior vice president of engineering at the Radeon Technologies Group at AMD.

Image Credit: AMD

"Mike and David are industry leaders who bring proven track records of delivering profitable business growth and leadership product roadmaps," Su said in a statement. "We enter 2018 with incredible momentum for our graphics business based on the full set of GPU products we introduced last year for the consumer, professional, and machine learning markets. Under Mike and David's leadership, I am confident we will continue to grow the footprint of Radeon across the gaming, immersive, and GPU compute markets."

Shadow of the Colossus’s 4K remake looks too good

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 12:46 PM PST


I’ve just started playing the Shadow of the Colossus remake on PlayStation 4 Pro, and I’m worried that the game has lost some of its magic in the translation to its new ultra HD resolution.

Developer Bluepoint Games rebuilt the new version of Shadow of the Colossus from the ground up — it’s not just an enhanced port. And, technically speaking, it all looks stunning and cinematic. You can see what I mean in the video I captured at the top of this story. That is 4K footage of the game’s introductory 15 minutes. I’m curious about whether other people who played the original Shadow of the Colossus — or even the PS3 upgrade — will agree that something is missing in the remake.

To be fair, any Shadow of the Colossus remake is going up against my memories of the PlayStation 2 original. That 2005 release was one of the biggest exclusives for Sony’s second home console, and it was the game that finally got me to buy the system. When I think back to playing it, Shadow of the Colossus always had this ethereal dream-like quality to it. And I think the issue here is that the remake doesn’t “look as good as it does in my memories” — it absolutely looks better.

The original game had this beautiful quality to it that felt impossible for the PlayStation 2. It was like these perfect, lifelife animations were trying to break out of their standard-definition prisons. This created a soft, shimmery quality to every thing in the world. I remember the horse’s mane whipping in the wind, and it was like peering into another dimension that my eyes could properly focus on.

I loved it. Shadow of the Colossus couldn’t look any better to me than it did on the PS2 — even with the inconsistent framerate. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t play the PS3 game. I didn’t need a remaster.

And I think the remake is confirming that was the case for me. This new take on Shadow of the Colossus is crystal clear. Textures, the hero, the horse, and the colossi no longer see like they exist between realities. It is just another place, with another regular horse, with giant monsters that almost look … boring.

And I can’t help but notice how weird the hero looks now.

Above: I hate my digital son.

Image Credit: GamesBeat

I’m going to keep playing. These are my earliest impressions. I want to give Shadow of the Colossus a fair chance to reestablish itself as a new experience on the PS4. And, of course, I’m not sure that “it looks too good” is something that will turn off potential new fans.

But yeah … nostalgia is real.

The PC Gaming channel is presented by Intel®'s Game Dev program.

Google launches enterprise-grade G Suite for Education

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 11:49 AM PST


Google announced today that universities and other large educational institutions will have a new version of its G Suite productivity service tailored just for them. Called G Suite Enterprise for Education, the service will first be a roughly straight port of the tech giant’s offering for large businesses, but will later receive features that are tailored specifically for schools.

With the new offering, organizations will get features like the ability to hold video calls in Hangouts Meet with up to 50 participants, a security center for managing potential threats, and advanced mobile device management.

Google’s cloud productivity suite is already popular among schools large and small. This offering will likely make it even more appealing to IT administrators at the largest organizations, who need more advanced features. That could also translate into commercial wins for Google.

The new bundle also gives Google a way to make money off its education user base. While G Suite for Education is available for free, customers will pay $4 per user per month to access the additional enterprise features. Right now, Google is running a promotion that allows schools to get the new service for $2 per faculty and staff user per month, with eligible students coming along for free, but that pricing only lasts for an institution’s first contract term.

That said, it’s all far cheaper than G Suite Enterprise, which costs $25 per user per month.

Getting students on board with G Suite has been a key part of Google’s strategy with its productivity service. If the tech giant can get the workforce of tomorrow used to its productivity service over Microsoft Office, that could help drive the behavior of IT buyers in the future.

All of this comes alongside new security features for all users of G Suite for Education, including data loss prevention for securing sensitive data, hosted S/MIME for email encryption, and the ability to manage and mandate the use of physical security keys as a second factor for logging into the service.

Apple will reportedly differentiate iPhone 9 and iPhone 11 with screens and rear cameras

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 11:38 AM PST


After releasing the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X in 2017, Apple will reconfigure its lineup with three new models, according to reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Instead of offering two midrange iPhones and one premium “X” model, Apple will move to one midrange iPhone with lower camera and screen specs, topped by two premium models differentiated by screen sizes.

For the midrange model, Kuo’s latest investor note (via 9to5Mac) describes an aluminum-framed iPhone with a 6.1-inch LCD screen, allegedly lacking 3D Touch capabilities. Likely to be known as the iPhone 9, this model is expected to have a traditional Retina display with roughly 330 PPI, plus a single rear camera. It would be an evolution of the 4.7-inch-screened iPhone 8 and start at the same price: $699.

On the premium side, Kuo anticipates that two stainless steel-framed iPhones will take the place of the current iPhone X, also known as the iPhone 10. Best understood as the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Plus, the new iPhones are expected to use 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch OLED screens with Super Retina resolutions of over 450 PPI. The smaller version would look nearly identical to the iPhone X, while the larger one will offer enough screen space for a split-screen mode. As further differentiators from the iPhone 9, each model would include dual rear cameras, 3D Touch, and 4GB of DRAM.

A prior research note established Kuo’s belief that all three models will include front-facing TrueDepth cameras and full-screen designs, including the iPhone X’s controversial “notch.” The depth-sensing camera will enable buyers of the $699 model to use features such as Face ID, Animoji, and Portrait Selfies, which are currently exclusive to the $999 iPhone X, while reducing the need for bezels and Touch ID authentication. Kuo expects that the lower-cost model will represent 50 percent of shipments due to its combined features and price point.

In light of widespread recent reports that the iPhone X could be discontinued by its first birthday, it’s worth noting that a better sequel was always in the cards; the only question is whether the X will coexist with its successor. Facing calls for bifurcation of the iPhone lineup into premium and budget versions back in 2013, Apple opted to discontinue the iPhone 5, using its innards for a cheaper iPhone 5C and its shell (with a new gold color) for a sequel. The same could, and likely will, happen again with the iPhone 9 and iPhone 11, potentially with the loss of 3D Touch as a cost-cutting gambit.

Facebook will roll out privacy center globally to give more users control ahead of EU law

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 10:50 AM PST


(Reuters) — Facebook will make it easier for its more than 2 billion users to manage their own data in response to a tough new European Union law that comes into force in May, the social network’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said.

“We’re rolling out a new privacy center globally that will put the core privacy settings for Facebook in one place and make it much easier for people to manage their data,” Sandberg said at a Facebook event in Brussels on Tuesday.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the biggest overhaul of personal data privacy rules since the birth of the internet and aims to give Europeans more control over their information and how companies use it.

Companies found to be in breach of the law face a maximum penalty of 4 percent of global annual turnover or 20 million euros ($24.50 million), whichever is greater.

“Our apps have long been focused on giving people transparency and control and this gives us a very good foundation to meet all the requirements of the GDPR and to spur us on to continue investing in products and in educational tools to protect privacy,” Sandberg said.

Industries collecting large amount of customer data — from technology companies to insurers and banks — will be affected.

Facebook’s use of customer data and tracking of people’s online activities has already come under investigation from several EU data protection authorities.

Click to make money

Sandberg said Facebook had not done enough to stop the abuse of its platform and would double the number of people working on safety and security to 20,000 by the end of the year.

The EU has put internet companies on notice that it will legislate if they do not do a better job self-policing their services for extremist propaganda, hate speech and other abuses.

Facebook — which has been criticized for failing to stop Russian-based operatives using its platform to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections — is focusing on disrupting the economic incentives to spread fake news, Sandberg said.

Moscow denies any interference in the U.S. election.

“People write these headlines to get clicks to make money,” she said. “So if we can prevent people from being part of our ad networks, prevent people from advertising and take away the financial incentive, that is one of the strongest things we can do against false news, and we are very focused on this.”

Apple releases iOS 11.2.5 with HomePod support, minor macOS, tvOS, and watchOS updates

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 10:18 AM PST


After a five-week beta period, Apple today released iOS 11.2.5, macOS 10.13.3, tvOS 11.2.5, and watchOS 4.2.2 to the general public. Each of the new operating system releases includes bug fixes and stability improvements, following Apple’s rush to address Spectre and Meltdown processor vulnerabilities in an earlier point-point release.

iOS 11.2.5 includes support for the upcoming HomePod speaker, allows Siri to read the news in three HomePod countries, and addresses “ChaiOS,” a malicious text message link that can crash iOS without being clicked. macOS 10.13.3 fixes a Messages bug that can display incoming messages out of order, as well as a security bug that allows the System Preferences’ App Store menu to be unlocked with any password. No user-facing changes apart from bug fixes were noticed in either tvOS 11.2.5 or watchOS 4.2.2.

As the releases propagate across Apple’s servers, they will be available to download directly from iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, Macs, and Apple TVs, with the Apple Watch update available through the iPhone’s Watch app. iOS and tvOS releases will also be available through iTunes.

As of last week, Apple said that iOS 11 had already been installed on 65 percent of devices, down significantly from iOS 10’s and iOS 9’s roughly 76 percent footprints four months after their respective releases. The 11 percent difference could be explained by a higher number of devices unable to upgrade to the current version, a larger pool of devices overall with fewer in new OS-critical uses, or users holding off on upgrading to iOS 11 because of something they don’t like. Currently, 28 percent of devices remain on iOS 10, and 7 percent are on iOS 9 or earlier releases.

PUBG Corp. announces where its $2 million in charity money is going

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 10:15 AM PST


PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds enabled its players to support charity by purchasing keys to unlock crates during its prerelease Early Access phase on Steam last year, and now developer PUBG Corp. is revealing how it’s going to distribute that money. The studio announced today that it is spreading out $2 million from the Gamescom Invitational Crates to the Extra Life Charity Marathon, Gamers Outreach, and a new charity campaign that is going to happen later this year.

PUBG Corp. had previously donated $100,000 to Twitch’s Winter Charity Invitational for the last-player-standing shooter in December. Later this month, $300,000 will go to the PUBG Extra Life Marathon that supports the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. In April, PUBG will use some of the $2 million to match donations as part of a Gamers Outreach LAN event in partnership with Gamers for Giving. Gamers Outreach provides entertainment to children dealing with illnesses. Finally, PUBG Corp. is holding onto another $1 million with plans to donate it as part of the aforementioned, unannounced 2018 charity event.

This isn’t the only charity work in the gaming space. One of the best examples of how to use a game’s popularity for good is the Call of Duty Endowment, which provides grants to organizations that help prepare veterans for jobs after they leave the military. PUBG’s efforts aren’t as sophisticated as the Call of Duty Endowment, but the studio says that it wants to amplify these efforts over the next 12 months.

“We know from past events like the Twitch PUBG Winter Charity Invitational and the PUBG 2017 Charity Invitational that our community has a passion for giving back and helping others," PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds lead community boss Sammie Kang said. "It's been great to see content creators and their audiences using their talents for worthy causes, and PUBG Corp. is committed to supporting charity efforts with the same enthusiasm our players have shown. We've made an impact in the gaming world over the past year, and we're hoping to have even more of an effect on some outstanding charitable organizations in 2018."

The developer raised this money as part of its early tests with in-game purchases. PUBG Corp. partnered with esports organization ESL for a $350,000 invitational tournament as part of the Gamescom fan event in Germany.

Here’s how ESL put it in July:

“A staggering $350,000 USD prize pool will be up for grabs! Additionally, starting from August 3rd, players will have the opportunity to purchase exclusive vanity items in PUBG, with the proceeds directly supporting the Gamescom PUBG Invitational as well as charities of Bluehole's selection.”

This got me wondering if PUBG Corp. is confirming that it generated $2.35 million in proceeds from the key sales with $350,000 going toward the prize pool and $2 million going toward charities. I’ve reached out to PUBG Corp to ask for details about how this all breaks down, and I hope to get an answer soon. I’ll post any updates on GamesBeat, so stay tuned.

The PC Gaming channel is presented by Intel®'s Game Dev program.

Udacity opens applications for flying car nanodegree program

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 10:00 AM PST


Flying cars are no longer the stuff of science fiction, as numerous companies work toward making private urban aviation transport a reality. This was evidenced at CES 2018 in Las Vegas earlier this month.

Against that backdrop, Udacity has announced that it has opened up applications for its “flying car nanodegree” program.

The online education company revealed back in September that it was building a special course for developers interested in learning about the concepts and mechanics of getting machines off the ground and into the skies, and anyone can apply from today through February 7.

Founded in 2011, Udacity is one of a number of companies operating in the massive open online courses (MOOCs) realm, with thousands of people enrolled in Udacity’s various nanodegree programs. Udacity founder and president Sebastian Thrun previously headed up Google X, Google’s so-called “moonshot” program that included Google Glass, Project Loon, and a self-driving car program Thrun helped to kickstart. Leading on from this, Udacity previously launched a self-driving car nanodegree in partnership with big-name brands such as Mercedes-Benz.

The flying car nanodegree program constitutes two 12-week terms that cost $1,200 each, though those who enroll by February 19 will pay $899 for the first term.

The first term focuses on “aerial robotics,” with students learning the basic concepts behind getting robots to fly, while the second term is centered on “intelligent air systems,” which will delve deeper into flying cars and coordinated autonomous systems.

Udacity is also offering a free preview version of the course that includes two taster sections: “Intro to autonomous flight” and “Backyard flyer.”

Autonomous drone delivery services are already beginning to roll out in commercial scenarios, including medical supplies delivery, industrial site surveys, and more, while urban air taxis are now in their early stages.

As more companies work toward putting autonomous vehicles in the skies, this should create a substantial demand for very specific skills. And that is what Udacity is catering to with its latest nanodegree program — it’s looked at current moves in the tech industry and anticipated potential skills shortages further down the line.

“As investment in the emerging field of autonomous flight ramps up significantly, the talent wars are simultaneously heating up as well,” noted Udacity flying cars lead Jake Lussier. “Our program offers the unrivaled opportunity to master the in-demand skills necessary to secure rewarding employment with the increasing number of companies — from large organizations such as Airbus, Boeing, and Uber, to startups like Kitty Hawk, Lilium, and Terrafugia — hiring in the flying car space.”

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire will have a physical version distributed by THQ Nordic

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 09:45 AM PST


THQ Nordic announced today that it has entered a distribution deal with publisher Versus Evil for Obsidian Entertainment’s Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.

Deadfire raised more than $4.4 million on the crowdfunding site Fig.The first Pillars of Eternity came out in 2015 and sold over 700,000 copies. It received critical acclaim, and it sold well enough to appear on the consoles later on. Like its predecessor, the sequel is an isometric role-playing game. Deadfire is coming out later this year for PC.

THQ Nordic will distribute the physical version of the game (excluding the Korean language version).

"When we first started working with Obsidian on Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, we knew that we wanted to make sure that we created a great physical product that matched the quality of this RPG", said Steve Escalante, general manager of Versus Evil, in a press release sent to GamesBeat. "In partnering with THQ Nordic, not only did we find a team that is passionate about the product, but has the distribution and reach we hope to achieve with a physical edition of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire."

The PC Gaming channel is presented by Intel®'s Game Dev program.

Apple reportedly orders touch panels for new 13-inch entry-level MacBook

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 09:34 AM PST


Will Apple release a new entry-level 13-inch MacBook with a touch screen this year? If a report from the hit-and-miss supply chain publication DigiTimes can be believed, the answer’s yes. But it might not be the touchscreen Mac everyone’s waiting for.

Beginning with a claim that Apple “reportedly plans to release an entry-level 13-inch MacBook in the second half of 2018,” DigiTimes explains that Taiwan’s General Interface Solution (GIS) already supplies iPhone X 3D touch panels, and became an LCD module supplier for Apple’s MacBook laptop line late last year. According to DigiTimes, GIS already ships 300,000 laptop panels per month, and expects to double that number by the end of this year, in part thanks to new MacBook orders.

It’s easy to assume that this means a new entry-level 13-inch MacBook will replace both the underpowered 12-inch MacBook and aging 13-inch MacBook Air. That could certainly happen. Moreover, since a touch panel maker is involved, one might reasonably expect the new MacBook to sport a full touchscreen. That would be convenient, as MacOS will reportedly gain iPad and iPhone app compatibility this year, a feature that would benefit from full touchscreen Macs.

Unfortunately, there’s a simpler possible explanation: Apple’s Touch Bar is an OLED touch screen that replaces the function keys on higher-end MacBook Pros. The “entry-level” MacBook Pro currently doesn’t include a Touch Bar, but if Apple either phases out the entry-level Pro model or releases a new 13-inch MacBook that’s not a Pro, sales of touch panel-equipped MacBooks could double from current levels.

Making the Touch Bar more common in Macs wouldn’t be exciting, and it would leave Mac users to interact with iPad and iPhone apps using the MacBook’s trackpad — a bummer given that so many of Apple’s laptop rivals have moved to full touchscreens over the past few years. But it would be consistent with Apple’s past laptop decisions.

We reached out to GIS to see if there’s any reason to believe otherwise, and we will update this article if we hear back.

Google Play now sells audiobooks, includes voice support for Google Assistant

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 09:30 AM PST


Ever since Google ditched Android Market in 2012 and brought all its digital media content into a single marketplace, Google Play has emerged as the go-to place for apps, movies, TV shows, magazines, music, games, and books. But there has been one conspicuous content omission in Google’s arsenal of entertainment: audiobooks.

That changes today. It seems Google prematurely revealed plans for the audiobook realm last week, but now the company has officially announced that it’s launching audiobooks in 45 markets and nine languages.

It’s worth noting here that Google Play Books already offers a “read aloud” feature that taps Android’s text-to-speech engine to make written books more accessible. However, it sports a computer-generated voice rather than the dulcet tones of a professional narrator. Some audiobooks have also crept into Google Play Music’s library, but they’re not exactly easy to find.

With official support for audiobooks, Google is going up against the mighty Amazon, which has offered audio alternatives to written books since it acquired Audible almost exactly 10 years ago.

Just as podcasting has been going from strength to strength in recent years, audiobooks have been growing in popularity, with the Audio Publishers Association reporting 20 percent growth in U.S. audiobook sales in 2016. The bottom line is that reading books is a time-consuming activity, but with audiobooks you can multitask, whether you’re driving to work, painting your house, or cooking dinner.

“‘Read more’ — every year it's one of the more popular New Year's resolutions,” noted Greg Hartrell, head of product management at Google Play Books. “But with all the time spent battling traffic, working out, or picking up groceries, there often doesn't seem to be a minute to simply sit down with a book.”

Google will make audiobooks available through the Google Play Books app on Android, iOS, and the Web, and the app will also be supported by Chromecast and Android Wear. With digital assistant-powered smart speakers growing in popularity, and Christmas serving as a key sales driver, Google will also be making audiobooks available on devices with Google Assistant, including Google Home and third-party devices, and the feature will soon be landing on Google Assistant on Android Auto in the U.S.

This means you can ask your digital assistant to read one of your audiobooks without lifting a finger.

Read it and weep

Google’s audiobook rollout has been a long time coming, and it will be interesting to see if it can capture mindshare from more established incumbents, such as the mighty Amazon.

Amazon has offered integration with Alexa and smart speakers for some time already, and the ecommerce giant holds one more trump card over Google in the audiobook sphere. Amazon, of course, has dedicated ereader devices that are designed to mimic traditional books, and through this vehicle the company can offer seamless integrations with audiobooks and ebooks, meaning readers can easily switch between reading and listening to the same book.

For those seeking audiobooks only, and who are already invested in the Google Play ecosystem, today’s news will certainly be welcome. But for serious bookworms who like to mix reading with listening, Amazon’s digital book offering may still be more appealing.

U.S. skiers and snowboarders are using VR to train for PyeongChang Winter Olympics

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 09:00 AM PST


For the past couple of years, virtual reality training startup Strivr has been working with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA) team to train athletes for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The startup worked with the Park City, Utah-based governing board for US Ski & Snowboard to use VR to enhance athlete preparations for competitions that take place around the world. It started when Strivr connected with Troy Taylor, the USSA high performance director. After a few weeks of thinking about how Strivr could help in the sport of skiing, the company started working with Taylor and his team.

It focused at first on athletes competing in World Cup events and those rehabilitating from injury back at the organization’s Park City Center of Excellence HQ. The alpine sports include downhill, super G, giant slalom, and slalom.

Capturing a run on a race course in VR allowed the athletes to relive the course over and over again, as VR was viewed as the next best thing to being there. Strivr said that its training can result in 10 percent better performance, 20 percent faster reaction time, and 30 percent increase in a recall of topics in sports settings.

“The ski team’s use of VR falls into the ‘no brainer’ category for use cases in virtual reality,” said Jeremy Bailenson, Strivr cofounder and director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, in a statement. “One of the rules of thumb I use for VR is that the technology is especially useful for teachable moments that are rare in the physical world. Getting mere minutes to prepare on the ski race course is the definition of rare. But with VR, the scarcity issue is greatly diminished. U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are able to relive the exact course as many times as they want, in a VR simulation environment that to their brain responds to in a similar manner to real skiing.”

Above: Laurenne Ross tries out VR skiing.

Image Credit: US Ski & Snowboard

Through VR, athletes can mentally prepare for the race they are going to ski. They can see the positions of the gates, the terrain, the way the turns appear. Before Strivr, it was impossible to get these repetitions unless you just closed your eyes and imagined how it looked.

“The value of the work we do with Strivr is confirmed in the feedback we have from our athletes and their coaches taking part in World Cup events who feel 360 video and VR increases both the confidence and performance of the athletes in events,” Taylor said in a statement. “The athletes are using 360 video and VR in multiple ways in competition, from inspections of the race course, helping athletes learn the lines they will race through, to helping athletes rehabilitate from injuries.”

Bailenson said, “U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes should have a strategic advantage because they have been able to not just visualize the course, but practice it over and over again, going over decision points such as turns, and recognizing landmarks on the course. In addition to rehearsing body motions and decisions, they will have an overall, holistic familiarity with the course, which will be invaluable as they traverse the actual mountain. I suspect that their mental preparation will be unmatched.”

New York Life Ventures Surpasses $200 Million in Committed Capital

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 08:26 AM PST


Venture unit continues to accelerate the pace of innovation at New York Life

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–January 23, 2018–

New York Life Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of New York Life, announced it has surpassed $200 million in committed capital in its mission to increase the pace and impact of innovations that drive value for the company’s policy owners and clients.

Since the team’s founding in 2012, New York Life Ventures has made 29 venture capital investments, worked with over 100 start-ups to facilitate “proof of concept” tests with teams across New York Life, and formed strategic partnerships with a select number of these businesses. The venture unit offers its partners a fully staffed research and development lab to explore and test new technologies, while fostering innovation internally through New York Life’s hackathon series and other programs.

New York Life Ventures also delivers strong, consistent returns on its investments to the benefit of New York Life’s policy owners. The team has produced top quartile investment returns since its inception, while adding new solutions and capabilities across the company’s business operations.

Joel Albarella, head of New York Life Ventures since its founding, commented: “As one of the first life insurers to enter the corporate venture capital space, we are a first-mover in successfully connecting New York Life with some of the best and brightest firms in the start-up ecosystem. We continue to see great promise in our ever-growing network of early stage companies, and believe that innovation to date has just scratched the surface of what’s possible in the insurance industry.”

John Kim, president of New York Life, explained: “New York Life Ventures has been tremendously successful in bringing new thinking and emerging technologies to some of New York Life’s most difficult business challenges. Keeping pace with rapid changes in technology is critical to the company’s future success and the New York Life Ventures team is a key accelerant for these efforts.”

About New York Life Ventures

New York Life Ventures connects the financial strength of New York Life with the speed and agility of the start-up community, engaging in strategic partnerships that accelerate the pace of innovation across the enterprise. Through its strategic testing and investing approach and on-site research and development lab, New York Life Ventures drives opportunity and growth for early-stage ventures while fostering a network of innovation throughout New York Life and enhancing customer experiences.

New York Life
Kevin Maher, 212-576-6955
kevin_b_maher@newyorklife.com

God of War’s new PlayStation 4 adventure begins on April 20

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 08:20 AM PST


Sony announced today that God of War is coming out for the PlayStation 4 on April 20. The new God of War brings the series to Norse mythology after focusing on Greek gods. Since the first God of War game out in 2005, the franchise has sold more than 21 million copies.

God of War is one of Sony’s biggest exclusives for the year, along with games like Spider-Man and The Last of Us Part II. Spring has been an important release window in the past few years, with hits like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild finding success during that time.

This new entry shakes things up further by having Kratos journey with his young son. Past games have shown Kratos as a mostly one-dimensional machine of rage, but previews for the new God of War have displayed a hero who is occasionally capable of controlling his anger. This God of War also trades Kratos’s signature chain blades for a magical axe.

Cheetah Mobile and Hypr team up on music influencer marketing

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 08:00 AM PST


Cheetah Mobile has teamed up with Hypr to facilitate marketing to music influencers. Hypr has an index of millions of influencers on the Musical.ly platform, a social media network for music videos, as well as on Cheetah’s own mobile networks.

Cheetah, meanwhile, has more than 3.81 billion mobile installs through its security and utility apps. Together, the two companies will open a channel for brands and advertising agencies to reach influencers on a fast-growing social network, as well as on platforms such as Live.me and other networks in Asia.

As part of the joint effort, Cheetah Mobile's U.S. team will leverage Hypr's technology to assist North American brands and agencies in discovering, evaluating, and connecting with Chinese influencers. Musical.ly has more than 300 million users and was recently sold for $1 billion.

"Musical.ly is the one platform our clients ask us about the most. No other platform can provide this level of targeted access to a Gen Z audience," said Hypr CEO Gil Eyal, in a statement. “Working with Cheetah Mobile exposed us to a level of professionalism and expertise we haven't seen before. We are excited to continue providing our clients with access to meaningful influencer audience data through some of the hottest marketing channels in the world."

The partners will give marketers and advertisers the ability to discover influencers in a matter of seconds, and the brands and advertisers will have the option to connect directly with the Cheetah Mobile team to activate campaigns on the Musical.ly platform, Live.me, and other platforms in the Cheetah Portfolio. Hypr will enable U.S. advertisers to identify influencers by their audience demographic data, including age, gender, ethnicity, and location.

Above: Cheetah and Hypr are putting brands in touch with music influencers.

Image Credit: Cheetah

"After evaluating numerous influencer audience analytics platforms, we've discovered that Hypr's technology is unequivocally the best solution we've seen within the influencer marketing space," said Cheetah Mobile’s Arther Wu, head of global brand sales, in a statement. "We're thrilled to be partnering with Hypr and tremendously excited about entering the U.S. market with a local partner that's the market leader in its category."

Hypr has influencer profiles and audience demographics for more than 10 million people across a variety of social channels. It currently works with several hundred of the largest agencies and brands in influencer discovery and measurement.

David Wu, chairman of Leopard Mobile (Cheetah Mobile's agency arm) added in a statement, "We have been working with Hypr over the past few months to increase transparency in our campaigns. We believe the future of influencer marketing lies in combining high-quality data with excellent marketing channels."

Are fitness trackers dead? The case for smarter, healthier sensors

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 07:50 AM PST


Presented by Osram Opto Semiconductors


I'm not a big fan of building technology for the sake of technology. But building technology that can improve human health and advance the common good — that's a game-changer.

And that's why, at first, I was thrilled when the "quantified self" movement came along and everyone started wearing those fitness trackers that measure heart rate, steps, calories burned and other vital statistics. I thought, here's a technology that will revolutionize health and help us live longer, more active lives.

So has it? Not really. Wearable fitness devices have not exactly changed the human condition. Sales are on the decline because, as it stands today, the quantified self doesn't work. For the average consumer, the data generated by fitness wearables is meaningless.

My tracker, for instance, can measure my body-fat percentage and body-mass index to tell me that I'm a bit overweight. Big deal. One, I already know this. Two, there's not much I can do with that data, other than try to eat better or exercise more. The same goes for my heart rate. How does it help me to know how fast my heart is beating? Sure, heart-rate measurements are useful for an elite athlete but not for the average consumer. This is why most fitness trackers end up in a desk drawer after a few months of use.

Sleep tracking

To be relevant, fitness trackers and other wearables have to truly make our lives better. For example, what if your device could make decisions and take actions that actually improve your health? What if it could make sure you get an extra hour or two of deep sleep over the course of the week? That would be useful.

How would it work? Let's say it's a Thursday night and you're out with some friends. Now imagine your fitness tracker has calculated that you haven't gotten enough sleep this week. The sensors in the device can send a signal to your alarm clock app to wake you up at 7:30 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. The same sensors can then send a message to your ride sharing app to pick you up at 8 a.m. rather than 7:30 a.m., your typical departure time. The device could also tell your internet-connected hot water tank to wait an extra 30 minutes before it starts warming up the water for your morning shower. As long as you have a flexible work schedule, your fitness tracker can make adjustments that help improve your overall health.

Hydration

Here's another great application for fitness trackers: sensors that keep you properly hydrated. This could be quite beneficial. Most Americans are consistently dehydrated. In fact, one study found that 75 percent of Americans experience a net fluid loss every day and are chronically dehydrated. Not only do we not drink enough water, we drink too many caffeinated and alcoholic beverages, and we eat too much sodium.

Is that a problem? Yes. Dehydration causes fatigue and can lead to that dreaded afternoon energy crash that many of us experience, according to several studies. Plus, when you're dehydrated you tend to be more argumentative, have a shorter attention span and fly off the handle more easily because your body is under stress. It's like driving a car that's low on oil — don't be surprised when smoke starts rising from the hood. One study found that dehydration is linked to a drop in concentration and short-term memory, as well as a spike in feelings of anxiety and irritability.

The primary reason most of us don't stay properly hydrated is that by the time we get thirsty it's already too late. We're already dehydrated. So how can wearables help? Imagine having a hydration sensor that warns you 30 minutes before you enter a state of dehydration and reminds you to drink a glass of water.

Proper hydration can help elderly women keep their joints lubricated and reduce the effects of osteoporosis. It can help children pay attention in class and get better grades. It can even make us look younger, because proper hydration can contribute to a radiant, healthy complexion and prevent wrinkles.

It's really quite simple. If wearables can deliver results that make a tangible and immediate difference in our lives, these devices will remain on our bodies — and not on a shelf gathering dust.

Health monitoring

And the health applications of sensor technology do not stop with fitness trackers. The right sensors can transform your smartphone into a potent medical device. Most phones today are equipped with a small, round LED camera flash that sends out a burst of white light. Sensor technology can enable a mobile device fitted with a hyperspectral camera to send out many different colors and function as a multiwavelength light source.

So what are the healthcare applications here? Say you find a dark mole on your arm. Typically, you'd make an appointment with a dermatologist, who would biopsy the mole and send the sample to the lab for testing. Next, the lab would put it through a very large machine equipped with a hyperspectral camera that emits 15 different light wavelengths to detect whether the mole is malignant or not. For you, that means weeks of worry before you get your test results.

But that tiny flash in your phone can do exactly the same thing — and do it instantaneously. By simply snapping a picture of a mole, you can cover your skin with multiwavelengths of light. The reflections and refractions are then captured by your phone's camera and run through an app, which can tell you on the spot whether your mole is malignant or benign.

Good news! The mole is not cancerous. To celebrate, you gather a bunch of friends for a big sushi dinner at your favorite restaurant. But the tuna on display at the sushi bar looks a bit funny. So you take a quick picture and use the same multiwavelength light source to determine if the fish is edible or whether it's carrying some nasty pathogen. Or, if you have a peanut allergy, you could detect if the soy sauce has trace amounts of peanut. Or even if the "gluten-free" ramen noodles really are gluten-free.

Technology for technology's sake is essentially meaningless. Through Osram's expertise in lighting we've been able to create technology that makes our lives healthier and happier — and that's technology for humanity's sake.

Karl Leahy is the marketing director for infrared and laser products for OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, a globally leading lighting manufacturer with a history dating back about 100 years. In this role, he is responsible for all standard and custom IR and laser product marketing / application engineering activities across the Americas.


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DJI unveils pocket-sized Mavic Air drone, ships January 28 for $799

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 07:43 AM PST


DJI officially unveiled its latest consumer drone, the Mavic Air, at an event today in New York City. The Mavic Air offers enhanced specs that have already proven popular with owners of DJI’s Mavic Pro and the smaller, more affordable Spark drone.

According to DJI’s website, the Mavic Air is priced at $799 and has an estimated ship date of January 28. The Mavic Air will also be available for purchase in select retail stores starting January 28. There’s also a “Fly More Combo” available to order online at $999, which includes extra batteries, extra propellers, and a travel bag.

Photos of the drone leaked online yesterday, but today DJI executive Michael Perry revealed some previously unconfirmed specs, including the drone’s speed and range. The Mavic Air can go up to 68.4 kilometers per hour (42.5 miles) and has a 2.5 mile flight range. Users can control the Mavic Air at a range of up to 19 feet using DJI’s smart capture technology, 262 feet using the smartphone app, and 2.5 miles with the remote control. The Mavic Air has a 21-minute flight time.

Like the Mavic Pro, the pocket-sized Mavic Air comes with foldable legs. The Mavic Air also features improved photo and video capabilities, with a three-way gimbal instead of the Spark’s two-way, and a camera capable of capturing 32-megapixel panorama shots and 4K video at 24 or 30 frames per second. According to Perry, the three-way gimbal has been given a new layout to provide multiple dimensions of vibration reduction, and the Mavic Air is “the smallest drone of its size to feature a three-axis gimbal.”

Perry also touted the Mavic Air’s portability, calling it “the smallest footprint of any drone we've created so far.” The Mavic Air is half the size of the Mavic Pro and weighs 41 percent less.

“It empowers creativity for outdoor photographers, travelers, and adventurers who want to capture new perspectives on the go,” Perry said at the event.

The Mavic Air is available in three colors: black, white, and red.

Other features to note: the Mavic Air has 8GB of internal storage, a redesigned ventilation system to keep it from overheating, and a seven camera obstacle avoidance system.

The Mavic Air adds another drone on the lower end of DJI’s price range as the Chinese drone maker seeks to increase its already mammoth share of the consumer drone market. The company had an estimated $2.7 billion in sales in 2017 and has a global market share of 70 percent.

The release of the Mavic Air comes just weeks after GoPro announced that it would be exiting the drone business. Although GoPro’s drone business had been struggling for a while, this decision leaves DJI with one less potential competitor in the future.

 

Zylo Secures $9.3M Series A Led by Bessemer Venture Partners

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 07:26 AM PST


Salesforce Ventures and the Slack Fund join as strategic investors

INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–January 23, 2018–

Zylo, the leading enterprise SaaS optimization platform, today announces completion of a $9.3 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from Salesforce Ventures and the Slack Fund. Repeat investors include High Alpha Capital, GGV, SV Angel, and Hyde Park Venture Partners.

Byron Deeter of Bessemer Venture Partners will join Zylo’s Board of Directors. Byron directly led investments in seven cloud IPOs (SendGrid, Twilio, Instructure, Box, Criteo, Eloqua, Cornerstone OnDemand) in the past six years, more than any other venture capitalist, and invested in numerous high-growth private cloud companies.

The Zylo platform provides one system of record for all SaaS and cloud-based software used across a company, giving an organization visibility into what software is used, how much is spent and how to optimize their SaaS and cloud-based software investments. Zylo works with dozens of the largest enterprises around the world, including industry leaders in pharmaceutical, financial services, cloud consulting and technology sectors. The Zylo platform is managing over 1 million unique SaaS user licenses and more than $1 billion of annual SaaS subscription spend on behalf of its customers.

“Zylo is pioneering a new category of software and we are thrilled to assemble a dream team of investors who are going to help us extend our market leadership much further,” said Eric Christopher, Zylo’s CEO. “With the support of Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, the Slack Fund and Byron’s addition to our board, we are well on our way to building the new enterprise standard of how cloud software is managed.”

Zylo will use the funds to significantly grow its entire team, with a priority on the customer success and engineering teams, as well as expand its platform, which provides transparency for the enterprise to discover all SaaS software applications, manage complex renewals, measure real-time utilization and optimize software licenses for every SaaS subscription in the organization.

“The cloud computing revolution is underway, and the next big stage involves more strategic management of cloud investments by leading enterprises,” said Byron Deeter, a top cloud investor and partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “Zylo is a forward-thinking SaaS optimization platform that transforms the way organizations think about and manage their SaaS. I look forward to being an active partner to this veteran team and their big vision.”

Zylo launched in June of 2016 out of High Alpha Studio and announced a $3.3 million seed round in October 2016. The company boasts integrations with Concur, Expensify, G Suite by Google Cloud, Intacct, Microsoft Office 365, Netsuite, Okta, Onelogin, Salesforce, Slack and Veeva Systems. This announcement follows Zylo’s recognition in Forrester Research’s December 2017 Report, Five Essential Components Of Great SaaS Governance To Build Agility and Risk, as an IT Cost Transparency tool ‘leading the way.’

For more information on Zylo or a demo, visit zylo.com or follow @getzylo.

About Zylo

Zylo is the leading enterprise SaaS optimization platform that transforms how companies manage and optimize their SaaS applications. By providing transparency of SaaS spend, user utilization and feedback, Zylo provides one SaaS system of record, empowering business leaders to discover, manage, measure and optimize their SaaS investments. Visit zylo.com or follow @getzylo for more information.

About Salesforce Ventures

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Salesforce Ventures-the company’s corporate investment group-invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Intelligent Customer Success Platform, helping companies connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Portfolio companies receive funding as well as access to the world’s largest cloud ecosystem and the guidance of Salesforce’s innovators and executives. With Salesforce Ventures, portfolio companies can also leverage Salesforce’s expertise in corporate philanthropy by joining Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 250 enterprise cloud startups in 14 different countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures.

BLASTmedia for Zylo
Kelsey Koralewski, 317-806-1900 ext. 123
kelsey@blastmedia.com

Xbox Game Pass will add new exclusives like Halo and Sea of Thieves on day one

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 07:11 AM PST


Microsoft announced today that Xbox Game Pass will now include exclusives from Microsoft Studios as they release.

This is a big upgrade for the subscription service, which gives users access to a library of over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games for $10 a month. Now subscribers will be able to play upcoming exclusives like Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, and Sea of Thieves the day they come out. This will also include future titles in Microsoft’s biggest franchises, like Halo and Forza. Having these big, new games available immediately for Xbox Game Pass significantly increases its value.

Sony’s comparative service for the PlayStation 4, PS Now, does not include new exclusives.

“We've only scratched the surface of the opportunity this new model brings to the industry and what we can deliver to our fans,” Xbox Gaming head Phil Spencer notes in Microsoft’s blog post. “We firmly believe Xbox Game Pass will be a catalyst to create new opportunities for game developers and publishers to innovate in the way games are developed and delivered, leading to entirely new ways to play.”

 

The PC Gaming channel is presented by Intel®'s Game Dev program.

Allen Institute wants to help engineers launch AI startups

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 07:00 AM PST


The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2), a research center and startup incubator created by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, announced a new residency program that aims to give top engineers the intensive training needed to become technical cofounders of AI startups.

Here's how it works: The organization will recruit a handful of top engineers for the program and provide them with a modest salary while preparing them to become the technical cofounder of a startup that uses artificial intelligence as a key part of its product. At the end of that process, which is expected to last 12 to 18 months, they'll be paired with an entrepreneur and given cofounder equity in a new venture that they begin.

The program is powered by the Institute's AI researchers, who will be helping the residents on their journey to become cofounders. Think of it a bit like graduate school, except that instead of graduating with a diploma, participants will graduate with equity.

The Allen Institute is seeking to capitalize on a wave of innovation that can help fuel the creation of new AI-based startups, while at the same time applying the expertise of its researchers and entrepreneurs in residence.

Selecting the participants will be an interesting task, considering that the Institute has a ton of talent to pull from, both in its home of Seattle and beyond. The Institute will be on the lookout for engineers who mesh well with its existing crop of entrepreneurs, but it will also look for those it thinks will be a good fit for the program regardless, according to Jacob Colker, head of the organization’s incubator programs.

The institute plans to accept between just two and five engineers for the first round, as it fine-tunes the program’s structure. After that, Colker said the institute will scale up the number of participants significantly.

Twitter COO Anthony Noto is leaving to become CEO at SoFi

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 06:40 AM PST


Chief operating officer (COO) Anthony Noto is leaving Twitter after serving for nearly four years and in two roles.

A former Goldman Sachs executive and NFL CFO, Anthony Noto played a key role in helping Twitter become a public company before eventually joining as CFO in 2014. When Adam Bain stepped down as COO in November 2016, Noto stepped into his role temporarily. He served in the two roles for around a year before Twitter finally hired a new CFO and Noto assumed the COO role on a permanent basis.

In a statement issued this morning, Twitter said that Noto informed the company of his plans to leave on January 22 and will depart sometime before March 1, 2018. Noto will then take over as CEO “at another company,” according to Twitter.

Bloomberg reported earlier today that the “other company” is in fact Social Finance (SoFi), a San Francisco-based financial tech company with major financial backing. Indeed, SoFi has been without a permanent CEO since September, after Mike Cagney was ousted following lawsuits and sexual harassment allegations.

It seems the opportunity to take on his first CEO role was too big for Noto to turn down, though his departure will be a blow for Twitter, which has lost a number of big name executives in recent years. Twitter said that Noto's responsibilities “will be assumed by other members” of Twitter's leadership team.

“Anthony has been an incredible advocate for Twitter and a trusted partner to me and our leadership team,” said Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. “On behalf of the entire team, I want to thank Anthony for his passion and his impact, and congratulate him on his new role.”

Apple schedules HomePod for February 9, delays stereo and multi-room features

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 06:16 AM PST


Following a delay from the HomePod’s originally promised December 2017 release date, Apple today announced that its smart speaker will debut in the U.S., U.K., and Australian stores on February 9, with preorders starting this Friday, January 26. Customers in France and Germany will be able to purchase the HomePod this spring.

Apple describes the $349 HomePod as offering a “magical new music experience,” combining high-quality audio with Siri voice controls. The 7-inch tall speaker has one woofer, seven tweeters, and six microphones, and yet is monaural, which means it will — in the future, if one’s budget allows — need to be paired with another speaker for stereo sound. HomePod will initially be available in white or space gray, and combines a fabric mesh speaker chassis with a plastic body, a top-mounted Siri waveform display, and touch controls. Speakerphone functionality is promised for iPhones.

Above: Credit Apple

Apart from music features, HomePod’s Siri functionality is notably limited at first. Apple says that Siri will “deliver deep knowledge of artists, songs, albums, and more” when used with Apple Music. Philip Schiller, Apple’s marketing chief, notes that the “team has worked to give Siri a deeper knowledge of music so that you can ask to play virtually anything from your personal favorites to the latest chart-topping releases, simply by saying 'Hey Siri'."

In addition to playing songs, podcasts, and news briefs, Siri will be able to send voice-dictated messages, control HomeKit home accessories, “set reminders, create a new list, mark items as complete, or create and modify notes.” Apple has debuted development tools called “SiriKit for HomePod” to permit expansion of Siri’s capabilities, but the official announcement doesn’t reference any third-party features.

HomePod was announced in June 2017 as a challenger to Amazon’s increasingly popular Echo speakers and was intended to be released in time for the holidays. The release delay was blamed on problems integrating the hardware and software. Even after the delay, however, Apple is notably shipping the HomePod without multi-room audio and stereo support, promising that the feature will arrive “this year in a free software update.” On a related note, AirPlay 2, Apple’s proprietary audio streaming protocol, is similarly now listed as coming “this year.”

While many smart speakers promise broad compatibility with various devices, HomePod’s list of supported products is somewhat surprising: It is said to require iOS 11.2.5 or later, which means that it will only work with recent iOS devices, described by Apple as the iPhone 5s or later, iPad Pro models, iPad Air or later, iPad mini 2 or later, or sixth-generation iPod touch. No mention is made of the Apple TV or Apple Watch. Bluetooth 5.0 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi are included, though it’s presently unclear whether non-Apple devices will be able to stream audio to HomePod.

Esports One will use AI to help viewers make sense of esports events

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 06:15 AM PST


Esports One has raised $3 million to provide AI-based analytics for esports fans. The goal is to help solve one of esports’ biggest challenges: The action unfolds so fast that it’s hard for spectators to know what’s going on in a match.

The Los Angeles-based startup said it uses computer vision, machine learning, and custom analytics to help esports enthusiasts understand in real time what is happening in an esports match. The beta test is available today.

XSeed Capital and Eniac Ventures led the round, with participation from Crest Capital. Esports One uses proprietary computer vision technology, machine learning and custom datasets to provide real-time information for fans. The financing enables the company to continue to scale operations and hire more people. Esports is expected to grow to $2.5 billion by 2020, according to market researcher Newzoo.

"The close of our $3 million seed round is just the beginning. We're continuing to make key hires, expanding operations and offices along with the upcoming launch of our esports podcast," said Esports One CEO Matthew Gunnin in a statement. "We couldn't be more excited to have the backing of our investors. Their support will be pivotal as we get ready to expand games and execute on our biggest launches yet."

Today, the majority of esports data companies rely on third-party game publisher applications programming interfaces, which are often restricted, unreliable, or just non-existent. Esports One uses computer vision technology to capture what is happening in a live broadcast real-time. It takes machine learning technology to understand what is happening, and then it generates real-time information to display to the viewer.

"This audience is groomed to expect the most advanced, competitive, and customizable technology," said Eniac Ventures general partner Vic Singh, in a statement. "We are excited to support an industry veteran and a technology platform with computer vision and machine learning capabilities that bring esports spectators a deeper, more engaging experience through real-time data and analysis, a key missing ingredient in the viewing experience today."

Above: The Esports One team.

Image Credit: Esports One

Users have control of what information they want to see during each game, ranging from a player's history against their opponent, farming efficiency, player positional tracking, previous head-to-head results, objective tracking, prediction models and more.

"Esports One is using cutting-edge technology to focus on what, we believe, is the most important aspect of the market, the spectator experiences," said XSeed Capital partner Damon Cronkey, in a statement. "The Esports One team's skills and category authenticity are undeniable and critical to their ability to understand the needs of the expanding esports community."

The Esports One data will be available to fans in partnership with Twitch Extensions, which are meant to enhance viewing experiences, said Mark Candella, director of strategic partnerships at livestreaming firm Twitch. He said the combination of Esports One and Twitch “significantly improves broadcast quality.”

In an email, Gunnin said, “Anything that is shown on the screen can be captured by an observer as well as computer vision. Where Esports One begins to shine brightest though is when it comes to the capturing of hundreds of data points up to every 30th of a second across thousands of broadcasts simultaneously and then analyzing each metric independently to produce data points that better tell a story as to what is occurring on screen. Being able to see a real-time comparison of a player’s in-game performance to that of similar players and where they differentiate is game-changing. The ability to know how often a player wins their match-up after securing the first kill before the five-minute mark provides an entirely new level of engagement and interest for the viewers. Where traditional sports may require multiple data analysts to produce a small sampling of production quality statistics, at Esports One we’re bringing automation to the forefront and bridging the gap between the fan and real-time engagement.”

Esports One has five employees.

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Bumble adds Instagram option to user profiles

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 06:00 AM PST


Social networking app Bumble announced today that it has integrated Instagram into its user profiles. Users can now opt-in to allow potential matches to scroll through their Instagram feed through the Bumble app. The feature is available on Android and iOS.

To activate the feature, go to your Edit Profile menu, select the “Connect your Instagram” option, and grant Bumble access to your Instagram profile. The 24 most recent photos will then be displayed at the bottom of your Bumble profile.

For now, the option is only available on Bumble Date and Bumble BFF, not on Bumble Bizz, which was launched last October. Users can only connect one Instagram account to their Bumble profile.  

Rival dating app Tinder added the Instagram integration back in April 2015.

Bumble launched in December 2014 as a dating app to empower women to make the first move. In the past year, the startup has added Bumble BFF to make friends and Bumble Bizz to create professional connections.

The Austin, Texas-based startup currently has more than 20 million users.

Volkswagen’s chief digital officer joins IOTA supervisory board

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 05:49 AM PST


IOTA is becoming one of the most tangible blockchain startups. A distributed ledger technology (DLT), it enables machines to securely transact data and money with each other for a micro fee.

Following the successful launch of its data marketplace in November, IOTA’s token value rose dramatically. It then saw a significant investment from Robert Bosch Venture Capital, which included RBVC partner Dr Hongquan Jiang joining the IOTA Foundation's advisory board. In January, IOTA announced that ITIC had partnered with the IOTA Foundation to create a global smart city testbed network.

Today, IOTA has announced that Johann Jungwirth, chief digital officer at Volkswagen, has joined the supervisory board of the IOTA Foundation. His role will be to oversee the foundation's annual roadmap and advise on future collaborations between IOTA and Volkswagen.

The IOTA supervisory board’s role within the foundation includes approval of annual budgets, roadmaps, rules, and procedures, and oversight of the IOTA Foundation's board of directors.

"IOTA has the potential to set a standard for trusted machine-to-machine transactions," Jungwirth said. "With its brilliant technology, it's no question why mobility and technology companies, as well as other key players in the industry, are joining the Foundation. I'm delighted to join the team and be a part of where IOTA is headed in the future."

This is a significant appointment for IOTA. Since November 2015, Jungwirth has been the chief digital officer at Volkswagen, where he has been responsible for driving the digital transformation of Volkswagen Group's various brands. These famously include the likes of Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini. Before joining Volkswagen, Jungwirth was director of Mac systems engineering at Apple, and before that he was president and CEO of the Mercedes-Benz research and development branch of North America.

"We are thrilled to have Johann join our Supervisory Board," said David Sønstebø, cofounder of the IOTA Foundation. "Having a visionary like Johann on board is pivotal for IOTA's ambition to become a global standard that enables real-world use cases."

IOTA technology has already enabled the feeless transaction of payments worth billions of dollars and has been used to create transparent value chains in logistics, secure over-the-air updates, feeless micropayments for electric vehicle charging, parking, and more.

This is the first step in a closer relationship between IOTA and Volkswagen. The foundation promises further collaborations between the two organizations, with additional announcements during the coming weeks.

Firefox 58 arrives with smoother rendering, faster JavaScript caching, and Progressive Web Apps on Android

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 05:00 AM PST


Mozilla today launched Firefox 58 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The release builds on the improvements made in version 57, branded Firefox Quantum, which the company calls “by far the biggest update since Firefox 1.0 in 2004.” Version 58 brings smoother graphics rendering and faster page loading, thanks to JavaScript caching improvements, and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) on Android.

Firefox 58 for the desktop is available for download now on Firefox.com, and all existing users should be able to upgrade to it automatically. As always, the Android version is trickling out slowly on Google Play.

Mozilla doesn’t break out the exact numbers for Firefox, though the company does say “half a billion people around the world” use the browser. In other words, it’s a major platform that web developers have to consider.

Desktop

Firefox 58 builds on the performance gains in Firefox Quantum by further improving the way the browser renders graphics (using Off-Main-Thread Painting on Windows) and caches JavaScript. In short, Firefox now has an improved engine that more efficiently paints your screen using a dedicated CPU thread.

Mozilla created a test that specifically simulates running heavy JavaScript. It found that Firefox’s frame rate has improved by 30 percent (from 31 to 40 frames per second) with this change. The next performance improvement to Firefox will come thanks to the integration of WebRender, a next-generation web page renderer developed as part of Mozilla’s Servo research project.

Performance aside, Mozilla also made functional and privacy improvements to Firefox Screenshots. You can now copy and paste screenshots directly to your clipboard, and Firefox Screenshots now works in Private Browsing mode.

As part of its plans to stop supporting WoSign and StartCom root certificates, Mozilla has removed six certificates from Firefox 58. Speaking of security, Firefox 58 also blocks top-level navigation to data URLs.

Mozilla today also highlighted Firefox’s Tracking Protection feature, but this is not new in Firefox 58. In fact, it was added to Firefox 42’s private browsing mode in November 2015. With the monster Firefox 57 release, Mozilla finally added an option to enable tracking protection outside of private browsing.

Tracking protection means Firefox blocks website elements (ads, analytics trackers, and social share buttons) that could track you while you’re surfing the web. It’s almost like a built-in ad blocker, though it’s really closer to browser add-ons like Ghostery and Privacy Badger because ads that don’t track you are allowed through. The feature’s blocking list, which is based on the tracking protection rules laid out by the anti-tracking startup Disconnect, is published under the General Public License and available on GitHub.

The feature got lost in all the other changes made with Firefox Quantum, so Mozilla wanted to point out that it’s great for not just privacy, but performance as well:

Here’s the full Firefox 58 for desktop changelog:

  • Performance improvements, including: Rendering graphics for Windows users by using Off-Main-Thread Painting (OMTP) and loading pages faster by changing how Firefox caches and retrieves JavaScript
  • Firefox Screenshots now lets you copy and paste screenshots directly to your clipboard
  • Firefox Screenshots now works in Private Browsing mode
  • Added support for credit card autofill
  • Added Nepali (ne-NP) locale
  • User profiles created in Firefox 58 (and in future releases) are not supported in previous versions of Firefox. Users who downgrade to a previous version should create a new profile for that version. Learn about alternatives to downgrading on our support site.
  • Added a warning to alert users and site owners of planned security changes to sites affected by the gradual distrust plan for the Symantec certificate authority
  • Fonts installed in non-standard directories will no longer appear blank for Linux users
  • Implemented the PerformanceNavigationTiming API
  • Added PerformanceResourceTiming.workerStart so sites can measure service worker startup time

If you’re a web developer, more details are available for you here: Firefox 58 for developers.

Android

The biggest addition to Firefox for Android in this release, aside from getting the same JavaScript improvements as the desktop version, is support for PWAs. In short, this means you can add websites to your Android home screen and use them like native apps.

When browsing with Firefox for Android, websites that function as PWAs will show a house-shaped button in your address bar. You can add that website as an app to your home screen by simply tapping the house-shaped button. Launching that new PWA will open it in full-screen, outside of the browser UI, and without an address bar.

Firefox for Android has also received improvements to its bookmarking feature. Instead of a dialog box, bookmarks are now shown in a full screen, where you can create and organize them in folders.

Here’s the full Firefox 58 for Android changelog:

  • Performance improvements, including support for Progressive Web Apps and loading pages faster by changing how Firefox caches and retrieves JavaScript.
  • Added ability to Sync only over non-metered connections (e.g., WiFi). Setting available via Sync Preferences.
  • Added full screen bookmark management with folder support
  • Added support for FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) playback
  • Added ability to change the status bar color in themes
  • Added Bengali from Bangladesh (bn-BD) and Nepali (ne-NP) locales
  • Removed Firefox Search widget from home screen
  • Updated the Safe Browsing protocol to version 4

Mozilla releases new Firefox versions every six to eight weeks, and Firefox 59 is currently slated for mid-March.

Ex-Putin acolyte launches early-stage VC firm Day One Ventures

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 04:30 AM PST


Masha Drokova has had a busy year, tapping into her PR network and sourcing limited partners (LPs) to back her first venture capital firm. Today, the 28-year-old angel investor announced the launch of Day One Ventures, an early-stage VC firm that funds startups and spearheads their PR and marketing campaigns.

The San Francisco-based firm will focus on eight areas: AI, AR/VR, quantum, financial tech (including blockchain), education tech, health care, marketplaces, and self-driving cars. It plans on investing between $100,000 and $1 million in each startup.

Although Drokova declined to comment on the firm's target fund size, The Wall Street Journal reported her saying last May that it will not be more than $50 million.

So far, Day One Ventures has invested in 14 startups, including Lvl5, a Y Combinator alumnus founded by former Tesla and iRobot engineers; DigitalGenius, provider of machine learning technology for customer service; and Piper, an education tech startup that manufactures a DIY computer kit for kids, which was endorsed by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.

Drokova claims she is providing more than a simple check, explaining that the added value for her portfolio companies is to have all-hands PR support at their disposal, for no extra equity.

As the sole general partner of the VC firm, Drokova brings her background in PR and investing to the table. She previously helped startups like Gett, Houzz, HotelTonight, and Acronis as a PR specialist, and she also worked for Runa Capital, where she sourced ClassPass during the startup's seed round. As an angel investor, Drokova has invested in 11 companies over the past two years.

Drokova and her five employees are currently testing the investing/PR hybrid model, with plans to replicate it for different types of expertise, such as legal and recruiting.

The young Russian transplant has come a long way since her days as a member of Nashi, which means "ours" in Russian. In 2005, Drokova joined the movement at age 15, believing it was a means to rebuild post-Soviet Russia. But others viewed it as a devoted group of Putin proxies who were there to counter the leader's opposition. Drokova met with Putin several times and was featured in a documentary called Putin's Kiss.

Drokova now lives full-time in the U.S. and focuses her energy on her new firm. She is currently in Davos, Switzerland, where she is participating in a panel on investing at the World Economic Forum's annual conference.

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Canalys: Apple’s iPhone X shipped 29 million in Q4, ‘slightly below industry expectations’

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 03:43 AM PST


As the debate over sales of Apple’s iPhone X continues to brew, a research firm released data today that’s sure to provoke another round of thumb-sucking.

According to Canalys, Apple shipped 29 million iPhone Xs in Q4 2017 (a quarter Apple would refer to as Q1 2018), making the device the “world's best-shipping smartphone model over the holiday season.” Given a price tag that starts at $999 and the fact that it was only available in limited supplies for just over half the quarter, that would seem like a huge success.

But…

"The iPhone X performance is impressive for a device priced at US$999, but it is slightly below industry expectations," said Canalys analyst Ben Stanton, in a statement.

Apple struggled with supply issues in early November, but achieved a massive uplift in production in late November and throughout December. This helped it meet and even exceed demand in some markets by the end of the quarter. One major benefit to Apple is that customers are increasingly realizing the residual value of their old smartphones, opting for trade-in programs to offset the high price of the iPhone X. But that big price tag, and Apple's split launch strategy, still had an impact, and shipments were not the fastest ever for an iPhone.

That analysis comes on the heels of recent reports that the iPhone X was losing momentum, and even some talk that Apple might discontinue it given softening sales and lack of interest in China. Canalys claimed that Apple shipped 7 million units in China during the quarter.

To the degree that this may be bad news, there are plenty of silver linings, according to Canalys, which suggests that after working through supply issues, the iPhone X was eventually overperforming. So recent talk that Apple’s expectations for the current quarter might be soft, which has led some analysts to downgrade the stock, could be premature.

Second, Canalys said that overall iPhone sales got a boost from Apple’s decision to continue selling a wider portfolio of phones than usual. The new iPhone 8s, plus the older versions, are attracting a lot of interest from buyers.

"Apple is looking at its best performance to date, all thanks to the massive changes it made to its portfolio in Q3," said Canalys analyst TuanAnh Nguyen. "This strategy has hedged Apple's risk as it upgrades the iPhone, in both design and user experience. While new technologies, such as Face ID and bezel-less displays, help to justify the US$999 price tag and maintain competitiveness with Samsung, Huawei, and Google, having a larger portfolio allows Apple to meet its overall shipment targets, and protect its market leadership in the premium segment."

Apple is scheduled to report earnings for the three months ending December 31 on February 1.

Google and Facebook expand AI investment in France following Macron’s courtship at Versailles

Posted: 23 Jan 2018 03:09 AM PST


If you want to get a sense of how much France’s technology scene has come up in the world, just gaze at the remarkable gathering of business leaders at the Palace of Versailles this week.

It was a genius bit of organizational planning by the government of President Emmanuel Macron. With thousands of business leaders flocking to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week, he convinced 140 top executives to make a pit stop at Versailles yesterday.

Among those who accepted the invite: Goldman Sachs's Lloyd Blankfein, JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg. During the day, they heard about the country’s campaign to get businesses to #ChooseFrance.

Since taking office last year, Macron has moved swiftly to implement reforms that give businesses new flexibility in hiring and firing workers and has reformed the rules governing independent workers to give entrepreneurship a boost. But he’s also taken on the unofficial role of Head of Marketing for his country, never hesitating to proclaim, often in English, that “France is back!”

Those efforts have clearly been paying dividends, with the country enjoying what feels like an unprecedented wave of positive publicity from around the world as journalists discover the thriving French Tech scene. That’s been helped by numbers that clearly show startups and venture capital on the rise in France.

But convincing tech giants to make big investments in the country has been another story. Although Facebook opened an AI research center in Paris a couple of years ago, and more recently opened an incubator in the Paris startup campus Station F, its team has remained stubbornly small. Google has developed a larger office in Paris, but one that has also seen measured growth.

On that front, however, Macron won a couple of significant victories at the corporate battle of Versailles, where Facebook and Google both announced their intention to increase investments in France.

Facebook now plans to increase its Paris AI team from 50 to 100 people by 2022 and plans to spend $12.2 million on new equipment, such as servers for hosting data for public agencies.

Meanwhile, Google announced it would open a new AI lab in Paris, with a focus on technologies that could apply to health and the environment. The company said it hopes to hire as many as 120 researchers for the lab, which would match the 120 engineers already based there.

Across France, the company said it will open four Google Hubs, dubbed "Les Ateliers Numériques." The hubs will partner with local groups to provide digital training to individuals and small businesses. The first will open in Rennes, with the location of the other three to be announced later this year. Overall, the company said it plans to increase its headcount in France by 50 percent to a total of 1,000.

“France has all the assets to succeed,” Pichai wrote in a blog post. “It has top engineers, great entrepreneurs, one of the best education systems in the world, great infrastructure, and successful global companies.”

While Google and Facebook’s investment news grabbed a lot of headlines here, perhaps the most substantial announcement came from Germany’s SAP, which pledged to spend $2.5 billion in France over the next five years.

"There is a real sense of economic momentum in France," SAP CEO Bill McDermott said in statement. "We see immense potential in the entrepreneurial spirit of France to disrupt business models, create modern jobs, and unleash exciting new opportunities that help the world run better."

Still, Google and Facebook are both making larger investments in London, even post-Brexit. Google announced plans in 2016 to build a 10-story building in London that covers 1 million square feet with room for 7,000 employees, up from the company’s current London headcount of 5,700. And in December, Facebook announced plans to build a new London HQ to hire 800 new employees.

But today’s announcements in France clearly point to some momentum for Britain’s neighbor. For the moment, Macron’s global outlook has cast France in a new light at a time when other countries are pulling up their drawbridges.

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