This year’s CES extravaganza starred 3,900 exhibitors, thousands of gizmos, and the largest floor (2.7 million square feet) on the show’s record. Visitors were overwhelmed by the sheer number of new gizmos. Fortunately, Tech Crunch made a quick selection.

Some of the tech magazine’s favorites include robot dogs, smart displays, ping pong bots, and an Internet-connected smart toilet.

Let’s start with the robot dog. Sony has unveiled a revamped version of its failed robot dog Aibo. The new version sports puppy eyes, puppy moves, and puppy love (sort of) but it comes at a hefty price – $1,600. The high tech toy may appeal to the Japanese audience, but the U.S. was largely unimpressed. Sony’s dog however was able to somehow revive a lackluster electronics show this year.

Smart Displays, Ping Pong Robots and Smart Toilets

This year’s CES was a good opportunity for Google especially after its decision to switch focus from the love-and-hate relationship with the ECO Show to third party alternatives. The top option that caught Google’s attention was Lenovo’s Smart Display due to its sturdy design and its maker’s reputation. Google’s assistant failed to cast a shadow over Amazon’s Alexa this year, but it has managed to convince the U.S. market that it is a worthy opponent.

The Ping Pong robot called the Omron Forpheus was another highlight of the show. The robot is a serious ping pong opponent featuring a Led screen on which you can read encouraging messages.

Another interesting CES addition was the smart toilet from Kohler Numi. It is equipped with sensors that can tell when you are cold and launches a foot warmer. Also, wave goodbye to the cold toilet seat as the smart toilet has taken care of that for you. The smart toilet comes also with music, different ambient lighting, and a bidet.
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Microsoft has announced that it is ending free upgrades to Windows 10 for Windows 8.1 users on January 16. So, if your system is still running on Windows 8.1 you better make up your mind by midnight.

Microsoft described the free upgrades as an “assistive technology loophole” which will be closed today. The tech giant has no longer offered free upgrades to its latest operating system since July 2016. Yet, for those users who were tapping accessibility tools, the deadline was extended to December 2017.

In December, Microsoft extended the deadline even more, until January 16. If you want a free Windows upgrade (last chance) you need to access the company’s official accessibility website and look for the Upgrade Now section.

To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade to Windows 10?

If you are not sure about the upgrade as Windows 8.1 works fine, you should take into account the fact that Microsoft has cut support for the OS on January 9. This means that you will no longer have access to bug fixes and other goodies. The good news is that Windows 8.1 will benefit from an extended security support until 2023. So, don’t worry about security updates for five more years.

Some users have voiced hope that the free upgrades to Windows 10 could be extended as well. After all, the company did extend the deadline for assistive technology loophole’s demise twice. Yet, since there’s no official word from the company that remains pure speculation.

So, if you have been undecided about the upgrade you better make up your mind now. It is worth noting that the Windows 10 Home retails for $119.99 and the Windows 10 Pro sells for $199.99 on the company’s website. But if you want it for free just remember the deadline is today, January 16.
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Microsoft has admitted that some of its security patches to fix the Intel security flaws Spectre and Meltdown may be slowing down systems. For instance, users have reported that the machines built on Advanced Micro Devices chips either stopped working or became slower after one such update.

As a result, Microsoft put on hold some of the updates on Tuesday.

Users have no easy way of finding out if a program’s or device’s performance is affected by a security patch. Experts say that there is a slim chance that the security fixes may be affecting performance.

Home users may experience slow-downs because of other issues. One cybersecurity expert noted that users usually enjoy placing the blame on the security updates for any slowdowns.

Older Windows Versions the Most Affected

Microsoft warned that older computers and software will be more likely to be slowed down by the new updates. On Tuesday, it said that computer systems from 2005 or older with an Intel CPU chip and running Windows 7 or 8 may indeed experience a decrease in system performance.

However, the biggest problem some users will face is that the tech giant no longer offers support for older versions of its operating system like Windows XP and Vista. Those users will not see any patches at all.

This problem could lead to other problems as a large number of companies still use the older versions of Windows on at least some of their computer systems. According to Spiceworks, 42 percent of companies still use Windows Xp and 7% use Vista.

Spiceworks experts explained that businesses are fully aware of the risks but they either have no alternatives or no money for a software upgrade on their machines. For instance, there are older computer or printers whose controller software needs a specific type of operating system.
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The top Google searches for this year included Hurricane Irma (the top spot), Unicorn Frappuccinos, and Cardi B, according to the web search giant’s annual list.

Besides Irma, the most popular search queries were Tom Petty, Matt Lauer, the Las Vegas massacre, and the Super Bowl.

In order to create the list, Google workers sifted through data on trillions of searches, weeded out queries from spambots and repeats, and focused on the most popular searches of this year. Some queries were placed under different categories, like the most popular, memes, news, and recipes.

While Lauer occupied one of the top spots in global searches, President Donald Trump was not so popular. The President was ‘trending’ in 2016. However, America’s appetite for politics hasn’t faded. Some of the top searches for politics, were Antifa, Paris Climate deal, DACA, and net neutrality. People were also interested in ‘Germany’ and ‘the U.K.’.

When it comes to money, Google users wanted to understand more about bitcoin, bitcoin prices, the Equifax breach, and ways to freeze one’s credit.

Google’s Top Searches Included Some Surprises

Multiple categories included the American solar eclipse, while Unicorn Frappuccino’s calorie intake, and slime making were also trending.

The most looked-for actor was Meghan Markle, a U.S.-born actress that is about to get married to Prince Harry. Markle, is also in the second spot as the most searched person this year.

The most popular hit was ‘Despacito,’ which is also the most watched YouTube clip. Many other users googled Cardi B and her song too.

Surprisingly, the iPhone 8 accrued more searches than the iPhone X this year. Apple’s iPhone X was the top search for consumer tech instead, ahead of Samsung Galaxy 8 and Nintendo Switch.

The most popular movie among Google users was Stephen King’s ‘It,’ while Netflix’s ’13 Reasons Why’ was the most looked up TV show.
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Google announced that it has just barred Amazon Echo Show’s and Amazon Fire TV’s users from accessing YouTube on the said devices. The decision comes just weeks after the e-commerce giant refused to sell the Google products that rival some of its products.

The products that started the feud are Google’s Chromecast, which can replace Amazon’s Fire TV, and Google Home, which rivals Amazon’s own internet-connected speaker Echo.

Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and Fire TV,

a Google spokesperson said Tuesday.

Amazon couldn’t be reached for comment.

Dispute over Amazon Devices Can Have Far-Reaching Consequences

The dispute can only highlight the increasing power of tech giants like Amazon and Google. Amazon can have a tremendous influence on what people buy online, while Google’s web search engine can influence what people see or do on the Internet.

Google is now hoping to convince Amazon to sell the said products if it wants access to the world’s largest video-sharing website. If the two companies fail to reach a deal, Fire TV will no longer be able to access YouTube starting January 1.

Google had hoped to pull YouTube from the Echo Show this week, even though Amazon has repeatedly bypassed Google’s attempts via unauthorized versions of the video streaming website.

It is the first time a dispute over some gadgets becomes so intense. But since both tech giants want to push their digital services and products into people’s internet-connected homes, it should not come as a surprise.

Amazon and Google have been fighting over various issues for years as the competition has become fierce in the tech world. In 2015, Amazon banned Chromecast from its e-commerce platform despite being a top-seller at the time. Amazon also created a Kindle-friendly alternative to Google’s Android mobile software without asking for Google’s permission.
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In October, Epic Games unleashed the ban hammer on thousands of alleged cheaters abusing the inner mechanisms of its popular shooter Fortnite. The developer also sued those whom it considered to be the most prominent culprits that led to the scandal. A 14-year-old is among the accused, and his mother is pushing for the case to be dismissed.

Epic Games sued the teen over copyright infringements since he reportedly modified the game and live streamed the results. The boy’s mother claims that the company has picked his son as a “scapegoat” and she argues that a minor cannot be pursued this way.

In a letter that the desperate mother penned to one of the judges, she tried to defend her son. The “derivative works” that Epic Games claim the boy has built for cheating purposes cannot be proven, the mother argues.

Mom Claims Son Used Existing Fortnite Cheats

She claims that the teen used “existing cheats” from a publicly available source which was not affiliated with the game’s developer. She acknowledged that her son showcased those cheats during a live stream session via YouTube. The mother underlined that many other YouTubers were doing the same thing as the letter was being typed.

She also said that under the shooter’s Terms and Conditions a minor needs parental consent, which he never gave to her son. What’s more, Epic Games claims that the minor has caused a profit loss but the mode of the game her son tweaked is free-to-play.

The woman thinks that because Epic Games sued only some individual players instead of going after the website that provided them with the said cheats is an attempt to make those players scapegoats.

The mother is also angry that the game’s publisher has made her son’s name public, which allowed newspapers and other media outlets to easily get access to his name and release other details. The practice is illegal in Delaware when it involves a minor.

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Quartz experts found that Android smartphones track users’ location even when location service is turned off, there is no SIM card in the smartphone, and there are no apps installed.

An investigation revealed that Android-based smartphones track users’ location and beam the data to Google servers whenever the user connects to the Internet. The practice has been ongoing since at least the start of 2017.

As a result, Google’s parent company Alphabet whose original moto was ‘Don’t be Evil,’ has access to consumer data that is at odds with users’ privacy expectations. After Quartz contacted the company to discuss the data collection, Google confirmed the findings.

Google: Android Phones’ Location Data Was Never Stored

Google acknowledged that smartphones have been collecting cell tower addresses and sending the data to its servers for the past 11 months. The practice reportedly enables the company to better manage messages and push notification on the smartphones.

A spokesperson for Google said the data was never stored and promised to end the practice. Google pledged to put an end to the data collection by the end of the month, or at least not beam back home cell tower data, a service that Android users cannot shut down.

The spokesperson said that the Cell ID data was required to enhance the speed of message delivery, but the data collected was “immediately discarded” and the network sync system was recently instructed to no longer request it.

Quartz experts couldn’t tell how cell tower addresses could have improved an IM service. But it is crystal clear that the practice has broad privacy implications. Experts explained that a single cell tower can only offer an approximate location of a smartphone user, but with three towers in range and a method called triangulation, that user’s location can be easily spotted. This could be common practice in urban areas where cell towers are denser.
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A team of scientists has been developing and working on a new neural network-based tool that will help any phone or device capture DSLR-like photos. WESPE, as it is named, was presented as being a new way of bringing a DSLR-like quality to any picture, and one that can also be carried around in the pocket.

The Powers of This Neural Network are Generally Available, But Still Being Tested

The team of scientists behind this latest invention is part of the Computer Vision Laboratory, ETH Zurich. They have been working on the Weakly Supervised Photo Enhancer or WESPE, a tool which should automatically adjust a photo with the purpose of increasing its quality.

To achieve this, the team created a neural network which they trained by presenting it with two photos of the same scene. While one of them was taken with a regular phone camera, the other was captured with a DSLR.

By being presented with the two examples, the AI should start learning and become capable of differentiating between them. In doing so, it would also automatically adjust the lower quality photos to give them a DSLR-like quality.

By repeating this action, the neural network then started being able to do so not only to photos it had already seen but to new images as well.

Images posted on the WESPE’s website show the significant differences between the original and altered photos. Nonetheless, they also serve to remind the user that this tool is still a work in progress.

While the changes are significant, and perhaps for the better, the photos lack a DSLR’s more natural look, and in some cases, are somewhat artificial looking. They look this way because of their oversaturated colors, have edges, or a too big contrast, for example.

However, this neural network tool is still impressive and might come to be commonly used and useful in smartphones. Those interested in trying out this assistive photo technology can already do so by accessing the online demo tool made available by the study team.

Image Source: Pexels

Even though Apple said that just a “small number” of iPhone 8 handsets are affected by an issue with their earpiece, the company promised to come up with a patch as soon as possible.

Dozens of users have reported hearing a crackling sound in their earpiece when talking on the phone. Apple said they’re aware of the problem “which is affecting customers in a small number of cases,” and it is working on a software fix which will be rolled out with the next software update.

Apple technicians couldn’t tell what causes the disruptive sound. Both iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus seem to be affected regardless of the carrier or geolocation. What’s more, the disruption doesn’t happen during every phone call, and it was never reported when the earpiece was turned into a loudspeaker.

Experts believe the problem may be related to software, not hardware since the handsets themselves are not consistently affected by the problem.

An Annoying Sound

iPhone users said that the sound is similar to sharp pops which don’t prevent them from hearing the conversation but they are kind of strange and annoying.

Apple didn’t offer a date for the fix, but it usually issues several updates in the weeks following the release of a new iPhone and iOS.

It is the second time, the iPhone maker promises a fix for a software issue affecting a newly released product. Earlier this month, a bug in the Apple Watch Series 3 caused the gadget to connect to risky Wi-Fi networks by itself, which led to some serious problems for its users. While the latest bug affecting the iPhone 8 may not be that risky, it is still considered an annoyance by most of its early users.

You can hear a sample of the ‘crackling’ sound here:

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The original Polaroid company stopped producing the instant film cameras that made it famous some ten years ago. One year later, it also ended its instant film production. The Impossible Project, now renamed the Polaroid Originals, took its place as it started offering instant film for vintage cameras that needed it.

Then, in 2016, it also released a new device called the I-1. Now, Polaroid Originals is launching a new camera that acts and looks like the originals, but still comes with some new features. This fresh take on a Polaroid camera was named OneStep 2.

OneStep 2 borrows much of the design of the original Polaroid instant film camera. It has a cream-colored casing, the distinctive rainbow strip down its front as well as the big, red shutter button.

However, it also resembles its more modern predecessor, the I-1, in that it has a more open viewfinder. Also, it comes with two rows of light on its top, which serve to indicate how many shots are left before the film finishes.

Though analog, the OneStep 2 is presented as having a high-quality lens and a powerful flash. It will also come with a rechargeable battery that should be long lasting even at just a single charging.

The company described it as being “an analog instant camera for the modern era, blending classic design with contemporary style. It’s inspired by Polaroid’s original OneStep, but updated to create a simple, easy-to-use instant camera that works straight out of the box.”

New Camera, New Film for the OneStep 2

Polaroid Originals has created a new type of instant film, one which only works with the OneStep 2 and that cannot be used with vintage Polaroids.

This new kind of film was named the i-Type and will come in packages capable of eight shots. It will also be cheaper than vintage film as the price for a cartridge has been set at $16. This film will come in black and white and colored varieties.

Old film cartridges are more expensive because they come with a small battery embedded in them. This is because vintage film cameras lacked an internal power source. Polaroid Originals nonetheless announced that it would continue producing film for models such as the Spectra, SX-70, 600, and 8×10 lines as well.

The OneStep 2 is now available for pre-order for all those interested. It will come in white and graphite and will be priced $99.99. Its estimated release date is October 16.

Image Source: Wikimedia