Categories
Mashable

How to vote in Fat Bear Week

Welcome to Fat Bear Week 2020! Katmai National Park and Preserve’s brown bears spent the summer gorging on 4,500-calorie salmon, and they’ve transformed into rotund giants, some over 1,000 pounds. The park is holding its annual playoff-like competition for the fattest of the fat bears (you can between Sept. 30 and Oct. 6). Mashable will be following all the ursine activity.    Voting for Fat Bear Week is different this year, and much improved. To vote for the fattest bear of Katmai National Park and Preserve’s Brooks River, vote directly on explore.org’s webpage. Explore.org runs the livestreaming webcams, aka “bear cams,” where bears can be viewed catching and devouring salmon throughout the summer and fall. The contest (which is really more a celebration of the fat bears), is a playoff-like single-elimination tournament. You can vote from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 between the hours of noon to 10 p.m. Eastern Time.  Voting is exceptionally easy: Choose the bear you think is fattest. Click. Below the vote button, you’ll be asked to enter an email address. This is “not for spamming or marketing” but to try and ensure people aren’t voting twice, explore.org explains.  Previously, Katmai National Park and Preserve held voting on its Facebook page, which is frustrating for those who shun or dislike Facebook. (To vote, you needed to click on a photo of a bear, and then “like” it.) Now voting looks like this: Voting for fat bears in 2020. Fat bears are successful, healthy bears. Fat Bear…Continue readingHow to vote in Fat Bear Week

Categories
The Verge

Amazon’s palm reading starts at the grocery store, but it could be so much bigger

Earlier this week, Amazon unveiled Amazon One: new technology for its Amazon Go stores that lets shoppers pay for their groceries by scanning the palm of their hand. By analyzing the shape of your hand and the unique configuration of veins under your skin, Amazon says its technology can verify your identity the same way facial recognition does. Although Amazon One will initially be used for payments only, it’s clear the tech giant has much bigger ambitions for this hardware. In the future, it says, Amazon One could not only be used for shopping but as a replacement for tickets at music and sporting events, and as an alternative to your office keycard, letting you scan in with a swipe of your hand. In other words, Amazon One isn’t a payment technology. It’s an identity technology, and one that could give Amazon more reach into your life than ever before. Understandably, some experts are skeptical about Amazon’s claims of convenience, and worry about a company with a spotty track record on privacy becoming the controller of a new identity standard. Whether it’s Amazon’s use of biased facial recognition algorithms or its ambitions to grow a network of home surveillance cameras, this is an organization that has proved many times that individual privacy is not always its biggest concern. Is it a good idea if Amazon knows exactly who you are from the palm of your hand? Let’s start by looking at the technology itself, which is blessedly straightforward. Palm scanning…Continue readingAmazon’s palm reading starts at the grocery store, but it could be so much bigger

Categories
Tech Radar

x64 emulation is coming to Windows on ARM

ARM-based devices running Windows will soon have access to even more apps as Microsoft has finally revealed that it has been working on x64 emulation for Windows on ARM. As reported by Neowin, ARM64 PCs can currently run 32-bit native ARM apps, 64-bit native ARM apps and 32-bit emulated Intel (x86) apps. Soon though, users with ARM-based devices will be able to run 64-bit emulated apps. This is a huge deal as many software makers such as Adobe have moved entirely to 64-bit x86 apps and have stopped supporting their 32-bit variants all together.  While emulated apps will likely perform worse than their native counterparts, Microsoft is ensuring that Windows on ARM will continue to be adopted by businesses and consumers by providing them with access to an even greater pool of apps. x64 emulation In a recent blog post, chief product officer at Microsoft, Panos Panay revealed that x64 emulation is coming to Windows 10 on ARM soon, saying: “We are excited about the momentum we are seeing from app partners embracing Windows 10 on ARM, taking advantage of the power and performance benefits of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. We will also expand support for running x64 apps, with x64 emulation starting to roll out to the Windows Insider Program in November.”  Windows Insiders will get to test out how x64 emulation works on Windows 10 on ARM first but the feature will likely be generally available sometime next year. Panay also said that Microsoft is working to make Edge…Continue readingx64 emulation is coming to Windows on ARM

Categories
VentureBeat

Scener raises $2.1 million for virtual theater parties that ease social isolation

Scener has raised $2.1 million for its co-watching virtual theater platform, which lets people watch movies together remotely. The Seattle company has experienced massive growth since the onset of the pandemic, with almost half a million active Chrome installs and over 13.5 million viewer minutes per week. During the COVID-19 crisis, Scener has rolled out support for bigger co-watching parties, which will allow viewers to watch synchronously with a live host, or a live group, over video chat. A webcam is required for video chat, and headphones are recommended. You can also engage in video, audio, and text chat. Scener said the money would help it scale from a co-watching tool to a global community platform. It will enable creators to curate, host, and share watch parties for up to a million audience participants. As an example, a comedian could give a continuous monologue as everyone in the audience watches in real time. “We’ve been seeing an uptake around the world,” Joe Braidwood, chief operating officer at Scener, said in an interview with VentureBeat. Seattle-based SeaChange led the funding round, with participation from Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser’s Glaser Investments, Jason Calacanis’ The Syndicate and Launch, the comedy commentary company RiffTrax, and angel investors such as RiffTrax CEO David Martin and technology executive Sriram Krishnan. Above: You can video chat with your friends while watching movies on Scener. Image Credit: Scener Scener will use the funding to accelerate product development for its social platform and further develop its events and community…Continue readingScener raises $2.1 million for virtual theater parties that ease social isolation

Categories
Wired

'Genshin Impact' Is Too Good To Be a ‘Zelda Clone’

While it draws easy comparisons to Breath of the Wild, the new free-to-play fantasy RPG stands on its own. Source linkContinue reading'Genshin Impact' Is Too Good To Be a ‘Zelda Clone’

Categories
Tech Radar

Samsung Galaxy M11 is coming to the UK with a massive battery and a tiny price

Samsung only recently launched the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, but it’s already back with a new phone – or at least one that’s new to the UK, as it’s announced that the Samsung Galaxy M11 will be launching here sometime in “early October”. The Galaxy M11 has been available in India for a while, but this wider launch may have been worth waiting for, as the phone includes a big 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging, yet costs just £149 (around $190 / AU$265). Such a big battery isn’t unheard of in cheap phones – the Moto G8 Power Lite has a juice pack of the same size, along with a nearly identical price tag. But these aren’t the only selling points of the Galaxy M11. Lots of cameras but lacking power The phone also has a triple-lens camera, including a 13MP f/1.8 main snapper, a 5MP f/2.2 ultra-wide one, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor, plus an 8MP camera on the front. There’s also a 6.4-inch 720 x 1560 screen, Dolby Atmos audio, a fingerprint scanner on the back, facial recognition, 3GB of RAM, and a low-end Snapdragon 450 chipset. Storage comes in at just 32GB, but there’s a microSD card slot enabling you to expand on that. And while the Galaxy M11 is plastic (as you’d expect at this price), it has a reasonably modern design, with a punch-hole camera and hardly any bezel at the top. It’s not yet clear when or whether the Samsung Galaxy M11…Continue readingSamsung Galaxy M11 is coming to the UK with a massive battery and a tiny price

Categories
Engadget

Google will pay publishers to curate a reliable news feed

But Google is currently involved in legal fights in Australia and France over whether it should pay for news. This $1 billion fund might be an attempt to contribute to the news industry and potentially skirt new laws that would otherwise force the company to do so. It might also prevent legal battles in other countries. Google News Showcase is launching in Germany and Brazil today. Google has already signed partnerships with nearly 200 publications in Argentina, Australia, Canada and the UK, so we can expect to see the service in those countries sooner rather than later. Google News Showcase will appear on Android first, but Google says it will launch on iOS eventually. It will also make its way to Google Discover and Search. Google Source linkContinue readingGoogle will pay publishers to curate a reliable news feed

Categories
The Next Web

There’s a six-figure career in software development in your future. This training can be your gateway

TLDR: The Super Software Engineer Bundle offers the key background you need to understand and get started as a software developer. It’s never easy to start something completely new. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of Americans into the uncomfortable realization that their current or regrettably former occupations just don’t provide the future or security they want anymore. People need to work in stable, growing industries with strong wages that set workers up for a sound future. Last year, there were 26.4 million software developers in the world, with 4.2 million in the U.S. That global number is expected to reach just under 29 million by 2024. Meanwhile, American software developers are averaging six-figure salaries in this bursting digital age. If you’re looking for the training to help you step out on that professional ledge into a brighter tomorrow, the training in The Super Software Engineer Bundle ($39, over 90 percent off from TNW Deals) can help you reach that goal. With seven courses covering more than 40 hours of content, learners can explore foundational areas for anyone looking to start a new career building and developing apps, managing networked systems, creating games and more.  As a major component of app development, the Java Certification Training is a solid start to an engineering feature, learning the most commonly used programming language in software creation. With smart system usage and connectivity advances happening year after year, you can get a firm grasp on how that works with the Introduction to…Continue readingThere’s a six-figure career in software development in your future. This training can be your gateway

Categories
TechCrunch

Macrometa, an edge computing service for app developers, lands $7M seed round led by DNX – TechCrunch

As people continue to work and study from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in edge computing has increased. Macrometa, a Palo Alto-based that provides edge computing infrastructure for app developers, announced today it has closed a $7 million seed round. The funding was led by DNX Ventures, an investment fund that focuses on early-stage B2B startups. Other participants included returning investors Benhamou Global Ventures, Partech Partners, Fusion Fund, Sway Ventures, Velar Capital and Shasta Ventures. While cloud computing relies on servers and data centers owned by providers like Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and Google, edge computing is geographically distributed, with computing done closer to data sources, allowing for faster performance. Founded in 2018 by chief executive Chetan Venkatesh and chief architect Durga Gokina, Macrometa’s globally distributed data service, called Global Data Network, combines a distributed noSQL database and a low-latency stream data processing engine. It allows developers to run their cloud apps and APIs across 175 edge regions around the world. To reduce delays, app requests are sent to the region closest to the user. Macrometa claims that requests can be processed in less than 50 milliseconds globally, making it 50 to 100 times faster than cloud platforms like DyanmoDB, MongoDB or Firebase. One of the ways that Macrometa differentiates from competitors is that it enables developers to work with data stored across a global network of cloud providers, like Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services (for example), instead of a single provider.   As more telecoms roll out…Continue readingMacrometa, an edge computing service for app developers, lands $7M seed round led by DNX – TechCrunch

Categories
Mashable

Microsoft’s new Surface Pro X has a creepy eye contact feature for video chats

With the pandemic forcing a lot of us to work from home for the foreseeable future, it’s very likely people are upgrading their devices to something more suitable. And, it’s safe to say Microsoft is aware.  In response to these trying times, the company unveiled its next-generation Surface Pro X with some new improvements. Not only does it come with an all-new chipset, longer battery life, and support for more apps, but it also has a new feature built specifically for video chat called “eye contact.” Yes, it’s as creepy as it sounds.  The Surface Pro X starts at $1,499.99, which is higher than the $999.99 starting price for its predecessor.  Now, let’s talk about what’s improved with this new 2-in-1 as compared to last year’s model — it might help to justify that increase in price. To power the device, Microsoft has introduced its second-generation SQ2 chipset which is suitable for more intense multitasking. But if you don’t need such a beefy processor, you can opt for last year’s SQ1 instead. Either way, both versions come with LTE connectivity and up to 15 hours of battery life (an increase from 13 hours on its predecessor). Even though Microsoft has introduced a new SQ2 chip, you can still opt for the older version. Since the device runs Windows 10 on an ARM processor, Microsoft confirmed it’s rolling out expanded support for its 64-bit applications. But it’s important to note that unless the app has already been ported to ARM64, you…Continue readingMicrosoft’s new Surface Pro X has a creepy eye contact feature for video chats