Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Opera's VPN-equipped browser is now available to everyone

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/20/opera-vpn-browser-available-to-everyone/

You no longer have to grab test software to try Opera's VPN-toting web browser. The company has released the finished version of Opera 40 for desktops, which revolves around a free virtual private network (provided by SurfEasy) that offers both a more secure connection as well as access to foreign content that would otherwise be blocked. Hi, Hulu and Pandora! It can automatically choose whichever VPN server will provide the fastest connection, but you can specify one of five countries (Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore and the US) if you're more concerned about visiting region-specific sites.

The update also brings a reworked battery saver and RSS feeds in personal news, so there's something to check out after the novelty of the browser's central feature wears off. One thing's for sure: it's worth a shot if you hate paying for VPNs, but want to stick to a mainstream browser that includes plenty of familiar elements.

Source: Opera

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Kodak's latest 4K action camera captures VR-ready video by itself

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/20/kodak-4kvr360-action-camera/

The Kodak Pixpro SP360 4K action camera had a branding problem. Yes, you could shoot 360-degree videos, but they weren't spherical -- you needed two cameras to do that, which made it less-than-practical for full virtual reality videos. You won't have to do some extra shopping with the 4KVR360, though. The newly launched cam fuses a 20-megapixel sensor with lenses on both the front and back, letting one camera shoot fully immersive VR video all by its lonesome.

As you might hope, the camera is also very connected: there's WiFi and NFC to help talk to your phone, and Bluetooth to talk to an optional remote control. You can record up to 128GB of footage on a microSD card, so you shouldn't have trouble recording many of your adventures in VR. Kodak's name might be historic, but it's going up against mobile giants like Samsung and camera stalwarts Nikon.

The catch? JK Imaging (which oversees the Kodak camera brand) doesn't expect the 4KVR360 to ship until sometime in early 2017, and hasn't revealed a price. Though we'd expect it to be somewhere between the Nikon's $500 and Sammy's $350 though.

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Monday, September 19, 2016

Xiaomi-backed mirrorless camera gives you Leica looks for $330

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/19/xiaomi-xiaoyi-m1-mirrorless-camera/

Xiaomi's camera strategy goes beyond action cams. Its associated Xiaoyi brand is introducing the M1, a Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera that promises solid performance (not to mention some familiar looks) for the money. This isn't the most advanced camera between its 20-megapixel sensor, a maximum ISO 25,600 sensitivity, and the absence of either a built-in flash or an electronic viewfinder. However, it also starts at the equivalent of $330/£253 bundled with a 12-40mm f/3.5-5.6 lens ($450/£345 with a 42.5mm f/1.8 lens), and bears more than a passing resemblance to modern Leica cameras -- it's a relatively accessible and stylish entryway into the world of interchangeable-lens photography.

And it's not as if the M1 doesn't have a couple of tricks up its sleeve. You can effectively shoot 50-megapixel photos, and record 4K video at 30 frames per second. There's also a 3-inch, 720 x 480 touchscreen to give you "phone-like" control, while Bluetooth and WiFi will help you share your photographic output with your smartphone.

The camera will sell through China's JD.com on September 23rd. There's no mention of an international release, although it won't be surprising if online retailers are willing to import it. Just don't expect to get quite as big a bargain by the time it reaches your door.

Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)

Source: Xiaoyi

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Nikon's VR-ready camera arrives in October for $500

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/19/nikon-keymission-cameras/

Earlier this year, at CES 2016, Nikon took camera fans by surprise with its announcement of the KeyMission 360. But, back then, not many details were shared about the newly minted camera. The company only mentioned a few notable features, such as 4K video recording, NFC, WiFi and a waterproof design. Now, we're learning that the VR-ready shooter comes with two 20-megapixel (1/2.3-inch) sensors, electronic image stabilization, in-camera footage stitching and a swappable battery.

Most importantly, Nikon today announced that the KeyMission 360 is set to arrive in October for $500. That's a little pricier compared to other similar devices, like Samsung's $350 Gear 360, but the Nikon camera has much better specs.

What's more, the manufacturer also revealed the KeyMission 170 and KeyMission 80. The former, as its name suggests, offers a 170-degree field of view with a 12-megapixel, 1/2.3-ich sensor and "Nikon lens quality." Similar to the 360, the KeyMission 170 shoots 4K and is waterproof, shockproof and freezeproof as well.

Then there's the KeyMission 80, which is very reminiscent of Cisco's old line of Flip camcorders. Nikon says the entry-level KeyMission is intended to be a life blogging camera, designed for easy one-handed use. It comes with two cameras, one on the back (12 megapixels, 25mm lens) and another on the front (4.9 megapixels, 22mm lens) -- the latter for selfies, of course. The KeyMission 80 doesn't have 4K capabilities, so you can only record 1080p videos at up to 30 fps.

To bring these all together, Nikon is rolling out a new app for KeyMission cameras. That'll be a hub to control the cameras remotely, plus transfer pictures and videos from the 360, 170 or 80. The KeyMission 170 and 80 are also hitting stores in October for $399 and $279, respectively.

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Fujifilm's GFX 50S is a mirrorless camera with a giant sensor

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/19/fujifilm-gfx-50s-is-a-mirrorless-camera-with-a-giant-sensor/

Fujifilm's been trying to take on its rivals by offering larger sensors for better quality pictures, but its latest system takes the cake. The new GFX 50S is the first to use the company's new G Format sensor, which Fujifilm said it fully customized and designed, and measures 43.8mm x 32.9mm. That's 1.7 times larger than the typical 35mm (aka fullframe) setup in high-end DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. And despite that huge sensor, the 50S still manages to retain a light 800 gram (body only) footprint and a size smaller than a typical fullframe DSLR. The GFX 50S will be available in early 2017, but price is still unknown.

But that's not all. The new sensor will be a whopping 51.4-megapixels sharp, and its pixel size is an obscene 5.3 microns. The GFX 50S will be compatible with a series of lenses using the new G Mount that Fujifilm is launching, with three of them arriving at the same time as the camera. These are a GF120mm f/4 macro lens, a GF32-64mm f/4 and a GF63mm f/2.8 prime. In mid 2017, three more options will be available: GF35mm f/2.8, GF23mm f/4 and GF110mm f/2. The company is expecting to hit 100-megapixels with this G-mount format in the future, so this could be the beginning of incredibly high-res pictures to come.

The GFX 50S looks similar to Fujifilm's X series cameras, which sport a somewhat retro look. It has a foldout display that you can tilt vertically and horizontally, as well as a viewfinder that you can attach with a hotshoe. Fujifilm is also offering viewfinders that you can tilt and rotate to make framing odd angles easier, as well as other accessories that it was somewhat vague about.

Fujifilm isn't the first to market with a compact medium format camera. Hasselblad took that title with its X1D earlier this year. While the X1D is slightly lighter (725 grams) than the Fujifilm, it's also jaw droppingly expensive at $8,995. We don't yet know the price of the GFX 50S, but we are expecting (hoping, really) it will cost less than $5,000. Or cheaper than the Hasselblad, anyway, since that brand tends to be pricier than most.

We'll be checking out the new Fujifilm GFX 50S, along with a bunch of other cameras, directly from Photokina this week, so stay tuned for our impressions.

Aaron Souppouris and Steve Dent contributed to this report.

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Gamers beat scientists to making a protein discovery

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/19/gamers-beat-scientists-to-protein-discovery/

It's no great shock to see citizen scientists make discoveries that professionals miss, but making it through a video game? That's different. Gamers playing Foldit, a puzzle title that has teams trying to fold the best protein, have identified the shape of a protein before scientists (including two trained experts and 61 University of Michigan undergrads) could manage the feat. And it's not as if there were legions of contributors, either, as it took a relatively modest 469 players to help out.

The protein in question may be particularly significant. It prevents plaque formation, hinting that it might help fight Alzheimer's if and when the medical community develops a practical use for it.

The achievement underscores the primary advantage of crowdsourced research: you can foster the kind of large-scale collaboration that would be utterly impractical for academics. At the same time, though, it may also demonstrate the value of adding a game element to scientific education. Paper co-author Scott Horowitz notes that Foldit players were quick to learn about proteins "because it's fun," while students take "weeks and weeks" of lectures to wrap their heads around the same concept. It's easy to see more studies turned into games going forward -- it could save scientists some valuable time.

Source: University of Michigan, Nature, Foldit

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Panasonic rolls out the 4K, full-metal LX10 compact camera

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/19/panasonic-lumix-lx10-fz2500/

Today, Panasonic is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its Lumix series with a new camera, the LX10. This compact shooter, which the company says is designed to fit in most jean pockets, features a 1-inch, 20.1-megapixel sensor and 24-75mm f/1.4-2.8 fixed Leica lens. The LX10 has a full metal body, giving it a premium look that you don't often see in other $700 cameras. Of course, being a Panasonic product, it shoots 4K video at 24, 25 and 30 fps.

In addition to the LX10, Panasonic's introducing the Lumix FZ2500, a bulky DSLR-like camera with a 20-megapixel sensor (also 1-inch) and a 20-48mm, 20x zoom Leica lens. Like its sibling LX10, the FZ2500 captures 4K as well, although it does so in both cinematic resolution (4,096 x 2,160) and UHD (3,840 x 2,160).

According to Panasonic, the LX10 isn't replacing the LX100 from 2014, noting that the priority with the latest was to have a bigger sensor. On the other hand, the FZ2500 could appeal to many videographers -- although its fixed lens is certainly a limitation. Still, it's better specced than, say, Sony's RX100 IV.

The LX10 is set to hit stores in November for $699, while the FZ2500 will arrive in December for $1,200.

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Panasonic's GH5 arrives in mid-2017 with 6K video capture

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/19/panasonics-gh5-arrives-in-mid-2017-with-6k-video-capture/

As expected, Panasonic has unveiled its much-anticipated successor to the Lumix GH4, the GH5, and the focus is once again on video. The flagship model, set to arrive in mid-2017, ups the video capture capability to 6K at 30fps and brings 10-bit, 60fps shooting at 4K. 6K capture may sound like overkill, but it'll give filmmakers more options in terms of reframing, and allow for a better final 4K image. The GH5 will also be much better for slo-mo shots compared to the last model, which topped out at 30fps. At the same time, 10-bit capability will let professional videographers capture billions instead of millions of colors, giving far more latitude for color correction.

The camera will pack Panasonic's new 18-megapixel sensor, which supports up to 8fps in regular burst mode, or up to 60fps in Panasonic's "4K Photo" mode. The company also promised to add 8K, 32-megapixel capture in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We don't know a lot else about the GH5, since we've only seen an early prototype, and it's not set to go on sale until the middle of next year. However, 6K capture and 10-bit video are huge additions, and should put the camera at the top of the list for videographers looking for new gear in 2017.

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Friday, September 16, 2016

LG's new $150 midrange phone packs a huge battery

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/16/lgs-new-150-midrange-phone-packs-a-huge-battery/

If your main concern with a phone is battery life, and basically nothing else, this new LG device could be up your alley. The LG X Power is available on Boost Mobile for $150, and comes with an impressive 4,100mAh battery. Everything else about the new handset is pretty meh. The 5.3-inch machine only has a HD resolution, runs the somewhat outdated Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and has relatively poorer 8-megapixel and 5 MP rear and front cameras. I'd say the price justified the specs, but there are better phones out there for the money.

Despite the underwhelming specs, the X Power still has the biggest battery in that price range. It uses an octa-core MediaTek processor that the chip maker said has power-saving enhancements to extend battery life. So the stamina alone could be reason to consider the X Power.

This is also the first time a phone powered by Qualcomm rival MediaTek has been released by a CDMA carrier (the X Power will be available on Sprint in a few weeks). T-Mobile already sells some MediaTek-equipped devices. The X Power's low price is likely a result of the less costly MediaTek chip (compared to Qualcomm's options), and we'll have to get our hands on one to see how it holds up for daily multitasking. In the meantime, Boost customers who really want a long-lasting smartphone may want to consider the Power.

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Google Safe Browsing makes accessing The Pirate Bay harder

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/15/google-safe-browsing-makes-accessing-the-pirate-bay-harder/

Guess what? There's another speedbump to browsing The Pirate Bay. Rather than internet providers blocking access to the URL (currently thepiratebay.org), certain web browsers are flagging torrent download pages with variations on the following message:

"The site ahead contains harmful programs

Attackers on thepiratebay.org might attempt to trick you into installing programs that harm your browsing experience (for example, by changing your homepage or showing extra ads on sites you visit.)"

That's what showed up when I did a search for "New Girl" on Google Chrome. But similar messages appear in Microsoft Edge and, as VentureBeat reports, Mozilla Firefox too. Surprisingly, Apple's Safari browser wasn't all that worried about me downloading any nefarious programs and let me see the torrent download page without a hitch.

Clicking the "details" link on the warning page in Chrome offers a clue about why the browser is warning users:

"Google Safe Browsing recently found harmful programs on thepiratebay.org. If you understand the risks to your security, you may visit this site before the harmful programs have been removed."

It sounds like there may be a bad ad network on the torrent site and that Google isn't blocking the media repository itself. So, if the bright red screen has you worried, this problem should resolve itself fairly soon. Or if you're impatient, you can deal with false warnings from The Pirate Bay that your Flash player is out of date.

For what it's worth, Chrome isn't blocking the KickAss Torrents alternative (now defunct) Torrentz, despite multiple pop-ups urging me to download a new version of "Flash" for the same reasons as The Pirate Bay. When, in all actuality, I've disabled it wholesale. Nice try, jerks.

Via: VentureBeat

Source: Google

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Thursday, September 15, 2016

Epson's $650 FastFoto scanner is ludicrously speedy

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/15/fastfoto-ff-640-scanner/

Even though the vast majority of people have switched to digital photography, someone in your family likely has a box of old pictures stashed away somewhere. Birthday parties, Thanksgivings, Bar Mitzvahs -- you probably have some record of your childhood trapped in there. (My family certainly does.) Add in the fact that there's less and less need to own a printer, plus the tedium of scanning, and it all means those memories are likely to stay offline. Epson is looking to unearth that treasure pile of moments with the new FastFoto FF-640, which can scan, sort and even post your entire photo collection at a rate of one photo per second.

Unlike an all-in-one printer, the FF-640 doesn't try to do everything; it's a scanner through and through. The document feeder can accommodate up to 30 photos at a time -- a vast improvement over whatever you can fit on a flatbed. The scanner also captures both sides, so you can record all the tasty data that might be printed on the back, like date stamps from the development lab and handwritten notes. You won't need to babysit the 640 to make sure everything fed into the machine correctly: The scanner can detect different photo dimensions, and also auto-corrects the angle the photo was scanned at. No more making sure everything is straight or the same size -- the FastFoto is smart enough to figure out what's what.

The FF-640 can lift the burden of organization as well. The included software makes it easy to automatically name and sort the photos into appropriate folders, and create searchable metadata for all of them, including the original date of the image. Even more impressive is the photo processing built in: Rather than drag your photos into dedicated image editing software like Photoshop, the FastFoto can do basic touches like red-eye removal and color restoration with a click. White Christmases of decades past will no longer be a sickly yellow -- and mind you, my family has a lot of photos of beige Christmases and pinkish birthdays, making photo correction a time-consuming process. Once you're done making your cousins look a little less demonic, it's easy to send those photos to Dropbox, Google Drive, Facebook or Instagram. (Because there aren't enough embarrassing pics of me on there already, mom.)

The FastFoto can also scan other types of documents, like bills and invoices and the random other little bits of paper I've accumulated over the years -- which is great, because I have a lot of crap that I'd love to digitize, and I hate the flatbed scanner on my all-in-one printer. The FF-640 can scan 45 pages per minute, meaning I can make quick work of those file boxes clogging up my office.

It's a good thing that the FastFoto FF-640 is versatile, at least: At $650, it's priced a bit steep for something you might only use once. It might be worth it when you consider that you won't have to pay someone else to scan photos for you, and the time savings are immense -- one photo per second means you can theoretically polish off a box of 1,000 photos in under a half hour, so you'll have to find some other way to spend your rainy days.

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Sunday, September 11, 2016

Major cyberattack seller knocked offline as it faces arrests

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/11/major-cyberattack-seller-busted/

One of the more popular cyberattack peddlers just came crashing down. Israeli law enforcement has arrested Yarden Bidani and Itay Huri as part of an FBI investigation into their alleged control of vDOS, one of the most popular paid attack platforms. According to information unearthed by security guru Brian Krebs from a third-party hack targeting vDOS, the two teens raked in at least $618,000 launching "a majority" of the distributed denial of service campaigns you've seen in recent years. The platform itself is also offline, although that's due to one of vDOS' victims (BackConnect Security) using a bogus internet address claim to stem the flood of traffic hitting its servers.

Bidani and Huri weren't exactly careful about covering their tracks, Krebs says. The pair hosted vDOS on a server connected to Huri, and its email and SMS notifications pointed to the two. They even wrote a technical paper on DDoS attacks, while Bidani's old Facebook page references the AppleJ4ck pseudonym he used to conduct vDOS business. And if that weren't enough, vDOS refused to target any Israeli site since it was the owner's "home country."

Both suspects are out on bail, although they won't have much freedom. Officials have placed them under house arrest for 10 days, confiscated their passports and barred them from using any telecom devices for 30 days. It's unclear if they face extradition to the US.

The bust isn't going to stop paid denial of service attacks. As Bidani and Huri demonstrated, it doesn't take much more than a botnet and some basic business savvy to get started. However, it may put a temporary dent in the volume of those attacks -- and it'll certainly spook vDOS competitors who've been careless about hiding their activities.

Source: The Marker (translated), Krebs on Security (1), (2)

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Friday, September 09, 2016

Google Maps adds Lyft and Gett to its ride hailing options

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/08/google-maps-lyft-gett-options/

Users searching for directions from Point A to Point B in Google Maps just got a few more options for getting there. According to the official Google Maps blog, both the iOS and Android versions now include estimated fares and wait times for ridesharing services Lyft and Gett when searching in cities in the United States.

Google Maps actually rolled out the feature for Uber way back in 2014 and other competing ridesharing services were added outside the US earlier this year, alongside Gett in New York City. With today's addition of Lyft, Google Maps now offers options from nine different ridesharing services in 60 different countries. (Of course, which options are available to you will depend on which city and country you're in.)

The ride hailing feature works exactly as you might expect: a "ride services" tab with a taxi icon now shows up alongside the driving, transit and walking directions. Switching to the tab brings up a list of available ridesharing services and the various ride types, such as Lyft Line or UberX, offered by each. Lyft estimates should start showing up for users wherever Lyft is available, but Gett is still limited to New York City for now.

Source: Google Maps

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Sunday, September 04, 2016

Acer's latest convertible Chromebook is bigger and beefier

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/03/acer-chromebook-r13/

In May, Google announced that it would be bringing Android apps to Chrome OS, finally marrying the two operating systems in a way that makes Chromebooks that much more useful (A million-plus more apps!) All of a sudden, convertible Chromebooks sound way more appealing. Acer must've thought so too, because it unveiled the Chromebook R13 just a few days ago at IFA. Just like its R11 predecessor, the R13 has a 360-degree hinge that lets it seamlessly transition from Chromebook to Android-esque tablet in no time flat.

As the name suggests, the R13 has a 13.3-inch display. Acer was keen to point out that this is the first ever convertible Chromebook at this size, which is certainly of note if you're a fan of larger screens. It's a pretty nice display too, with a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution plus it's an LED-lit IPS LCD. Measuring 12.83 by 8.98 by 0.61 inches and weighing in at 3.28 pounds, it won't weigh down your backpack. That said, when it was flipped over into tablet mode, I had a slight problem holding it due to its weight. This is definitely a tablet that you'd rest on your lap rather than grip it one-handed.

Speaking of tablet mode, I thought the display hinge felt pretty solid as I was turning it around. It was sturdy enough so that I could hold the R13 in a variety of positions; standard laptop mode, tent mode, presentation mode and of course as a flat tablet. I thought the touchscreen felt pretty responsive too, though I didn't have the opportunity to run too many apps on the demo unit at the Acer booth. What I especially enjoyed was the keyboard. The keys have a nice shallow clickiness, which I feel results in super fast travel. I felt like I could touch type pretty fast on this if I wanted to.

As for internals, the R13 has a MediaTek M8173C CorePilot quad-core processor, a HD webcam on the front for those webchats, plus a USB Type-C port on the side. It also has USB 3.0, HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0 and the usual microphone and headset jacks. Storage-wise, it'll come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB varieties. Prices start at $399 and it'll be available starting this October. Which is around when the Play Store should arrive on Chromebooks. Great timing, right?

We're live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.

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Thursday, September 01, 2016

Withings launches its first watch with heart rate monitoring

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/01/withings-launches-its-first-watch-with-heart-rate-monitoring/

Much like it was mandatory to wear Loom Bands in 2014, if a fitness wearable can't track your heart rate then it's dead... dead, ya hear? Withings doesn't make fitness wearables so much as timepieces that just happen to track your activity, which justifies its decision to drag its feet on the heart rate sensor issue until now. That's now set to change with the Withings Steel HR, a follow-on to the Activité analog watch that gains an optical HR sensor and a new digital sub-display for smartphone notifications.

It's the digital sub-display that's probably the most striking new addition, a round circle that'll display your step count, heart rate and message notifications. The idea of cramming in a digital screen alongside an analog watch face isn't a new one, although Withings' version is significantly more elegant than Guess' version. Users can determine what's displayed on the screen via the company's iOS and Android companion app. Then, they can cycle through those options by pushing the multifunction button that sits where the crown should be.

Withings has historically been resistant to add too much technology to its timepieces to avoid compromising style and battery life. As such, the Steel HR follows the Activité and is a French-designed watch with a stainless steel case, chrome hands and silicone straps. Integrated into the face, below the main dial, is a sub-dial that, as usual, will creep toward your daily fitness goal as you move about your day. As well as being stylish, that level of restraint had another positive: a battery life that's measured in months, rather than days.

With the Steel HR, the company has managed to get 45 days of use out of its rechargeable cell, although that's a bit of a fudge. The first 25 days will offer you continuous HR for workouts, average HR for your working day and your resting HR at night. After that, the watch will go into power saving mode, giving you 20 further days with just basic step and activity tracking, but nothing more.

The Withings Steel HR will be available from the company's official website from the start of October and in stores by the end of that month. Available in both black or white, the 36mm edition will retail for $179.95/£169.95 while the 40mm version will set you back $199.95/£179.95.

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