Those 4-inch iPhone 6C rumours are refusing to go away
With the launch of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple moved away from the 4-inch handset screen size - though it does still sell the smaller iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C through its website.
One of the big questions surrounding Apple's 2015 iPhone line-up is whether the Cupertino company will introduce a new phone at the 4-inch size, offering a cheaper (and smaller) alternative to the main flagships.
The answer is yes, according to the most recent reports out of China. Apparently supplier AU Optronics has secured a deal to mass produce 4-inch screens, though inside sources say it's for a 2016 model rather than one that will appear this year.
At sixes and sevens
To muddy the waters further, the report in the Economic Daily News refers to an iPhone 7 and an iPhone 7C. If there is a 4-inch iPhone in the works we'd expect it to be called the iPhone 6C.Back in January, we were told not to expect a 4-inch iPhone this year thanks to the runaway success of the larger handsets. Then in April it sounded like the smaller phone was back on the table - and again AU Optronics was mentioned in dispatches.
Unless Tim Cook is going to give us a sneak preview - and don't hold your breath - we'll have to wait until the official reveal to see how big or small the 2015 iPhones are. With the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C nearly two years old now, it seems likely that Apple will either bring out a new 4-incher or ditch the size completely.
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This teaser shot means the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active is almost here
Only a few days ago, Samsung leaked pretty much everything we wanted to know about the Galaxy S6 Active, so all we're waiting to hear now is when we can actually get our hands on it.
Thanks to a teaser tweet from AT&T, the US carrier expected to sell the new handset, it looks like that day is now very close. "Only one thing is missing from your workout," reads the tweet. "It's almost time to activate your full power."
That's right: if teaser trailers for Hollywood blockbusters weren't enough, we now have teaser tweets for smartphone launches. Get used to it.
Specs appeal
If you've somehow managed to avoid all the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active leaks up to this point, we're expecting a rugged take on the original Galaxy S6 with improved water, dust and shock resistance.You can look forward to a 5.1-inch, 2560 x 1440 QHD resolution Super AMOLED display, an octa-core Exynos 7420 chipset (with 2.1GHz and 1.5GHz cores) and the same 2,550mAh battery as the S6.
For those of you who love the great outdoors, the S6 Active is set to come with an Activity Zone app that incorporates weather data, a compass and barometric pressure readings. When the phone finally does break cover we'll be sure to let you know.
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Innovators: Great tech innovators: Susan Wojcicki
- Age: 46
- Known for: Google, YouTube
- Quote: "Google is fascinating, and the book isn't finished. I'm creating, living, building, and writing those chapters."
One of the first things Wojcicki worked on was a marketing idea that would hopefully take Google viral. The idea was to create a doodle on the Google homepage. It was so successful that it has endured through all the changes Google has gone through and become synonymous with the brand.
From marketing manager, Wojcicki was promoted to senior vice president of Advertising and Commerce. In this role she helped create tools that are used by the majority of companies on the web. The likes of Google Analytics and AdWords were created, so internet companies could evaluate just how well their websites were doing. This tools were also lucrative to Google, with some reports saying that these tools contribute to 96 per cent of Google's profits.
From this Wojcicki changed the way the world views video content. In 2006, Wojcicki was overseeing Google Video and made the request to buy a video startup called YouTube. The site was bought by Google for $1.65 billion and is still the place for video on the web.
Wojcicki is now CEO of YouTube and firmly established as not just one of the most important people in Google, but the technology world.
- In partnership with Microsoft, powered by the HP Spectre x360
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40 Father's Day gift ideas for your hard-to-please dad
Introduction
Our Father's Day gift ideas are designed to give the tech-loving father in your life something to enjoy on his special day. You should also make sure he gets a nice lie-in and some coffee too.
The big day, in case you didn't realise, is on 21st June this year.
Our gift ideas are intended to celebrate the man who has perfected the art of being both moody and joyful. The man who has perfected the eye rolling - no one rolls their eyes with more gusto than a man asked to empty the recycling bins.
Dads are also great at muttering, and in particular muttering the most colourful words in the English language while engaged in DIY and other domestic chores.
So, with father's day fast approaching we've compiled a list of 40 of the best gift ideas under £50 so you can spoil your dad... but not too much.
1. Chromecast
2. Spider-Man morphsuit
3. T3 Magazine
What could be a better Father's Day gift than a subscription to the UK's best and most famous gadget magazine? Available on mobile, tablet and of course on paper, you can save up to 58% on a subscription at myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
4. The Wire Blu-ray
5. Pac-Man Ghost Lamp
Dads are nostalgic creatures, and even if they aren't old enough to have strong memories of Pac-Man, it's likely that they will have heard of it and will want to get in on the nostalgia. So, get him a Pac-Man Ghost Lamp for £30, he'll be chuffed.
6. Black and Decker power drill
7. Amazon Fire TV Stick
8. 500 flying saucers
9. Laphroaig Quarter Cask Whisky
10. Otterbox Defender iPhone case
11. Juice Weekender 8400mAh battery
12. Seagate 1TB portable hard drive
Grab a Seagate 1TB portable hard drive and your dad can keep a copy of his tax records, important documents and that Katy Perry music video that he thinks you don't know about. A massive 1TB of space means it's also ideal for backing up those baby photos too, the ones that don't need to see the light of day unless people find out about that Katy Perry video.
13. Anker 6-port USB charger
14. Leather messenger bag for laptops
15. Caison laptop laptop sleeve
16. Horse mask
Don't be stupid, of course your dad needs a horse mask. Literally the perfect Father's day gift idea.
17. Cafflano Klassic All-in-one coffee maker
18. Corsair M65 RGB gaming mouse
19. Remington Barba
20. Kingston 128GB USB stick
21. Bosch Tassimo
22. Olloclip 4-in-1 lens for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
23. Ozeri Nouveaux II Electric Wine Opener
In terms of stereotypes, your dad will likely enjoy being drunk and will also be lazy enough to appreciate an Ozeri Nouveaux II Electric Wine Opener. We apologise if your dad doesn't drink and isn't lazy – just move on.
24. Pat Butcher wall clock
The Pat Butcher wall clock will likely annoy the hell out of your dad, which is what makes it a great father's day gift.
25. Soundmagic E10S headphones
26. The West Wing
27. Amazon Kindle
28. Star Wars X Wing kitchen knife block
29. Star Trek Enterprise 1701 model
30. Tefal Toast N' Egg
31. Book rest lamp
32. The Martian audiobook
33. Cards Against Humanity
34. Erin Grey poster
Erin Grey might be the most beautiful woman ever to walk the earth. If your dad has ever seen Buck Rogers In The 25th Century then he's going to take this poster, go to his study and find the best spot to hang it as soon as you hand it over.
35. Philips LivingColors light
36. Super Mario Chess
37. Sony PlayStation Wallet
38. Qwertee gift card
39. Braun Oral-B PRO 2000 Toothbrush
40. Grand Theft Auto 5
41. iTunes Gift Card
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Week in Gaming: Why I don't think The Witcher 3 is sexist
Please stand by. Your weekly gaming column will appear in 3, 2, 1…
HELLO! This is much less exciting than that Fallout 4 reveal, isn't it? Despite being around for quite some time, I don't really trigger the same kind of nostalgia or excitement in people as a well-loved game franchise - unless I have a box of donuts in my hands.
I don't. Sorry.
This week, some people on the internet proposed a theory that I want to respond to - that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is sexist. According to Feminist Frequency, run by Anita Sarkeesian and Jonathan McIntosh and makers of Tropes Vs Women, a series that looks at women in video games and caused an awful (and mostly stupid) ruckus over social media, The Witcher 3: Geralt's Butt is a sexist game, featuring toxic masculinity, sexist language and a generally misogynistic attitude towards women.
Now, I like Feminist Frequency a lot of the time. It's generally a force for good in the fight against internet dickery. But of course, that doesn't stop them being occasionally wrong, as I think they are in this case. Because, in my opinion, The Witcher 3 handles sexism excellently. Like its similar distant cousin, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Witcher 3 treats prejudice as a ridiculous concept, with empowered women that have just as much of a voice as Geralt, as grumpy as the chap is.
Let me use this example to explain.
There's a moment in the game where protagonist Geralt expresses surprise that the widows of sailors are continuing their lives as before, without husbands or brothers taking care of them, Geralt's companion and sometime lover Yennefer exhaustedly states "women don't need men to take care of them, Geralt." DUH, GERALT, says the game. Other women, such as the playable Ciri and the cunning Keira, are smart, badass and just as good (if not better than) Geralt at many things, including fighting.
And yes, you can sleep with a lot of the women - but it's not like it was in the first Witcher game, where women were literally collectible cards. There's a story to each romantic encounter, and you have to actually decide whether it's even a good move. One particular encounter felt, to me, like a good idea - until the final decision, where I realised that having sex with this wonderful lady would be selfish, so I had to say no.
As for toxic masculinity, I agree that Geralt is devoid of many emotions (explained as part of his Witcher mutations, of course) and that's not necessarily a good thing - but the previous Witcher games weren't ideal, and The Witcher 3: Geralt's Sad Face attempts to retcon something that was once the case into something much better.
Geralt speaks with fondness about Ciri, lust towards Yennefer, regret and sadness towards Triss and pity towards the Bloody Baron. He has feelings, buried under all that machismo, and there's nothing wrong or even bad about that.
The Witcher 3: Real-Time Beards is actually an incredibly good example of the positive steps the games industry is taking towards not only better representation of women, but also better in-game treatment. Bioware have been doing it for years, with transgender characters, female badasses and dudes willing to step up against sexism, and The Witcher is now carrying on that tradition. Play the game, decide for yourself.
Elsewhere this week...
For most of you, the big story this week was Fallout 4. Yes indeedy, Fallout 4 has landed harder than an atomic bomb on what used to be your house, and it looks incredible. Never mind the fact that Bethesda still hasn't mastered making people look real rather than mannequins crudely wrapped in ham - Fallout 4 promises to be as rich and enthralling as ever before.Bombs! Vaults! Armour! DOGS! We don't know much at the moment, but we will on the 14th of June at Bethesda's E3 conference.
However, that hasn't stopped fans from coming up with some of their own theories, including a particularly believable one about Vault 111s' experimenting with cryogenic sleep (for those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, many of the vaults doubled as unique, often twisted, human experiments). This is why the man at the end of the Fallout 4 trailer looks so similar to the one we see before the bombs drop. You can read more here.
But in all the Fallout excitement you might have missed the release of Massive Chalice, and if you didn't read that out in an Alan Partridge voice then you have let yourself down. Massive Chalice is a game about eugenics, fighting and strategy. Just like family Christmas dinners, am I right?! Haha.
That's all from the news vault this week, and I'll see you next time which is roughly 3 days before I go to E3 for the first time ever. I'll be back with a sack full of news to dole out like some kind of Video Game Father Christmas. Why am I still talking about Christmas?
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Running Man of Tech: The long run into the final week
It's so nearly over...
I'm approaching my final week of training, and the standard gloom is starting to set in. The feeling of 'I've not trained enough. I'm not good enough. I've let myself down in some way' just won't quit – whether that be through not getting my nutrition right, not dedicating enough time to cycling, or just not practicing my transitions enough.After doing the full Olympic distance in training last Sunday, I realised something though: I'm not going to enjoy this. I know the point isn't to do the whole thing with a smile on your face, rather with a gritted jaw, but the swimming and cycling just feel like a slog with a slightly stiff run tacked on the end.
Compare that to the sprint triathlon I completed the other week as a warm up, and I realised I'd be much happier doing the shorter distance – so the lovely people at Human Race, organisers of the Windsor Triathlon, have let me change my race at the last minute.
There's a part of me that's gutted, as I hate the idea of shirking a challenge, but on the other hand, this may be my final triathlon, and I want to attack it with everything I've got.
(Can you tell I'm trying to hide my disappointment in myself with logic and aggression? No? Good).
My first experience of open water
Part of the reason for the decision to change disciplines was influenced by what happened last Monday. My first attempt at real open water swimming at Denham Lake in the UK (I say proper, as the cumulative 30 mins I spent in the sea on holiday was embarrassing doesn't count) was, well, an eye opener.While the A:1 wetsuit I've been lent by 2XU helped a LOT, there are some things I've had to deal with that I didn't expect.
The thing is tighter around the neck than I'd expected, which means I've got to perform weird contortions when putting it on to grab as much neoprene back towards my throat as possible.
On the plus side, I wasn't ready for the amount of buoyancy a wetsuit can bring you – it's like sitting in an armband. It's frickin' magic, I tell you.
And the A:1 is a nice mix too – at around £200, it's reasonably priced but comes with some decent engineering to make it easier to swim in. The shoulders are really flexible, and while I can't confirm whether the 'water entrapment zones' were more effective than wetsuits without them, I seemed to be sliding nicely through the murky H2O.
One thing I didn't anticipate was how much it would rub on my neck – I looked like I've been attacked by an amorous anteater all over the back of my head and man, it hurt so much.
Which is why I've been so glad of this column – I've been chatting to a few of you on Strava (link at the bottom if you want to get involved) and the mysterious 'Runnr X' asked me how my neck was.
Turns out this is a common problem, and I've got me some Body Glide Anti-Chafe stick winging its way through the post as we speak to alleviate the problem.
I have to admit: I hated my first experience of being in the open water. Not being able to see the bottom was horrendous – but I'm posting this just before I head back to Denham Lake again, and this time I'm going to do it properly.
Spotify Running vs RockMyRun
I've been a little disappointed this week, as I've been feverishly looking forward to the update to Spotify's app that it's been chatting about for the last few weeks.Spotify Running was supposed to be a revolution for runners, with the top streaming app working out your ideal BPM for music based on the phone's accelerometer and then finding songs that would fit in nicely.
Turning the app on and it'll ask you to start jogging to grab your beat – when you've settled into a steady rhythm it'll play songs that match to help drive you on.
You can choose from generic defined playlists (The Chase seems the most exotic), dedicated running playlists created by DJs for this purpose which change tempo depending on your initial speed or 'Recommended For You', which draws inspiration from your playlists.
However while it works OK for a general jog, I've got three major problems with the app in its current guise.
Firstly, nobody should maintain a steady pace right from the off. Everyone needs a warm up and a great way to do that is a slow jog for five minutes or so. Which means you need to stop and start the app after the warm up is complete, which is irritating.
More worryingly, runners will start off instantly trying to hit the beat they're intending to run at for 30 minutes or so - never good.
Secondly, there's no movement of the beat during the run. You can only manually adjust the tempo as you're running, and it won't do it dynamically – which is annoying when the clearly the app is able to do so and it would be amazing if the music speed moved with your pace, which RockMyRun (an alternative music playback app for runners) does so well.
And the third element: it made me listen to Mariah Carey when I cranked the speed up to sprint. There's no excuse for that.
However, Spotify Running appearing is a good thing still, as there's a lot of potential here. I can see that the brand might not have wanted to have an app that moved the song pace up and down too much as it could become erratic, but it's still missed a trick.
But RockMyRun manages it just fine, and uses your heart rate (a much more stable measurement) to alter the tempo between five different speeds. Admittedly it has only its own mixes, but there are loads and loads of them for all different tastes – I'm still barely through exploring them.
What it does is channel that moment where a song comes on that makes you want to run faster and for longer – and then help you do that through actually pushing the beat to your own speed, entwining you with the music.
While Spotify uses your steps per minute to work out a beat – fine if you're going to be stable for the entire run, which few people are – this app goes a bit further by generating adrenaline rather than a metronomic step count to follow.
(Actually, you can use step/beat matching in RockMyRun, but it only seems to have two speeds of song in this mode: ludicrously fast or normal).
There are other apps that are promising a similar thing: Adidas Go will match music to your collection, and PaceDJ also wants to push you through real-time music matching.
The age of movement-enabled motivation is finally coming, and that's awesome.
Kickr-ing it into overdrive
And finally, I finally got a Kickr Power Trainer today from Wahoo, a turbo trainer that replaces your bike's back wheel and connects to apps to let you 'race' multiple tracks around the world, depending on your app.It's a way to go cycling around the world without leaving your garage, which is either awesome or depressing – I'm hoping it's the former.
- If you've got any tips, tech you want tested out or just want to mock me, I'm@superbeav on Twitter, and you can see my stumblings on Strava too.
- Read the rest of the Running Man of Tech story here
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In depth: How graphene could revolutionise the tech industry
Introduction and the flexible future
Like most good ideas, it all started with a pencil. Derived from the graphite that's been used to make the lead in your pencil for over 500 years, graphene has been hailed as the miracle material of the twenty-first century. It's the world's strongest, thinnest and most conductive material, but what is graphene and why is it so important?Theoretically possible since the 1940s, graphene was discovered and produced by Konstantin Novoselow and Andre Geim at the University of Manchester in 2004. Both scientists won the Nobel Prize in 2010 for their pioneering work, and since then the race has been on to make graphene a commercially viable industrial material.
Super-thin, super-strong and super-flexible, the uniquely two-dimensional graphene conducts electricity better than copper and it conducts heat better than any other known material in thermal conductivity. Near-transparent sheets of carbon graphite molecules just one atom in thickness, graphene sheets are described as 'chicken wire made of carbon atoms'.
But what's it for?
Graphene in tech
In an industry that compares smartphones on how many millimetres thin they are, graphene is incredibly attractive. "It's estimated to take a million sheets of graphene to be just a millimetre thick," says Dr Kevin Curran, senior member at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Reader in Computer Science at Ulster University. "Any technology that can shave millimetres from a gadget is extremely valuable."Think flexible phones, super-efficient high-speed computing, and wearable devices with total pliability. "Flexible displays on phones are gimmicky to date, but flexible displays on true wearables have potential to transform the wearable space," says Curran. "Graphene is also transparent so this opens up the market to completely new wearables – and all would benefit from the incredible lightness of the material." Despite its lightness, graphene is reckoned to be 200 times stronger than steel.
However, perhaps the biggest advance graphene could make to portable electronics is battery life. "It has the potential to enable lithium batteries to have more than 10 times the electrical capacity of current batteries," says Curran. That would make smartphones last over a week between recharges, and a Kindle as much as a year.
Graphene's flexible future
It's with wearables and the Internet of Things that graphene could find its sweet-spot. Graphene increases the conductivity of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags by as much as 50 times. Such tags are increasingly used to wirelessly transfer data, largely to track the location of freight, kids and pets. Back in May, scientists at the University of Manchester revealed a graphene antenna capable of delivering more powerful RFID tags and wireless sensors.Made from compressed graphene ink, the antenna is flexible and can be printed onto paper or plastic – instead of a copper or aluminium-based RFID tag being attached to freight, cargo and luggage, it could be stamped on with ink at an airport check-in desk.
Bandgap problem and cost issues
Superfast computing
Graphene could also revolutionise telecoms. "Researchers have already demonstrated incredible speeds over 100 times the current speed of the internet backbone in transmitting information," says Curran. "At present, optical switches, which route information over optical cables, respond at rate of a few picoseconds – around a trillionth of a second. With graphene, this can be improved to one hundred femtoseconds, which is almost 100 times quicker."
Electrons can travel across graphene at almost the speed of light, nearly 250 times faster than they move through silicon – graphene's killer app could be ultrafast transistors. On the lookout for silicon's replacement for years, the world of computing is holding its breath.
However, for graphene to replace silicon, scientists need to solve the problem of the on-off state, which could take years, and may not prove possible.
"Currently graphene transistors are difficult to turn off, and that can be a game-stopper because in digital electronics you need the off-state to block current flow, and to have no dissipation when the transistor is in the off-state," says Curran. This is known as the 'bandgap' problem.
The 'bandgap' problem
"We are targeting two-dimensional materials with a bandgap to create a transformational new flexible transistor device that will enable a wide range of high frequency switching applications," says Mike Banach, Technical Director at Cambridge-based FlexEnable. One of those materials is graphene.FlexEnable has just joined the Graphene Flagship, an EU initiative to support the transition of graphene and other advanced materials from academia to industry. The 140+ members include Nokia, Airbus, Philips, Alcatel Lucent, BASF, Ericsson and BAE, which gives clues as to who's most excited about graphene, and why. Think more efficient electronics, lighter aircraft components and faster telecoms.
So why hasn't graphene been commercialised yet? "Graphene is a material, not a technology," says Banach. "It does take time to develop good technology from new materials, and I believe that the wider commercialisation of graphene will occur as more applications emerge that truly utilise the material's unique properties."
The transition from university labs to the real world all hinges on the development of cost effective industrial processes. That's exactly what FlexEnable is doing – last year it showed off a truly flexible display based on a transparent graphene conductor, which was integrated into its flexible transistor array. Using graphene as the completely transparent conductive layer on plastic, the aim is to create flexible, unbreakable LCD and OLED displays, a market forecast to be worth £25 billion (around $38 billion, or AU$50 billion) by 2020.
The brittle truth
However, there is a major manufacturing problem at the core of the embryonic graphene manufacturing industry. "Graphene frays at the edges in most manufacturing processes, which leads to brittleness," says Curran. "It is also very difficult to manufacture in a pure form over an area, as one of the key beneficial properties come from its symmetrical, honeycomb-like single atomic layer structure."Graphene is also a potentially hazardous substance. "There is also an issue of these ultra-small sharp edges piercing lung or skin cells and perhaps interfering with their function by rupturing cell membranes," says Curran.
Scarce and expensive
If graphene isn't easily manufactured, neither is it easily sourced; there's a lack of high-quality defect-free graphene available. Though there are graphite producers in South Korea, India, Mexico, Ukraine, North Korea, Brazil, Turkey and the Czech Republic, the majority of graphite mining is in China, and threefold price hikes in recent years have earned it a place on the British Geological Survey's most recent 'risk list' of chemical elements or element groups of economic value.The price increase is in response to the increased demand for graphite – the most stable form of carbon – to manufacture golf clubs, tennis rackets, and electrical components and circuitry. "The amount of material to cover the head of a pin can cost anywhere between £1,000 to £3,000, so when we scale this up to the size of small handheld consumer appliances, we are speaking about a premium price," says Curran. "By comparison, electronics-grade silicon is about 800 times cheaper." So semiconductors probably aren't going to swap to graphene anytime soon.
That hasn't stopped 10,000 graphene-related patents proposing that this so-called wonder material be used in everything from electric vehicle batteries and aircraft, through to superfast phone chargers, medical diagnostic devices, sports equipment, and even super-high buildings.
Ice on helicopter blades could be melted in seconds. Graphene could even be used as the base material for solar cells, which could lead to innovations like photovoltaic paint – the walls of a house could literally soak up energy from the sun, and heat the house. There are even suggestions that graphene could soak up radiation, and be used to treat paralysis.
However, the true potential of graphene will always remain theoretical until scientists conquer the problems of both mass production and the band-gap. And either of those could take decades to be resolved.
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Updated: Apple Music: what we know so far about the new streaming service
Apple music streaming service
Update: Mere days before WWDC 2015, a new report indicated the new music service will be called Apple Music.Word from the Financial Times (via AppleInsider) is the new service will, not surprisingly, be based on Beats Music, with users able to pick their favorite genres of music. Like Spotify, Apple Music would also serve up recommendations, according to the report.
Sources said the new service would feature exclusives as well as a radio stations curated and hosted by celebs like Drake.
The $10/month price was reaffirmed, though a three-month free trial is said to be in the offing. The new Apple Music will reportedly focus more heavily on serving up radio in Europe.
Read on for more details on the new music service, which we expect to see announced on Monday.
Following months of reports, Apple is expected to unveil its own on-demand music streaming service at its annual developer conference. While the tech giant has yet to detail its intentions in full, sources paint a fairly clear picture of a paid subscription model in the vein of Spotify and the fresh-faced Tidal.
There are also talks of Apple overclocking its current iTunes Radio platform with technology from its acquisition of Beats Electronics. Has Apple finally lined up its successor to iTunes, or will this be too little, too late?
It's too soon to make the call, but we've managed to collect as much information as possible in the days leading up to Apple's big developer conference.
What is Apple's new music service?
Apple's new service will allow users to stream unlimited music for a monthly fee, according to a recent report by The New York Times. This service may well be a revamped version of iTunes Radio, its current horse in the race against online radio services such as Pandora.
The streaming service is projected to borrow heavily from Beats Music, following the acquisition of the Beats Electronics brand by Apple last year for a cool $3 billion (about £1.9 billion/AU$3.9 billion). This would likely result in an emphasis on expert-crafted playlists, and using both music downloaded by the user as well as music curation algorithms to create custom, personalized soundtracks. Integrations with social networks such as Facebook or Twitter could also be expected.
There have also been talks of upgrading the iTunes Radio to feature virtual DJs to create a living radio atmosphere and prepare specialized music rotations, with artists such as Pharrell and Drake rumored to take part in the lineup.
How will I get it, and how much will I have to pay?
The app's launch is expected to play out as an update to iTunes and the iOS Music app featured on iPhones, iPads, and iPods, so says USA Today. This method ensures all up-to-date iOS and iTunes users have access to Apple's new music service, which could turn out to be a huge boon for the company as they play catchup to the long-established Spotify.Considering the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus alone managed to sell over 10 million units the weekend they were released, shattering pre-order records for the company, smartphone users on iOS could become a massive install base once the revamped music service reaches their device.
Payment and account information would most likely be tied to a user's Apple Pay and Apple ID information, as well as be part of the Music app currently pre-installed on all iOS products. This means Apple could get first dibs on a ton a potential customers new to streaming, as well as simplify the onboarding and payment process for established fans of on-demand music.
The most recent report, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, has an Apple musc subscription costing $10 per month, a rate similar to the rest of the competition, excluding Tidal's HiFi offering for $20/£20 a month.
There will also likely be free trials available, but curiously enough Apple hasn't offered a "free" tier similar in other online services, suggesting that the new Apple Music will only be available to paying customers. Given the streaming side of the service might be premium-only, it is likely that any advertising content will be reserved for its internet radio service, where the DJ-run channels may still be available to listen to for free.
Why now?
Apple is no stranger to spotting trends. Remember, iTunes revolutionized purchasing and playing music in the digital space over a decade ago. Music streaming has rapidly become more popular over the traditional model, with music download sales dropping 8% in 2014 while subscription sales climbed nearly 40%, according to market research by the IFPI music market research firm.This isn't Apple's first foray in online music listening, either. iTunes Radio made its debut in 2013 as a response to Pandora and other online music services. As more on-demand services gain traction, offering instant access to millions of songs, it would make sense for Apple to make its next step, especially given that the extensive iTunes library already grants it a head-start in music selection.
When is Apple's new service coming out?
Apple's upcoming WWDC 2015 conference begins June 8 and runs through June 12, and it's here Apple is expected to make an official announcement.While the service could very well be set to launch as early as that week, there have been reports of license negotiations with major record labels going at a sluggish clip.
We'll just have to see if Apple can get its music service off the ground for a June release. Until then, there's still many questions left unanswered. How will prior iTunes purchases factor in? What regions will it be available in? Will there be an offline mode? With luck, these questions and more will be resolved as we provide updated coverage in the coming week.
- Music isn't the only streaming service in the works from Apple. Check out the Apple TV 2!
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The next big PC game may come from ... Amazon?
Amazon Game Studios is assembling a crack team of developers to work on what it's calling an "ambitious new PC game project."
This unknown PC title will be Amazon's first entry into the genre. The studio's primary focus until this point has been publishing high-quality, pay-to-play mobile games. Its latest release, a horror game called Til Morning's Light, stands as a particularly impressive example in mobile gaming.
Amazon detailed the high-profile development team it's putting together in a post to Gamasutra. Notable names include Clint Hocking, designer of the effervescent Far Cry, and Kim Swift, designer of the legendary game Portal. The team also includes developers who have worked on heavyweight game titles, including World of Warcraft, BioShock, Halo and The Last of Us.
Also in the post, Amazon says it's committed to "building great teams who are excited to use Twitch, the AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud, and technical innovation to radically evolve gameplay." Amazon acquired the game-streaming service Twitch last year for just shy of a billion dollars, indicating that Amazon has big plans in mind for the software.
Amazon Game Studios says it's "looking to take risks, and invent" and is seeking more interested people to join its team. Maybe the next big PC gaming release will indeed come at the hands of Amazon?
Lead image credit: Amazon Game Studio
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The HTC Vive is shipping to developer hands right now
Just as excitement over the Oculus Rift is buzzing right before E3, it looks like the HTC Vive headsets are being shipped out to developers right now.
However Steam notes that only "major movie studios, triple A developers, to small indie teams working on their first title" will get the Vive while shipping will continue throughout the year to more devs.
In addition to the head mounted display, the fortunate few will receive two Lighthouse base stations, two wireless Steam VR controllers, various cables and of course, instructions to get started.
This is fantastic news because it means we'll start to hear about more VR content and hopefully see a decent array of games when the headset actually comes out.
Official pricing has yet to be announced though it should fall into the same category as the Rift's $400-$600 (about £254/AU$498 to £381/AU$747) range.
The Vive will also launch later this year, and pending any delays, should make it a difficult decision between the Rift and Project Morpheus which are purportedly slated to release in early 2016.
- There's going to be a ton of VR at E3 2015
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Microsoft shows multitasking is a Snap on Windows 10
With rumors that Apple may talk about multitasking on iOS 9 – a key feature of the anticipated iPad Pro tablet – next week at WWDC, Microsoft highlights the ease and power of juggling multiple windows on Windows 10 with a feature called Snap. With Windows 10, there will be even more ways to Snap and multitask with multiple windows.
The ability to effortlessly snap two desktop windows side-by-side was introduced originally on Windows 7 as Aero Snap. Users can drag any window to the edges of the screen, and the window would expand to fill the screen or take up height of the screen. Windows 8 refined the feature for Modern UI apps, allowing two apps to run side-by-side simultaneously.
Snap Assist
While the ability to snap two windows side-by-side with Windows 7's Aero Snap was useful, Microsoft is taking this a step further with Snap Assist on Windows 10."When arranging two windows side-by-side, we noticed in practice that this scenario frequently involved snapping the first window and then spending time wading through other windows on screen to find the second one to drag and snap," Microsoft said in a statement. "This insight lead us to ask: instead of making you hunt for the second window to snap, why not present a list of recently used windows up front?"
This makes it more efficient to choose which app to snap into the second window, and Microsoft found that 90% of Windows Insiders choose an app to snap in the second window from the recent list.
Corner Snap
Corner snap is a useful feature for users working on larger displays or high resolution screens. Corner Snap takes Snap Assist a step further, offering users the ability to snap up to four windows together rather than two.
"To snap a window to a quarter size of the monitor, just drag the window to a corner and let go," Microsoft said of the feature.
You can also arrange your screen with different configurations, including an app taking half the screen, and two apps in the other half of the display. Or, you can have four apps snapped together, each taking a quarter of the display.
Snap fill
Snap fill allows you to easily snap windows into configurable sizes. The feature is similar to Aero Snap, but rather than automatically snapping two windows together that each occupy 50% of your screen space, Snap Fill allows you to allocate a larger portion of your screen to one app and then fill the remaining portion of your screen with a second app."In Windows 10, we wanted to bring this improvement to the desktop, making snapping more intelligent with any app," Microsoft said in a statement. "When you snap a window and resize it, the system takes note of your action. When you then snap a second window, the system will optimize its size to automatically fill up the available space."
More snaps
For enterprise users who use multiple displays or for those with hybrids and two-in-one notebooks, Microsoft is also making Snap easier.Windows 10 allows multi-monitor users to snap to a corner or edge shared by both displays, a feature that was previously not possible with earlier versions of Windows. Snap Assist will let you see all the windows across all displays so you can snap different screens together more easily without having to drag the windows across your displays.
For hybrid owners, Snap works seamlessly with Continuum, allowing you to preserve your Snaps when you switch between notebook and tablet modes. As Store apps are now opened in resizable windows alongside traditional desktop apps, Windows 10 allows users to snap both types of apps together.
Windows 10
Windows 10 will launch for consumers on July 29 as a free upgrade during the first year of availability for users of Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. If you don't qualify for an upgrade, or you've built a new PC and need a fresh copy of the operating system, Windows 10 starts at $119 for the Home edition and $199 for the Professional edition.- Read our coverage of Windows 10
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Review: Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus
Headphone companies try their darndest to release products that prove how well they know their audiences. Despite a few whiffs here and there, more often than not, these companies are skilled at it.
Beyerdynamic displays such skill with the Custom One Pro Plus, a fully tweakable set that empowers listeners to get personal with its looks and sound. A $229 (£179, about AU$299) asking price isn't cheap by any means, but the performance and comfort here – along with oodles of customization – justify this fun, fresh take on over-ear headphones.
Design
Beyerdynamic doesn't stray too far from the standard design of over-ear headphones, which look a lot like big ear muffs. It's not a bad thing, especially because there's a lot about the Custom One Pro Plus that can be customized to accommodate to your taste. I'll dive deeper into the tweak-friendly goodies below, but let's start with how these cans look and feel.
Out of the box, these headphones come stocked with a soft, plushy headband covered with a leatherette material. It's secured to a thick metal frame by velcro, which allows for easy removal should you invest in another colored headband on the side. Moving down from the headband, metal makes way for plastic, where Beyerdynamic stamped its logo. It's also the site where, within the plastic, the headphone's size adjustors are housed.
The side arms, like the sturdy headband frame, are composed of metallic black-painted metal and notched on in the inside with little dots, indicating the size you've adjusted to. There are eight dots in total on each side and it's plenty of headspace. My head, one that I consider to be on the large side, fits ever so comfortably in these.
Each sidearm doubles as a housing bracket for the large ear cups, which are bigger than your average computer mouse when you hold them in your hand, but spacious enough to fit your entire ear inside. The pads giving these cups their comfort and sound isolation are coated in the same leatherette material and stuffed with a generous amount of padding. A thick layer of felt covers the speakers inside each cup.
On the outside of the cup, Beyerdynamic added in a few design flourishes that help to set this model aside from not only its own offering, but from the competition as well. On the bottom of each ear cup, there is a bass response switch, giving listeners four different modes to enjoy music with. Covering the outside of the cups are customizable covers that can be swapped out with the included Allen wrench.
So, these are customizable, but what good is the ability if Beyerdynamic didn't include any goodies to swap out of the box? Thankfully, eight sets of card stock covers are included from the get-go. Each cover has two designs, one on the front and another on the back, resulting in a total of 16 different designs. The itch to express yourself should be satisfied. Plus, you can mix and match designs.
If you aren't satisfied with the included covers or the color of the stock headband or ear pads, more options can be purchased. That said, it's not cheap to really go crazy with your favorite color for every replaceable feature. It's an extra $24 (£14.90, about AU$31) for another headband, and close to $20 (£10, about AU$26) for one set of covers, albeit they are premium leatherette or aluminum materials rather than the card stock ones that come with the haul. Customizing these to your unique tastes could add up big time.
Performance
Fortunately, customization isn't limited only to the Custom One Pro Plus's physical traits. As I touched on earlier, listeners can also adjust the bass response pumped through the ear cups to their liking. The four-way switch, located on the bottom of each ear cup toggles between bass settings of varying intensity. Position one provides what Beyerdynamic calls "Light Bass". Positions two, three and four provide "Linear", "Vibrant" and "Heavy" bass response respectively.
In its fourth, most intense position, I wasn't as overwhelmed as I'd thought I'd be. The bass was indeed quite palpable, but thankfully, the headphones don't push quality sound to the side just to fulfill the novelty of booming bass. Switched back down to the first position, the bass profile was still present, but the sweet spot, for me, is position three.
Bass aside, the Custom One Pro Plus has plenty else to offer. Over-ear headphones tend to pack a full sound that seems to envelop you, and these are no exception. However, the sound performance as a whole here is a good, noticeable notch above most of the competition. Compared to the Bose QuietComfort 25, the king of sound cancellation, these have a much grander and expansive soundstage. Not to the point of seeming like you're at an arena, but enough to allow listeners to easily enjoy and pick apart the sounds of each instrument. The mids are rich and the highs manage an impressive level of crispness without distortion.
These cans come with a 3.5mm cable stocked with an inline remote. It offers fairly standard, single button functionality, which operates to play and pause music, answer calls and to skip and reverse songs. On its flipside, there's a mic that works perfectly well.
The only features missing here are volume controls, which I find to be a necessity during my morning and evening commute. This might not be a huge exclusion for some, however. Despite the lack of volume controls, this basic functionality allows for universal device support.
Final verdict
The Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus are a stellar sounding set of over-ear headphones. Packed with versatile drivers capable of delivering pulpy bass and delicate mids without sacrifice, these cans will envelope you in full, rich sound – literally.Lacking comprehensive inline controls is a small bummer, especially considering the price. That said, the sheer amount of customization options, both physical and aural, stacked atop an already awesome package make these a smart purchase for listeners who love to tweak their tech.
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Updated: Best Netflix TV shows: 25 great Netflix television series in the US
Best Netflix TV shows: 25 great Netflix TV series
Netflix's transition from a DVD rental service to a streaming behemoth has been impressive to watch. The company has sunk tons of money and effort into making itself into the Number 1 destination for on-demand content that it isn't just a place to watch things, it also creates them. So much so that the big TV and movie studios are rightly running scared.
While Netflix slowly makes a land grab for movies, it's perhaps its television output that is the reason most people have an account. There's a ton of TV content to feast upon - too much to ever consider watching in one lifetime.
This is why we've created the TechRadar guide to the greatest TV shows on Netflix in the US right now. We'll keep this best TV show list constantly updated with the latest television shows that you should be watching and also tell you why.
- Check out our in-depth Netflix review
1. Daredevil
When it comes to superhero movies, Marvel are bossing DC thanks to the rich tapestry it has weaved with its cinematic universe. Its TV shows, as fun as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter are, haven't had the same success as DC's The Arrow or The Flash.
Thankfully Daredevil has come along to change all this.
Released in one binge-watching dose, Daredevil is superb television, regardless if you are a superhero fan or not. Matt Murdoch's (Boardwalk Empire's Charlie Cox) rise from blind lawyer to vigilante is brutal and steeped in realism. The reason it works so well is that it doesn't shy away from being violent - each crack and crunch is a world away from Ben Affleck's terrible movie version. And special mention has to go to Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, his best role since the tortured Private Pyle.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
2. Archer
Given that Archer is set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (unfortunately abbreviated as ISIS), recent terror atrocities have meant the animation has been getting headlines for the wrong reasons. But don't let this unlucky nomenclature put you off. Archer is a brilliant send-up of spy movies of yore, complete with some of the best voiceover talent - many of which have been pruned from the cast of Arrested Development. While the fifth season 'reboot' wasn't the success it should have been, Archer is still one of the best cartoon comedies around.
Seasons on Netflix: 5
3. Arrested Development
If it wasn't for Netflix, Arrested Development would have stayed as a three-season wonder. The streaming giant decided to take a gamble and fund a fourth season of Mitchell Hurwitz's brilliant family comedy and we are glad it did. While splitting the family up for most of the season meant some of the spark had disappeared - this was done to fit in with the actors' busy schedules - the fourth season proved that there was still a lot to like about the dysfunctional Bluth family. Filled with season-long in-jokes, perfect site gags and spot-on wordplay, Arrested Development is a comedy that needs to be watched on repeat - and even then you will find something new to laugh at.
Seasons on Netflix: 4
4. Futurama
In honor of Netflix pulling the plug on Battlestar Galactica (we all make mistakes), we've decided to use the fourth spot in our list to give a nod to a show that's no stranger to getting the pink slip.
Created, written and well-loved by animation legend Matt Groening, you might have wrote Futurama off as filler content for Fox's Sunday night programming block. If that sounds like you, you inadvertently did a major disservice to creativity, humor and passion Groening poured into every panel year after year for over a decade. Futurama is funny, witty and has the uncanny ability to poke fun at cultural icons without sinking to juvenile mud-slinging. Each time the series got the axe broke our heart a little more, which didn't get the mending it needed until the final episode of the final season. So just as Fry asks Leela to go around one last time, we ask you on behalf of the wildly beautiful, if perhaps somewhat strange, cartoon to give it one more go.
Seasons on Netflix: 10
5. Mad Men
Mad Men is more addictive than the cigarettes Don Draper is trying to market us. If you've never watched it, essentially Mad Men is a show about everything we now consider taboo in glaringly harsh light. Set in 1960s America, inter-office intercourse is par for the course, along with ashtrays overflowing with cigarettes, sexism at the highest levels and a complete disregard for morals so long as it serves the characters on their climb to the top of the corporate ladder. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and his assistant Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) shock and entertain us by showing the lifestyles of the advertising executives who got the public to buy cigarettes long after they knew the health risks.
Seasons on Netflix: 6
6. Black Mirror
There's no better person to portray not-so-distant future dystopias than Charlie Brooker. He's been holding a warped mirror up to the ridiculous nature of the world's media for years, mixing cutting comments with comedy, but Black Mirror sees him entering darker territory. Each series is just three episodes long but they are all standalone treats, twisting reality in their own unique way while commenting on things we seem to hold dear today - namely technology and television.
Seasons on Netflix: 2
7. Breaking Bad
More addictive than the meth pushed by Walt and Jessie, Breaking Bad is brilliant binge-watching television. The initial plot is simple: a straight-laced teacher is told he has cancer and to make sure he leaves his family with the best possible life, he turns to drug making and dealing. There's method to his madness as he ends up being pretty good at it. Creator Vince Gilligan has created such a good group of characters, he is currently mining the same world again with Better Call Saul. But that has some way to go reach the highest highs that Breaking Bad offers.
Seasons on Netflix: 5
8. Parks and Recreation
We always knew Amy Poehler was funny. Sketch after sketch on Saturday Night Live proved she had the comedic timing of a professional stand-up mixed with the creative capacity of an executive producer. Each episode of Parks and Rec is a chance to see Poehler do what she does best, with an excellent supporting cast of Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza and Rashida Jones behind her every step of the way. While we were sad to see the show come to a heart-wrenching conclusion this year, the finale in February was the perfect excuse to go back and binge-watch the entire series from start to finish.
Series on Netflix: 6
9. Louie
If you like Louis C.K.'s stand up, you're going to love Louie. It's dark. It's funny. It makes us look at ourselves and our situations and just think "Huh, I guess it could be a lot worse." Each episode is divided into two parts: a stand-up segment where Louie tells jokes to a faceless audience and a fictional vignette that either refutes or enforces the previous joke. So how can a comedian's life, even a fictional version of it, be funny? We have no idea, but it just works.
Series on Netflix: 3
10. Fargo
There was a collective groan by Coen Brothers fans the world over when Fargo the television show was announced. But what could have been darn tootin' awful ended up being fantastic, thanks to the casting of Billy Bob Thornton who is both funny and psychotic - well, his character is anyway. The series thankfully didn't retread the movie but added to it, acting as a strange but sublime companion piece. It's so good, the Coens initially refused to have their name on the show - until they saw it and loved it.
Seasons on Netlflix: 1
11. Fringe
Not since X-Files has a show managed to balance 'monster of the week' storylines with an overarching story that goes beyond this universe and into many more. Fringe was always a shows that never quite gained superstar status but, thanks to stellar casting (which included the late Leonard Nimoy and Pacey from Dawson's Creek) and mind-bending themes, it was consistently one of the brainiest and craziest things on television. It was thanks to its cult support that Fringe actually had an ending too - and a decent one that managed to wrap all that went before it with a poignant conclusion, even though we were a little sad to let go of Walter Bishop and co.
Seasons on Netflix: 5
12. House of Cards
If there ever was a poster boy for Netflix, House of Cards would be it. Funded completely by the streaming service, Cards' first season boasted direction by David Fincher and acting by Kevin Spacey and was addictive television. The reason: Netflix positively wanted you to binge watch, putting all episodes up at once. Now in its third season, Netflix's Card trick is still impressive and shows just how far Netflix has come, given it's shot in both 4K and HDR.
Seasons on Netflix: 3
13. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Initially made on a shoe-string budget, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia first season had a cult following, but low viewing figures meant it was destined to be a one-series wonder. Thankfully, everything changed when Season 2 was eventually green-lit, thanks to some big-time star power. Danny De Vito joined for a 10-episode run that was extended because he loved it so much. He's still in the show that's now in its 10th season, bringing with him huge viewing figures. The antics of Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (Rob McElhenney, the show's creator), Charlie (Charlie Kelly) and Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson) won't be for everyone - at its darkest the show's 'comedy' themes range from nazism to drug abuse - but stick with it and this deliciously depraved classic will reward you.
Seasons available on Netflix: 9
14. Firefly
After he had produced the perfect female lead in Buffy and before he was Hulk smashing with The Avengers, Joss Whedon created a short-run sci-fi series that has spawned not only a massive cult following but, quite astonishingly, a movie. The reason it was such an underground success was because Firefly takes the Star Wars framework of making space messy, where everything is a little rough around the edges - including the crew. It even has its own Han Solo in the form of Nathan Fillion's Malcolm Reynolds. Whedon's witty words permeate the whole of Firefly, which is not so much a space opera but a space rock opera.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
15. The Killing
The US version of The Killing is a strange beast. It starts out to be an inferior version of the Nordic original but thanks to some interesting plotting and a longer series run it ends up being better. The cast is great, too. Donning the infamous jumper is Mireille Enos and her partner is rebooted RoboCop himself Joel Kinnaman. Netflix has also been the show's saviour, picking up the fourth season when it looked unlikely to be renewed. And the Seattle backdrop is even more menacing than the bleak outskirts of Copenhagen.
Seasons on Netflix: 4
16. The Walking Dead
Most shows that take place after the apocalypse dry up after a season or two, typically because things can only go from bad to better so many times before the survivors set up a new utopia. It's good then that The Walking Dead isn't like most shows. Sure, sometimes situations go from bad to better, but that's only before things fall apart and the situation becomes even more dire than when the episode started. Oh, and the old joke about main characters always being safe when they're in a room together? That doesn't apply here. No one is safe, and that's what makes The Walking Dead a show that works season after season, episode after episode.
Seasons on Netflix: 4
17. Orange is the New Black
It may have never reached the heady heights of House Of Cards, but Orange Is The New Black is another show that proves Netflix is now up there with HBO when it comes to offering decent programming.
Set in a woman's prison, Orange doesn't shirk the big issues of violence and rape but manages to mix these with a heady dose of black humour. Oh, and its first series was actually more popular than Cards which is a surprise as Netflix's advertising has always been very Spacey heavy.
Seasons on Netflix: 2
18. How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother filled the laugh track-filled void in our lives where Friends used to be. A winning combination of actors and actresses like American Pie's Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris, set against a few dozen plot twists and red herrings, set the stage for one of the must-watch sitcoms of the last decade. Getting sucked into Ted Mosby's search for the one is a heartfelt and earnest affair as you root for everyone to succeed and the group to keep it together for one last season. Whatever you think of the final season, the on-screen chemistry feels downright natural and Ted's struggle, albeit a bit drawn-out and convoluted, is relatable on the most basic of levels.
Seasons on Netflix: 9
19. The West Wing
Producer Aaron Sorkin's Hollywood-meets-Washington show about politics and the people behind them is a cultural institution. For seven seasons its ideas entertained the wannabe politicians inside all of us and has gone on to inspire a renaissance in the youth's interest in government. Insightful, funny, witty and always gripping, The West Wing struck the perfect balance between being airy, feel-good television and a dramatic, no-holds-barred cry fest. For all the emotional highs and lows it brings along the way, there's almost no better way to spend 45 minutes of your day.
Seasons on Netflix: 7
20. Scrubs
We'll be the first to admit that Scrubs outstayed its welcome - any show that essentially reboots itself is one that doesn't know when to let go - but there's been nothing since that has completely filled its madcap hole. Packed with more (a)sides than a tetrahedron, watching Zach Braff and co daydream their way through hospital life is always a joy and you will be pleased to know that Netflix hasn't yet got the awful ninth season so we can all pretend like it never happened.
Seasons on Netflix: 6
21. Sherlock
It shouldn't work but it really really does. This modern retelling of the Sherlock Holmes stories is as good as it gets. Benedict Cumberbatch is everything you want in a Holmes - someone that wallows in wit, weirdness and warmth. While Martin Freeman plays Dr Watson as he plays all his characters - he's the everyman that has to learn how to deal with his extraordinary colleague. Episodes are scarce but each one is feature length, which gives them time to breath. Let's just hope these two superstars can find time in their busy schedules to keep doing the show.
Seasons on Netflix: 2
22. Friends
If there's any show more '90s than Friends, we'd like to see it. The story of Rachel, Ross, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey and Monica needs no introduction and no selling point, rather it's a trip down memory lane to a time before we all had cell phones living in our pockets and computers with 16GB of RAM. Every season had its share of twists and turns before culminating in a season finale with one or two paradigm-shifting events that, like a can of Pringles, kept us coming back week after week. Netflix has all 10 seasons which means, unlike your youth, you won't have to wait a whole week to spend time with your … wait for it … friends.
Seasons on Netflix: 10
23. Sons of Anarchy
There's very good reason Sons of Anarchy is the highest rated show on FX ever - its Shakespeare-esque plot (think Hamlet on bikes), following the tumultuous lives of a motorcycle gang, has everyone who watches it gripped. The show ended in 2014 after seven glorious seasons - although later seasons could never quite reach the glory days of one to three - and is perfect fodder for those looking for another Breaking Bad-style fix.
Seasons on Netflix: 6
24. Cosmos
Cosmos had quite a legacy to live up to. The original series was hosted by Cornell Professor Carl Sagan, and inspired untold amounts of scientists to drive the needle forward. Now hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey lives up to the original in every way imaginable. Cosmos makes you think about your place in the universe by showing you the outermost reaches of the stars and then grounds it with stories of the humans who figured it out. It's as informative as it is intrepid, the show lifts the curtain on human understanding to make you feel small, only to build you back up with new knowledge and the encouragement that a single discovery can make all the difference in the world. Science TV will never be the same again.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
25. Freaks and Geeks
On the list of shows that were tragically cut down before their prime, Number 1 is Firefly. Number 2, however, is Freaks and Geeks, the show that served as a launching pad for some of our favorite stars in comedy today. Brash, mischievous and hysterical, James Franco, Jason Segel and Seth Rogen provide a perfect counter-balance for the tepid (and completely loveable) Linda Cardellini. The show scores the last spot on our list and in our hearts because at the end of the day we've all been Cardellini's character, Lindsay. We've all been picked on, called a nerd and genuinely loved something - whether that's cellphones, computers, televisions, whatever. And just when you think you'll never fit in, the right group of people somehow find their way into your life.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
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Possible iPhone 6S release date leaked
It looks like the next iPhone will arrive right on schedule. A leak has revealed a not-so-shocking revelation: the iPhone 6S is reportedly releasing in September, just like the last three flagship releases.
Mobile News is reporting that an email leaked to the news firm confirms that the next gen iPhone, presumably the iPhone 6S, is coming on September 25, and not a month early as previously rumored. It should be stated that this information is coming exclusively from a Vodafone email obtained by Mobile News, and should be taken with a grain of salt
The report says that the handset, rumored to boast Force Touch, is described as the "New iPhone," which is most likely a level of secrecy within the email and not the actual name of the device. Although with the Cupertino company's latest New Macbook release, it isn't out of the question.
The report says the email is mum's the word on whether or not there will be a follow up to the mega-sized iPhone 6 Plus. To simplify its product line, it's possible that Apple will return to featuring one flagship handset.
In addition to Force Touch, the iPhone 6S is rumored to feature the sapphire glass screens that missed the cut on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, as well as an upgraded camera. If this report is true, all of our questions and more will be answered when September rolls around.
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Google will now tell you every time its driverless cars get in an accident
Google's driverless car failed to make an appearance at this year's Google IO developer conference. As disappointing as that was, Google made up for it today by upping the transparency on the accident records for its self-driving cars.
The company's recent eight-month driverless car trial wrapped up, resulting in only minor fender-benders of 4 of its 23 self-driving vehicles throughout the duration. Aside from the company outright refuting responsibility for the accidents, the extra details surrounding their cause were murky, at best, but not anymore.
On its recently published Self-Driving Car Project site, Google has begun providing monthly reports in the form of a PDF file that are accessible even without a Google account. Starting with May 2015, the search giant will be providing, in painstaking detail, an account for each of the accidents its autonomous vehicles get into, as well as how the team is improving from it.
Releasing this information publicly as the project moves forward is valuable, as the inner workings of driverless vehicles, for many, is somewhat unknown. But does this mean that Google's self-driving cars is any closer to launching? It's not likely. The site's FAQ section states that "In coming years, we'd like to explore other cities that can teach us about different types of challenging weather and terrain. We'd also like to run small pilot programs with our prototypes to learn what people would like to do with vehicles like these."
If there's any big news on Google's autonomous vehicles at next year's IO conference, it could be, as the site states, that the project is moving on to new locations, which brings us ever closer to its retail release.
- Everything we know about Android Auto
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'Delay' is a new feature in Windows 10
While Windows Insiders are currently on the official 10130 build of Windows 10, a leaked version of Microsoft's forthcoming operating system with a higher build number is unofficially circulating on the internet with new features.
The most notable features discovered in Windows 10 build 10134 include the ability to delay or postpone future Windows 10 build updates as well as an updated snipping tool.
Even though build 10134 may seem more advanced than what's available to Windows Insiders, it isn't even the latest build of Windows 10. Earlier this week, Gabriel Aul, general manager of the data and fundamental teams at Microsoft's Operating Systems Group (OSG), posted screenshots on Twitter revealing that his team is using build 10136. Aul used the screenshots to highlight that Windows 10 is backward-compatible with legacy software, showing that the modern OS can run an instance of the Word application from Microsoft's Office 95 suite.
Focusing on squashing bugs
Those expecting radical changes and new features with future Windows Insider Preview builds will be disappointed. As Windows 10 is nearing its commercial launch on July 29, Aul and his team recently revealed that Microsoft is changing its focus with the Insider Preview builds.Instead of focusing on launching flashy new features, Microsoft is now focused on fixing bugs and fine-tuning the performance of the OS.
"From here on out you'll see fewer big feature changes from build to build, and more tuning, tweaking, stabilizing, and polishing," Aul wrote in a blog post when Insider Preview build 10122 debuted.
Delaying updates
The ability to delay updates is an important selling point for businesses, and the feature's debut on build 10134 may indicate that Microsoft is turning its attention to enterprise customers.With Windows 10 Enterprise, Microsoft will give IT administrators the flexibility to decide when to roll out new features to business users. Although security updates and bug fixes will still be available to users to keep systems secure, IT managers can delay the deployment of new features for as long as ten years.
It's still unclear at this time whether Windows 10 Enterprise will launch at the same time as the consumer versions of Windows 10.
Windows 10 launch
Microsoft is standardizing on the Windows 10 brand, which will be used on various different products from PCs and tablets to Xbox and mobile as well as the Internet of Things (IoT), ATMs, wearables like HoloLens and more.During the first year of launch – through July 29 of next year – Microsoft is offering the OS as a free upgrade for existing owners of Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. If you're building a new PC and don't have an existing license, or if you're upgrading from a version of Windows prior to Windows 7, Windows 10 starts at $119 (£78, AU$156) for the Home edition and $199 (£131, AU$262) for the Professional version. Home users looking to upgrade to the Professional edition will have to pay $99 (£65, AU$130) for the Windows 10 Pro Pack.
For those migrating from Windows 8.1, Windows 10 will arrive with a new Start menu, a seamless way to switch between tablet and laptop modes with Continuum for those using a hybrid notebook, Microsoft Edge browser, universal apps and Cortana integration.
Source: WinBeta
- Read our review of Office 2016
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Steve Jobs predicted the new Apple TV's challenges 5 years ago
All of a sudden, we shouldn't expect a new Apple TV from next week's Worldwide Developer Conference, and it's not surprising.
Steve Jobs, five years ago, expressed his frustration with the television industry, long before the set-top box and its rumored companion streaming service were reportedly delayed.
"It's not a problem with the technology, it's not a problem of vision, it's a fundamental go to market problem," said the late Jobs during the AllThingsD conference in 2010.
Sure enough, it appears as if dealmaking, not chip making, is at the crux of the overhauled Apple TV delay.
All signs point to television content producers playing hardball with Apple's subscription-based TV streaming service. Time Warner is said to have deliberately stalled talks for years.
Trying to piece together local content
Another problem Jobs foresaw in 2010 was reported this week: the difficulty in trying to piece together local channels, a rumored feature of Apple TV's streaming service.
"There isn't a cable operator that's national. There's a bunch of cable operators," remarked a frustrated Jobs.
Feeding live, local channels is expected to be part of Apple TV's new streaming strategy now, and it sounds like it was back then, too. But difficulties were ever-present and global. Bringing the set-top box to the UK and Australia isn't as easy as making a phone, as Jobs noted.
"It's not like there's a GSM standard where you build a phone for the US and it also works in all of these other countries," he said in 2010. "No, every single country has different standards and different government approvals. It's very balkanized."
Tearing up the set-top box
Apple has demonstrated that it wants to streamline the television viewing experience, but it was always hamstrung by Hollywood and cable operators."The television industry fundamentally has a subsidized business model that gives everyone a set-top box, and that pretty much undermines innovation in the sector," remarked Jobs.
He started to rattle off names: "Ask TiVo, ask Roku, ask us, ask Google in a few months."
"The only way this is going to change is if you start from scratch, tear up the box, redesign and get it to the consumer in a way that they want to buy it," said Jobs. "But right now, there's no way to do that."
That may change in the not-too-distant future, just not likely at WWDC 2015. Jobs ended with, "I'm sure smarter people than us will figure this out, but that's why we say Apple TV is a hobby."
Current Apple CEO Tim Cook may be that person and the new Apple TV may displace traditional cable with subscription-based packages, finally fulfilling this unsettled vision.
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Amazon just leaked Microsoft's new Xbox One ahead of E3
In just 10 days, you might be buying a new Xbox One with 1TB of storage, a redesigned controller and Halo: The Master Chief Collection for $400.
Amazon appears to be holding a spot for a new Xbox One console set to release on June 15, conveniently the same day as its E3 2015 showcase.
According to the low-profile listing, the bundle includes the storage-wealthy console, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and the highly anticipated redesigned controller with a 3.5mm headset port built in.
When asked about the mystery listing, a Microsoft executive said, "We're gearing up for an exciting E3 where we'll showcase more games and experiences. We have nothing further to share at this time."
Last year, Microsoft had a similar release with a Call-of-Duty-style Xbox One with 1TB of storage, but it was priced at $500 and predated the updated controller. At $400, this Xbox One bundle looks like the deal to beat.
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Review: Updated: Roku 3
Update: We've added more info to the voice search section!
As you might expect, the Roku 3 features a number of welcome refinements over the cheaper Roku 2 and entry-level 720p Roku LT.
It offers wired and wireless connectivity and a much faster dual-core Broadcom chipset. In short, it's the best built Roku player seen to date, rivaling set-top mainstay Amazon Fire TV as the king of the proverbial castle.
It also offers a remote with a built-in search button and mic, not to mention the much-loved headphone jack for private listening when you need it.
This new player is still a glossy black puck, although with slightly less girth, at 90mm across. In situ, it looks like little a futuristic pebble sprouting cables.
The distinctive Roku fabric tab is still in evidence and there's a tiny status LED which glows when the unit's on.
While the Roku 3 has integrated dual-band Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n compatible), the wired Ethernet option is invariably the best choice when it comes to streaming. The unit sports an HDMI output and USB for local media playback.
Completing the I/O roster is a MicroSD storage expansion slot used to increase the capacity of the player (which is apparently limited to 512Mb). Cards might typically be used to store game apps or an overflow of Roku channels. Incidentally, there's no power-off; the player stays online (consuming less than 3.5w) and updates itself automatically.
If you're new to the platform, you'll need to open an account before you can get anywhere. This allows easy debiting should you pay to view content but for general use you won't be parting with any cash.
It's a bit of a pain because it forces you to connect to the internet to update the firmware before you can even get into the menu. This means if you don't have an active internet connection you will not be able to use the Roku 3 even for offline tasks.
It's also a pain that you have to give your credit card details even if you don't have any intention of spending money with them.
Existing Rokuites upgrading from second generation units can simply authorize the box online and add it to their inventory (apparently it's not unusually for fans to employ multiple boxes), and the process takes but a few minutes.
While there's very little to actually be done when it comes to setup, the menu does offer a selection of UI templates. Most are a bit dour, however the cartoon blue skies of Daydream make for a sunny enough interface.
The Roku 3 offers a choice of video resolutions up to 1080p, and while the native content available in the brand's Channel Store doesn't match this, the unit does a good enough job upscaling to warrant optimism. It can't parse 4K streams sadly, but this leaves Roku room to explore UHD in the yet-unannounced Roku 4.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of opting for the Roku 3 instead of a cheaper model like the Roku Streaming Stick is the upgraded silicon inside. The first Roku with a dual core processor, this thing is speedy. Navigating menus is lighting fast while jumping to and from TV channel apps is exceptionally fast. For example, hopping between BBC iPlayer and Netflix takes no time at all.
Channels
Roku has made its mission to make their box as easy to get onto for content providers as possible. Thus, the platform features more than 200 content sources in its Channel Store, with many more available as "private channels" that anyone can create at will. Most users will probably stick to the store channels, and use only a handful at that. Nevertheless, this content breadth and flexibility is quite impressive when compared with Amazon and Apple's boxes.As a content platform, Roku provides a solid selection of services via its Channel Store. Here you'll find some major streaming attractions, including Sky's Now TV platform (Sky being a shareholder in Roku), the ubiquitous Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Demand 5 in the UK, and Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, Google Play Store, Vimeo and DailyMotion in the US.
Cord cutters who live in the US will also have access to Sling TV. Sling made a splash on the Roku 3 by offering a $50 discount on the device to new subscribers who prepay for three months of service. Overall the service works really well, and while it doesn't present the same content-to-dollar ratio that Netflix or Amazon Instant present, it's well worth it's $20 per month price tag.
Audio apps of note include Spotify, Rdio, Tunein and Vevo. In addition to the official channel store selection, you can also browse a selection of Invitation channels off-piste.
Roku takes the gaming aspect of its player quite seriously. The remote control incorporates a motion sensor, a built-in mic for voice search and has a Wii-style safety strap. Angry Birds is obviously the star here - and it plays beautifully on this device with smooth animation - but there's also Galaga, Downhill Bowling, Sudoko and US game-show spin-offs Wheel of fortune and Jeopardy to dabble with.
The amount of content available on Roku's boxes is shockingly broad, but the majority of the options are either worthless (Facebook's inane implementation) or irrelevant (local news stations from the other side of the country). It's likely that most users will spend the lion's share of their time in Netflix, Hulu Plus or Amazon's apps and never venture too far afield.
Still, for those that care, the additional options don't hurt, and the ability to customize the items and order of your My Channels section means you only ever have to see the channels you want to see.
Performance
Overall image performance is extremely good, provided your channel source is up to snuff. With a fast broadband connection, premium services such as Netflix and iPlayer appear crisp and textured.The remote control itself offers a 3.5mm headphone jack for Private Listening. When headphones are inserted, the screen audio mutes. Unfortunately, the supplied earbuds are dreadful. Their tapered design is awkward enough, but the shrill noise they emit makes for a penalty few would willingly opt to endure.
Swapping in some Sennheisers brought a significant improvement, although the Bluetooth delivered output was still far from pleasant, perhaps evidence of a pretty woeful headphone amplifier. While convenient, Private Listening is not a feature we would expect to make much use of.
If the Bluetooth controller doesn't quite fit the bill, there's a Roku app for iOS and Android too. In addition to basic menu controls, you can use this to scroll through channels, search for content and throw compatible music and video files, along jpegs, from your mobile device to the player, using the integrated Play On Roku feature. Consider it a must for any Roku owner.
One of the biggest faults of the system, though, is that the internals are severely limited when stacked against the competition. This means longer load times between screens and a few second delays when starting content. It's not unusable in its current state, but it does get annoying.
Roku Feed and Movies Coming Soon
Roku Feed and Movies Coming Soon are two new features the company rolled out in April to help users track down their favorite new films.It's simple to setup and quite helpful once you've parsed the 40-or-so films in the Movies Coming Soon section of the home page. Add a film to your Roku Feed using the asterisk button and your Roku will keep you up to date on which services the movie is on and how much it costs.
The other new addition, voice search, is activated on the remote itself or via the downloadable Roku app on iOS and Android devices. Voice search can display movies, TV shows, actors or directors, before taking you to a screen that shows the cheapest places to find them. For example, searching "Shawshank Redemption" will bring up the 1994 classic. Select it with the remote and Roku will display all the places to find it, which includes Vudu, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu, MGo, Crackle, Cinema Now and Plex, as long as you have the corresponding app already installed.
File support
Where this Roku singularly fails to impress is as a media player. While there are actually several media playing channel options, none allow the Roku 3 to function as a competent replacement for a dedicated media player, Smart TV or connected Blu-ray deck.Its native video codec/container support is way too limited at just MP4 and MKV. While the Roku is MKV friendly, it's unable to downmix the AC3 audio commonly found on MKV downloads and this means you'll need to run the player through an AV receiver just to decode audio. If you connect directly to a TV, the file simply plays silent.
While there's no screen mirroring functionality (a la Chromecast), there are several methods for streaming content from your network or PC to Roku 3, all involving third party apps such as Plex or MyMedia. We had differing levels of success with them. In addition, many of these services duplicate channels or content available through other apps on the system.
Verdict
Roku is the exception among its primary competitors - Amazon Fire TV and Nexus Player - in that it is not subtly selling its own content platform. It's in Apple's interest for your to buy content on iTunes, just as it's in Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Sony's interest for you to buy from their services. Not caring about the promotion or survival of any given channel has liberated Roku to create a more egalitarian box, and Roku's offerings are some of the most open on the market, boasting more than 1,000 possible channels.But that $100/£100 price tag seems punishingly expensive given the lackadaisical attitude to file playback and lack of UK specific catch-up content. Remember, you can buy Sky's similar Roku-made Now TV box for under a tenner (sans Netflix) which offers much of the same functionality.
Ultimately, where the Roku 3 really scores is in its wonderful usability, be it the blazing processor speed or the improved functionality the hardware tweaks have bestowed upon it. It's responsive, simple and not beholden to a proprietary content library. Whether you're looking for a streaming box to help you cut the cord, or augment your cable subscription, the Roku 3 has the features, build quality and simplicity you're looking for.
Overall, we rate this latest iteration as the best Roku yet made.
Original review written in November 2013
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