Author: azeeadmin

Lenovo is announcing a ton of stuff this week at CES. Because, well, that’s what Lenovo does. Along with new gaming laptops and a ton of accesories, the company also refreshed its flagship notebook lines, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga.

Both models are thinner and lighter than their already thin and light predecessors — making them a pretty strong contender for the top premium Windows notebooks out there. And, as ever, they’re priced to match, starting at $1,710 and $1,930, respectively.

The X1 Carbon now weighs 2.5 pounds, with a 15 mm thin design and a woven carbon finish. There’s an 8th gen Intel Core processor inside, coupled with 8 or 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage.

The Carbon’s display is 14 inches with optional touch, and the speakers are Dolby Atmos-tuned, along with four far field mics built-in for voice. There’s also a healthy number of ports on board, including two USB, two thunderbolt 3s and a headphone jack.

Per the Yoga, the fourth generation of the convertible laptop is now 11 percent thinner than its predecessor, with thinner bezels and an overall smaller footprint. Like the Carbon, it sports 8th gen Intel Core processor, a 14 inch display and Dolby Atmos speakers. The laptop weighs a hair over three pounds and features an improved RGB and IR camera.

Both are shipping in June and, naturally, feature Lenovo’s familiar orange pointing stick.

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CES is, at best, a mixed bag on the food front. It’s certainly true that Las Vegas has a number of world class restaurants, but on most days, you’re either standing in impossibly long lines for terrible convention center fast food or fighting it out for some press center box lunch.

The folks at Impossible Burgers, however, were kind enough to hire Border Grill’s Mary Sue Milliken to help grill up its latest offering at Mandalay Bay in Vegas. The definition of technology is, admittedly, pretty broad at a show like this — so why not launch the latest upgrade to its meat-free burger at the show?

The latest version of the burger contains no meat (naturally), gluten, antibiotics or hormones. It has no cholesterol and about half the fat content of a beef burger, while offering equivalent iron and protein content, according to the company.

As for taste — well, this non-beef eater will believe it when he tries it. Impossible calls it “unprecedented.” I’m honestly not sure what that means in the context of a vegetarian hamburger, but thankfully our video producer Gregory will be on-hand to eat the thing and report back.

The burger will also be available in a number of high profile restaurants across the US starting tomorrow. Here’s the list:

·       Chef David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi (New York City)

·       Chef Traci Des Jardins’ Jardinière and School Night (San Francisco)

·       Chef Brad Farmerie’s Saxon + Parole (New York City)

·       Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger’s Border Grill (California and Nevada)

·       Chef Danny Bowien’s Mission Chinese Food (New York City)

·       Chef Chris Cosentino’s Cockscomb (San Francisco) and Jackrabbit (Portland, Ore.)

·       Chef Tal Ronnen’s Crossroads Kitchen (Los Angeles)

·       Chef Michael Symon’s B Spot burger restaurants (Ohio)

·       Chef Sarah Schafer’s Irving Street Kitchen (Portland, Ore.)

·       Chef Jeremy Kittelson’s Linger (Denver)

·       Chef Tony Priolo’s Maillard Tavern (Chicago)

·       Chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette’s Little Donkey (Boston)

·       Hospitality entrepreneur Kyle Brechtel’s Copper Vine (New Orleans)

·       Chef Jennifer Carroll’s Spice Finch (Philadelphia)

·       Chef Pete Blohme’s Sunset Pointe (Fairhope, Alabama)

And here’s famous restaurant guy David Chang on the new burger, “Using animals to make protein is an ancient technology — it hasn’t changed in 10,000 years. It’s ripe for disruption, Impossible Foods’ new recipe represents a quantum leap forward for food tech. This new recipe is a game changer.”

The current version of the Impossible burger is available at 5,000 locations across the U.S.

As Comcast continues to hone its ambitions to be the hub around which our many connected devices and services revolve in your home, and Intel continues to build smaller, faster and more efficient chips, the two are announcing a key deal to give Comcast an edge over the likes of Amazon, Google and the field of other home broadband providers.

Today at CES — alongside new 9th generation chips, a new integrated, a hybrid “3D” chip in a new project called Lakefield, and its Ice Lake 10nm chips —  Intel said it would collaborate with Comcast on devices and services to enable super-fast broadband speeds of 10 Gigabits per second (a new priority for Intel) for its Xfinity broadband service, as well as in-home WiFi 6, aka 802.11ax, the newest, faster WiFi standard that requires less energy to work, and sits as an alternative to 5G for IoT connectivity.

In an interview earlier today, Tony Werner, the president of technology, product and “Xperience” at Comcast Cable, said this latest partnership — the two have worked on technologies and projects before — will see Intel providing Comcast with tech for its xFi advanced gateways to work with 8th generation Intel Core processors for PCs and other devices, which were launched in August last year. (Financial terms of this deal are not being disclosed at this time, the companies said.)

The tech will come by way of Intel’s Puma system on a chip — yes, the same one that saw a lot of controversy because of a bug that let malicious hackers massively slow down the performance of a modem running 5th, 6th and 7th generations of the chip (a firmware update ultimately fixed the flaw).

The first devices that will be able to work with the faster speeds are expected to be rolled out in 2019, while Comcast expects its first 10 Gig and WiFi 6 services will come in 2020 — just in time for the Olympics, which both companies happen to sponsor.

(To be specific, that’s service availability: it’s not clear how long it will take for consumers to want the faster speeds. Comcast rolled out 1 Gigabit Xfinity broadband in 2016 and Werner said the service now extends across 58 million people, but he declined to say how many of those are actually using the service.)

The opportunity that Comcast and Intel are hoping to connect with has to do with how we use the Internet today, and how that is expected to develop in the years ahead.

Many individuals and homes already have multiple connected devices beyond a phone and computer — that includes any number of “smart home” devices that you can control or monitor by way of an app as well as smart watches and more. According to estimates from Cisco, that figure is expected to balloon by 2022 to 13.4 connected devices on average per person.

Then there is what we’re doing with those devices: video and streaming are the name of the game today, and as speeds have started to get faster and more reliable, and devices have gotten better, people have come to expect more of these services, such as faster performance, better and more immersive video, and the ability to upload video (of yourself!) as much as to be able to stream down content.

“Look at the rise of gaming and e-sports, where players want to create content and stream with friends as much as play,” said Gregory Bryant, Intel SVP and GM of the Client Computing Group in an interview. “Those are the usage models and applications that need low latency and are becoming more mainstream.” He also pointed out that another big strain on home networks is the fact that multiple people may be doing multiple things simultaneously: it’s no longer about the family crowded around one TV set in the living room. “It’s about personal broadcasting,” he said.

Other content that would become more user-friendly with the faster network speeds includes 4K video, “volumetric” 3D video and other immersive content. 

Comcast has an obvious competitive drive to create faster and more efficient networks — consumers now have multiple choices for how to connect up their homes, not just in terms of who provides the hub, but also who provides the content that runs on the hub, who provides the connectivity to the hub, and even what kind of connectivity you might choose to use, including 5G or something else. But the deal is an important one for Intel, too.

Bryant said that while Intel works with a number of carrier partners to provide tech for their broadband gateways, this work with Comcast is the largest and most extensive example of that. At a time when Intel faces competition on a number of fronts from the likes of AMD, Nvidia and many others, securing a deal with a major carrier with equally major ambitions remains a lucrative way of not just generating revenues but also showing off what you are capable of doing for future customers.

I have an OtterBox case on my phone, mostly because my five month old loves to knock my phone out of my hands.

I also have a PopSocket on my phone, again, because my five month old loves to knock my phone out of my hands. It’s also nice to use the PopSocket as a little kickstand while I travel.

So when TC colleague Brian Heater sent this to me and said “this is made for you”, he… was very much right. Just announced at CES, it’s an OtterBox with a built-in PopSocket.

Called the “Otter + Pop” (because, come on, how could they not call it that) it’s designed to bring the perks of a PopSocket without the hump. When in use, it pops out just as you’d expect; when not, it folds into itself and goes almost completely flush with the case.

Don’t like the default look? It uses the same swappable face system as other PopSockets — “PopTops”, as they call them — so you can drop a new one on with just a quick twist. It’s only available for iPhones (7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, Xs) at the moment — no Android love, at least not yet.

The only downside I can think of: you can’t pick where the PopSocket goes. One of the nice aspects of the PopSocket is being able to pull it off/put it on over and over again, precisely adjusting where it sits until you’ve found a solid balance of comfort/thumb reach. Im sure they’ve got a good idea of where most people put’em on each phone — but if you like yours in a super particular spot, you’ll want to stick with the two-part solution.

The companies say the new case are going on sale immediately this spring, starting at $50 a… pop.

(Update: while the companies originally noted that they’d go on sale today, these cases won’t actually go on sale until sometime this spring)

My favorite mesh gear, Netgear’s Orbi, has gotten a considerable speed update. The new router, called the RBK50, supports Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax technology which will send gigabit wireless speeds from router to router in your mesh.

WiFi 6 is still new to the industry and there isn’t much support outside of specific hardware like this.

Performance of the industry leading Orbi Mesh Wi-Fi Systems is improved by adding 1024 QAM with a 4×4 Wi-Fi 6 backhaul, increasing the speeds, coverage and capacity of this dedicated wireless link between the Orbi router and satellites.

With an advanced Wi-Fi 6 networking SoC from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Orbi with Wi-Fi 6 will support even higher performance simultaneous Wi-Fi streams, making it possible to deliver gigabit internet to far more devices and enable these gigabit internet homes to take advantage of new Wi-Fi 6 performance, which will be designed into the next generation of mobile and smart home devices.

The new routers will ship in Q3 2019 or later. No pricing is available yet.

Network gear maker D-Link just announced a 5G router that sends high-speed Wi-Fi through your house without cables. The router, called the DWR-2010, should allow users to get massive speeds over 5G networks without running cable. Don’t expect to pick this up at the local Best Buy, however, as the 5G router will probably ship from wireless service providers.

The DWR-2010 also offers customization options for service providers, making it suitable for deployment on a range of network configurations. The gateway features an embedded 5G NR (New Radio) NSA module and can operate on the sub-6 GHz or mmWave frequencies in 200 MHz (2 x 100 MHz) or 800 MHz (8 x 100 MHz) configurations. Complete with remote management (TR-069) and FOTA, the DWR-2010 provides hassle-free operation and a better customer experience.

D-Link also announced some new Exo mesh routers as well as a cute little mydlink devices including a smart switch and a weird little water sensor that will warn you when your water heater explodes. The Indoor Wi-Fi Smart Plug (DSP-W118) and Outdoor Wi-Fi Smart Plug (DSP-W320) will control your lights and appliances both indoors and out.

Expect these cool tools to hit stores in Q2 2019.

After a recent update some AT&T phones now have a 5G E icon. This icon replaces the one indicated the phone is running on a 4G network. But here’s the thing: The phone is still on a 4G network. AT&T has played these games before, too.

This nonsense is a marketing ploy by AT&T. The so-called 5G E (5G Evolution) network is just a beefed-up 4G network and not true 5G, which is still far from being ready for general consumption. AT&T used the same deceptive tactics before launching its LTE network.

Right now only select phones in a few markets will see the change. The wireless carrier intends to roll out this madness to even more phones and even more markets throughout the year.

Disclosure: TechCrunch is a Verizon Media company.

A long-running class-action lawsuit filed after consumer electronics giant Vizio was caught spying on customer viewing habits can be settled, subject to a final approval, a court has ruled.

The group of Vizio customers alleged in its 2016-filed complaint that the company was covertly collecting viewing data from customers’ internet-connected smart TVs.

U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton said in a ruling on Friday that the settlement is preliminarily approved, subject to any final complaints or objections from Vizio. That will secure a settlement of $17 million for an estimated 16 million Vizio customers affected by the television tracking.

That should amount to a little over a dollar per affected customer, but will be drastically less after attorneys fees and expenses.

Vizio will also be compelled to make “certain business practice changes,” including displaying on-screen prompts and give the customer the ability to opt-out of data collection. Any historical viewing data collected to date must also be deleted, the proposed order says.

A spokesperson for Vizio did not immediately respond to a request for comment

The proposed settlement comes almost two years after the Federal Trade Commission took a shot at the company, fining the company a total of $2.2 million for its covert tracking.

According to the FTC, the company’s covert customer data collection was vast. Vizio collected a portion of the television display “on a second-by-second basis” to see if “matched to a database of TV, movie, and commercial content,” allowing the company to know exactly what consumers were watching at any given time.

Vizio captured “as many as 100 billion data points each day from millions of TVs,” according to the FTC’s initial complaint.

The company said that this was part of its “smart interactivity,” part of which was to suggest television and movie content based on what a customer has already watched.

But the FTC said that Vizio “turned that mountain of data into cash by selling consumers’ viewing histories to advertisers and others.” Not only that, this data was provided to data aggregators to build up profiles on unwitting consumers who were further targeted by trackers and advertisers.

And it did this without the user’s consent or knowledge. The FTC forced the company to stop tracking what its customers watch. Yet, as part of the FTC’s settlement, Vizio neither admitted nor denied the allegations.

A final decision on the class action suit will be held before the next hearing on May 31.

Okay, this is a fun surprise. In addition to all of the standard TV and appliance talk, Samsung used its CES press conference today to announce a number of different robots — an entirely new field for the consumer electronics company. The company offered a sneak preview of the Samsung Bot Care on stage at the event.

The rolling home robot is a health care assistant designed for elderly users and other people in need of home assistants. The robot can offer health briefings, give out medication and check a user’s vitals.

There’s also the Samsung Bot Air, which is an in-home air quality monitor and the Samsung Bot Retail, which brings that technology into a brick and mortar setting. In addition to all of these, we got the briefest sneak preview of Samsung Gems, a mobility assisting exoskeleton that appears to be targeted athletes.

Samsung really blew through all of that as a kind of “one more thing” at the end of an event in which it spent a majority talking about Bixby on washing machines and the like. Between that and the general lack of information around availability, I suspect we won’t be seeing any of these products in stores any time soon. Hardware is hard and robots are harder. 

Still, a fun little glimpse at what might be around the corner from the company.

The UK government has announced new powers for police to tackle illegal use of drone technology, including powers to land, seize and search drones.

This follows the recent Gatwick drone fiasco when, just before Christmas, a spate of drone sightings near the airport caused a temporary shutdown of the runway, and disruptive misery for thousands of people at one of the busiest travel times of the year.

“The police will have the power to search premises and seize drones — including electronic data stored within the device — where a serious offence has been committed and a warrant is secured,” the government writes in a press release today, trailing its plans for a forthcoming drone bill.

Police powers to ground drones had already been announced as incoming in late 2017. But the Gatwick chaos and some trenchant criticism about government complacency about the risks posed by misuse of the technology appears to have concentrated ministerial minds on finding a few extra deterrents for police.

Such as the power to demand drone owners produce proper documentation for their craft, tied to an incoming national registration scheme which will apply to all drones weighing 250 grams or more.

“The vast majority of drone users fly safely and responsibly, and adhere to the rules and regulations that are in place. However, if a drone is used illegally we must ensure that the police have the powers to enforce the law, and that the most up to date technology is available to detect, track and potentially disrupt the drone,” the government writes today in its official response to a public consultation on drone safety regulation, adding that: “The recent disruption to Gatwick airport operations, affecting tens of thousands of passengers in the run up to Christmas, was a stark example of why continued action is required to make sure drones are used safely and securely in the UK.”

Under the new plan, police forces may in future only need “reasonable suspicion” that an offence has been committed to request evidence from drone owners.

The government is also planning to give police the ability to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £100 for minor drone offences.

It says the new powers will be set out in detail a (long delayed) draft drone bill now due this year — having failed to materialize last Spring, as originally promised.

“The new measures proposed in the consultation, such as giving the police the power to request evidence from drone users where there is reasonable suspicion of an offence being committed, were met with strong support from respondents,” the government also writes.

In another post-Gatwick development, it is planning to beef up stop-gap flight restriction rules by expanding the current 1km flight exclusion zone around airports to circa 5km.

The 1km zone had been widely criticized as inadequate.

All drone operators will be required to ask permission from an airport’s Air Traffic Control to fly within the larger exclusion zone, per the document.

The government says it does not believe the ~5km exclusion zone will prevent what it dubs a “deliberate incident” in itself. But suggests it will “help protect all arriving and departing aircraft using our aerodromes and avoid potential conflict with legitimate drone activity”.

Its response document also confirms the date for the previously announced drone registration scheme — saying this will come into force in November.

The government revealed the plan for a drone registration scheme in late 2017, when it said that owners of drones weighing more than 250 grams would in future be required to register their devices. But at the time of the Gatwick incident the scheme had not yet come into force.

Registration will apply from November 30, 2019, the government says now.

In a further announcement today, it say the Home Office will begin testing and assessing the “safe use” of a range of counter-drone technology in the UK.

“This crucial technology will detect drones from flying around sensitive sites, including airports and prisons, and develop a range of options to respond to drones, helping to prevent a repeat of incidents such as that recently experienced at Gatwick,” it writes.

Military grade counter-drone tech enabled Gatwick to reopen its runway despite continued drone sightings, according to the BBC, which reported last week that the airport had spent £5M to prevent future attacks (Gatwick did not disclose the exact system it had bought).

Commenting on the new policy measures, UK aviation minister, Liz Sugg, said in a statement: “Drones have the potential to bring significant benefits and opportunities, but with the speed of technological advancement comes risk, and safety and security must be our top priorities.

“That’s why we are giving the police powers to deal with those using drones irresponsibly. Along with additional safety measures these will help ensure the potential of this technology is harnessed in a responsible and safe way.”