Intel Hits Back At Qualcomm Over IP Theft Accusation

A week after the Qualcomm accused Apple of stealing LTE modem secrets on behalf of Intel, the latter of the three is officially hitting back against the former’s accusations. Specifically, Intel and its general counsel, Steve Rodgers, released a public statement, where it rubbished Qualcomm’s accusations of IP theft.

In the public letter, Rodgers points out that Qualcomm isn’t without fault: to date, the latter has been fined for several anti-competitive practices around the world. Mainly in China, Korea, Europe, and Taiwan. Rodgers also points out that the Qualcomm’s claim of the semiconductor manufacturer stealing its technology. Stating that Intel has been a “one of the world’s leading technology innovators for more than 50 years”.

Rodgers concluded his statement saying that Qualcomm had failed to win a cases against a competitor of whom it claims infringed on 88 of its patents. In regards to that case, the presiding US Federal judge said that he had found “considerable, compelling common proof” that Qualcomm forced companies into accepting “a separate license to Qualcomm’s cellular standard essential patents in order to gain access to Qualcomm’s modem chips”.

(Source: Intel Newsroom)

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Spotify Could Use GPS To Track Address Of Premium Family Plan Users

Spotify has begun sending emails to some of its “Premium for Family” subscribers in the US and Germany, asking them to confirm their addresses using GPS. The email also states that “If you don’t confirm, you may lose access to the plan.”

On the special family plan’s page, Spotify does state that the two to five people that benefit from the plan have to be living in the same address. Of course, Not every family member lives in the same house. This is especially true if you’ve got married siblings, or simply those who work out of town.

Plenty of Twitter users are pointing this out to the music streaming service. In response, Spotify says that it’s not trying to redefine what a family is, just who is eligible for the Family Premium plan.

Hey there! To be eligible for our Premium for Family plan, all family members must live at the same location. This can be found in our T&Cs: https://t.co/FboM1TdN4Y. Let us know if you need anything else /WC

— SpotifyCares (@SpotifyCares) September 21, 2018

While there hasn’t been reports of users in any other country getting this email, it may be a matter of time before they do. In statements to both Quartz and Mashable, the services has said “Spotify is currently testing improvements to the user expertience of Premium for Family with small user groups in select markets.”

We can see why the service decided to take this step. it’s not difficult for a bunch of friends to just use a single person’s address so that five people pay RM53.76 each for a whole year instead of the usual RM178.80. And yet, as mentioned above, genuine families who happen to live apart from each other are also impacted by this.

(Source: Quartz, Mashable)

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Third Generation Chromecast Accidentally Sold Early To US Customer

Someone in the US accidentally got sold Google’s third generation Chromecast, well before the search engine’s major event that’s taking place this 9 October. The “snafu” took place at a Best Buy in the US, where the customer who goes by the name GroveStreetHomie on Reddit simply wanted to buy a second generation Chromecast.

The mistake seemed honest enough as well: GrooveStreetHomie had picked up the Chromecast at the US outlet, when he noticed that the packaging was slightly different. The Redditor simply assumed it was a simple package update, but that wasn’t the case when he tried to pay for it.

The Best Buy employee serving him at the time tried to ring up his order, only to find out that the device wasn’t found in the outlet’s outgoing sales list. As though that wasn’t enough of a red line, the item’s official sale date of 9 October was also listed. Lucky for GroveStreetHomie, the cashier still proceeded to sell him the device, and under the pricetag of a second generation Chromecast.

When he got home to unbox his purchase, GrooveStreetHomie realised what he was holding in his hands. By comparison, Google’s third generation Chromecast dongle features a matte black finish instead of the glossy material used by the previous generations. On top of that, the new Chromecast features a simply and subtle “G” as its logo, instead of the Chrome logo.

Of course, the Redditor reported that he was unable to set up the Chromecast for obvious reasons. However, the user did note that he was prompted to update the dongle’s app to the latest version, but couldn’t. This could mean that Google will allow the device to update itself after its official launch. When the update could provide more support for additional features.

(Source: Reddit via Hot Hardware)

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#LYTV: Unboxing The Honor 8X

After being teased by Honor Malaysia, we now have the confirmation that Honor 8X will be making its way into our market very soon. Hence, the time is rather apt to take a quick look at the new phone which will receive its official Malaysian launch on 9 October.

Originally launched in China earlier this year, one of Honor 8X’s main attraction is its 6.5-inch Full HD+ IPS display that apparently has 91% screen-to-body ratio. Other than that, the phone is also equipped with Huawei’s own Hisilicon Kirin 710 processor alongside up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage.

For photography, the Honor 8X relies on a combination of 20MP and 2MP sensors on its back while there’s also another 16MP f/2.0 selfie camera. A 3750mAh battery completes the phone’s general specifications.

For those who wonder about the phone’s bigger twin, the Honor 8X Max, it is not known at the moment whether Honor will bring it into Malaysia or otherwise. Stay tuned for more information regarding the imminent arrival of Honor 8X in our market during its official launch in Malaysia on 9 October.

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Top 10 Most Productive And Handy Chrome Extensions

You must be familiar with the normal usage of Chrome browser for surfing the web. But do you know that there are hundreds of Chrome extensions available that can increase your productivity, save time and help you surf the internet in a whole new way? These Chrome extensions also help you to surf a safe and secure browsing.

Must visit: How to Remove Popup Ads From Chrome with MalwareFox

Well, as I mentioned there are hundreds of these Chrome extensions, so finding ones that work best for you could be a little tricky. So, here I have created a list of handpicked top 10 most productive and handy Chrome extensions for you. Let’s have a look.

Most Productive And Handy Chrome Extensions

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is one of the best and most useful Chrome extension. This Chrome extension helps you to automatically detect the spelling and the grammar errors while typing in the Chrome Window. Whether you are writing an email, creating a post on social media platform or writing your blog, it will detect the grammar errors and the miss spelled words so that you can correct them. If there is an error, it underlines the particular word or the part of the sentence and when you click on that word, it will show you the correct version that you can select and it will replace the error with the correct word.

If you make only a few mistakes unintentionally then the free version of Grammarly is enough for you. The free version can highlight all the spelling and simple grammar mistakes. For better composition, you may opt for the premium version which is also quite affordable.

2. ZenMate VPN

Couldn’t access some of the websites due to area restriction? Don’t worry, a VPN service can help you in this case. You can use VPN to access the restricted content with ease using a VPN. It replaces your original IP address and the location with a temporary one so that no one can trace your online activities. There are free VPNs available for Chrome as Chrome extensions and Zenmate VPN is one of the best. You can use it without any hassle. The free version of Zenmate VPN provides you to choose from 5 free locations. You can add this extension to the Chrome and activate or deactivate the VPN right from there by clicking the toggle button.

How To Use Videostream For Chromecast Step By Step

3. LastPass

In order to make your browsing experience more secure and easier, LastPass helps you to manage all your online accounts password. It is a free password manager available in the form of Chrome extension. You can save the passwords for all the accounts and access them whenever you need. You won’t have to struggle to remember the password of your account.

4. Onetab

If you are a person who loves multitasking while online then OneTab is one of the most important Chrome extensions you need to add. The dozens of tabs you open your browser can be quite confusing. So, OneTab provides a list of all the opened tabs on your browser at one tab so that you can open the desired one without any hassle.

5. Boomerang For Gmail

Boomerang for Gmail is a quite useful Chrome extension for managing your emails. It helps you to schedule the emails. This Chrome extension will help you not to disturb or irritate anybody with your early morning emails. You can write emails in the morning and make sure that they do not get delivered before 11 AM. You can also write an email to someone who is on vacation and schedule it so that it is delivered to them after they come back from their vacation.

6. AdBlocker Ultimate

Nowadays adding an Adblocker to your Chrome is much necessary as you can see a number of ads on almost every website. These sponsored ads help the websites to earn money but these may irritate a lot. The ads may such up your mobile phone’s data and many times these ads contain inappropriate content or malware. If you accidentally click these popup ads, banner ads etc. then you will be redirected to another page. In some cases, you may even end up downloading infected link on your system which may cause damage to it. So, AdBlocker is an amazing Chrome extension which removes all the advertisings on the website you visit. AdBlocker is totally free.

Also, since the webpage loads without loading any advertisement, it loads faster.

Why Is My Internet So Slow – 9 Powerful Ways To Speed Up Internet Connection

7. Ghostery

Whenever you surf something online, there are a number of websites that track your activities. The visitors’ online activity is tracked by these websites for providing the advertisement according to their online browsing habit. But, with Ghostery Chrome extension you can easily detect such web trackers and block them to track you. You can also get the information about the websites which use these tracking methods.

8. Evernote Web Clipper

Now you can say goodbye to the bookmarks as  Evernote Web Clipper is here for you. You can save all the desired web pages to Evernote with this Chrome extension and then access them on any device. Whereas with the bookmarks option, you can only view the saved web pages on the device where you bookmarked them. So, Evernote is more exciting and helpful plugin to save any part of the website and then access them whenever you want on any device with ease.

9. Pocket

Found a really interesting story on the internet? But don’t have time to read it? Well, you can use the Pocket Chrome extension to save all the exciting stories from the different websites which you can read later whenever you get time. Pocket is a free to use Chrome extension which will help you to avoid opening dozens of tabs of the stories which you want to read but later.

10. Stay Focused

Last but not least is Stay focused. Today we have a lot of websites which entertain us a lot but at the same time, they are quite addictive. Once you start visiting them it is hard to concentrate on other things. Especially when you are at work, it is important to keep these websites away. You can block and unblock the websites whenever you want.

So, stay focused lets you to give a limited time to access these websites and then you can make them inaccessible to you in order to improve your productivity at work. With this Chrome extension, you would be able to focus on your work only.

These are some handy Chrome extensions that help you get the most out of the internet. All of these are available for free but the premium versions let you do much more. Although, I find the free versions enough for regular usage.

Read Full Article Here - Top 10 Most Productive And Handy Chrome Extensions

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North Dakota Issues Orders Against Bitconnect, Magma, Pension Rewards

A Guide to Building Your Own Crypto Mining Rig

Cryptocurrency mining has in many respects become an industrialized business. But despite the concentration of hashing power, the increasing difficulty and diminishing returns, in some cases it can still be profitable to mint coins as an amateur miner, probably the most honest way to earn some digital cash. Here’s a guide on how to build a mining rig.  

Also read: Iran to Allow Mining Hardware Imports, Cyprus Creates Fintech Hub

Is It Late to Get Started With Crypto Mining?

The reduced market capitalization of digital assets, in comparison to last year’s all-time highs, has inevitably affected the profitability of cryptocurrency mining. That’s a fact of life but still there’s a number of other factors that can influence the outcome of mining – electricity rates, regulations, hardware prices, and even climate, to name a few. Their weight in the equation may vary significantly in different locations, from one jurisdiction to another.

In times when major producers of highly specialized equipment like Bitmain and Bitfury are building ASIC chips and rigs for mining bitcoin with ever-increasing productivity and efficiency, some say crypto mining in homes, basements and garages is a dying hobby. Add to that reports about GPU manufacturers like Nvidia losing interest in the crypto segment of the market, miners in Iceland exploring better opportunities in other sectors and the future of amateur mining starts to look bleak.

But that’s not necessarily the case. There are a number of altcoins whose developers continue the struggle to maintain ASIC-resistance. There are many countries where the costs of mining are relatively low – in some parts of Russia, for example, electricity rates are below $0.04 USD per kilowatt. For many enthusiasts around the world at-home mining is not a lost cause, not yet. Many of them can still support the family budget without huge expectations for revenue and profit.

Setting up a Home Mining Rig With GPUs

Catering to the crypto community, Decenter, a popular Russian platform supported by experts, developers, and investors, has answered many questions asked by crypto enthusiasts. Recently, the information portal published a guide to building mining rigs that encompasses the basic steps to becoming an amateur miner. The outlet has done its best to protect wannabe miners from unnecessary expenses and help them make the optimal choices, and ultimately make a buck or two.

Rig frame – The experts at Decenter recommend that you choose an aluminum one. The metal is more rigid in comparison with wood, it’s not flammable and is а good conductor of electricity which is a serious advantage as all components of the mining system must be grounded.

Motherboard – It should be able to support between 4 and 8 video cards which means it must have at least 4 PCI-E ports. Some of the most popular motherboards are based on P45, P43, and P35 chipsets – Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L and Asus P5Q Deluxe, for example. An inexpensive option is the Z270-based Gigabyte GA-Z270P-D3 which powers up to 6 GPUs and costs less than $100. Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P is a good alternative for AMD fans, but it supports only 5 cards.

Processor – A basic Z270-based Intel configuration can be assembled with a Celeron G3900 (G3930) processor (~$40) and Core 2 Duo E7300 CPU for P45, P43, P35-based rigs (~$15). Athlon X3 445 is suitable for AMD-platforms with 970A chipset (~$10). Multicore processors, like the Intel Core i3, i5, i7 CPUs for Z270 chipset platforms are good for mining coins based on the Cryptonight algorithm such as Monero.

RAM – Quantity beats quality here as productivity is not so heavily dependent on the generation or the price. At least 4GB are needed. The most common type these days is DDR3 which is also cheap ­at around $5 per gigabyte. It’s important to make sure, however, that the motherboard supports it as some of the newer models don’t. DDR4 is more expensive at ~$40 – $50 for a 4GB stick.

Storage – The hashing power of mining rigs is not really influenced by the size and the speed of the storage device. The system uses it to occasionally record logs. Any hard drive with a 50GB capacity will be sufficient. Buying an SSD is not really justified as a good old HDD will do the job and it can be had for as little as $10−$15 on the second hand market. Make sure to check for bad sectors before you buy it.

Power supply – The unit has to be 80 Plus certified which means higher efficiency. Power supplies are usually rated as Plus, Plus Bronze, Plus Silver, Plus Gold, and Plus Platinum and their prices depend on the class. Bronze and Gold are considered optimal for mining purposes. Aerocool KCAS power supplies are in high demand on the market and their prices average at around $45 for 600 watts. Corsair devices are the most common Plus Gold power supplies and they start from $100 for 750 watts.

Video cards ­– GPUs, or Graphics Processing Units, are by far the most important component of a cryptocurrency mining rig. Both Nvidia and AMD have their advantages and shortcomings. The main differences are related to mining efficiency in terms of hash rate and power consumption which also depend on the algorithm of the mined coin. Nvidia cards are generally easier to tune, less prone to cooling problems but need a bit more energy. On the other hand, AMD GPUs are harder to resell after a while as they are less popular with gamers.

Staying away from the newest and most expensive solutions, Nvidia GTX series offers good results when mining Equihash coins like Zcash and Bitcoin Private. Ethereum and other cryptos based on the Ethash algorithm do better with cards such as RX580 which can reach over 30 Mhash/s, while the 6GB GTX 1060 can only do around 22.

Some of the most popular graphics chips currently used in rigs are Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti (15−16 Mhash/s, 190 Sol/s, $180−$210), GTX 1060 6GB (20−22 Mhash/s, 310 Sol/s, $350−$400), GTX 1070 (32 Mhash/s, 470 Sol/s, $550−$600), GTX 1080 Ti (50 Mhash/s, 750 Sol/s, $900−$1,000), and among the AMD products – RX560 (14−15 Mhash/s, 120−130 Sol/s, $150−$180), RX580 (30−31 Mhash/s, 290 Sol/s, $380−$400), Vega 64 (43 Mhash/s, 400 Sol/s, $850−$1000).

Do you think home mining will remain profitable in the long run? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.  

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.

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Samsung’s rugged Galaxy Tab Active 2 is a serviceable tablet, but who is it for?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 is a serviceable piece of hardware with an attractive screen, workhorse processor and generally appealing design that nonetheless fails to address the question of who precisely it’s for.

According to Samsung, the Tab Active 2 is meant for workforce professionals — police officers on patrol, industrial workers, on-site engineers and warehouse employees.

Certainly, with its water-resistant, dust-resistant, heat-resistant and cold-resistant build, the device lives up to its rugged pedigree.

However, for day-to-day users looking for an affordable media machine — or for those looking to pay a premium for a high-powered laptop replacement — Samsung’s latest rugged tablet will most likely disappoint.

Rugged and ready for life are the only selling points

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2’s specs don’t particularly exude power.

The tablet features an 8.0-inch WXGA, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution TFT display. It’s powered by 1.6GHz Samsung Exynos 7870 processor and is packed with 3GB of RAM. The tablet has a paltry 16GB of internal storage, which is upgradable up to 256GB with a microSD card.

Additionally, the Tab Active 2’s 4,450mAh battery takes approximately two hours to fully charge, but is able to last for almost eight hours of sustained use.

In spite of the tablet’s dull specs, however, it’s important to note that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Samsung’s latest rugged tablet.

I read novels (both graphic and otherwise), I watched movies and television shows on Netflix, I consumed video essays on YouTube, and I even played some mobile games.

Throughout my entire time with the Galaxy Tab Active 2, the tablet performed admirably, lasting almost a full day on a single charge and chugging along at a workmanlike pace without slowing down or crashing any apps.

My issue with the tablet is that I’m still unable to justify spending $786.99 CAD on a device that’s less powerful than a similarly priced laptop. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that Apple’s superior 2018 9.7-inch iPad is not only cheaper, but has more storage, objectively better specifications, as well as a broader ecosystem of tailor-made apps and accessories.

In contrast, the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2’s only real notable feature is that it’s almost indestructible.

The device is IP68 dust- and water-resistant, but is also able to survive dust, sand, 1.2-metre drops, as well as extreme cold and extreme heat.

 

I’ve thrown this tablet with friends like a frisbee, it’s been launched at wooden pillars, it’s been submerged in water for minutes on end, it was accidentally flung through the air only to smash into both a table and a monitor and despite all of this torment, the device has consistently survived with minimal damage to its body or screen. Whatever Samsung has done to ensure that the Galaxy Tab Active 2 can survive punishment has clearly worked, as I’ve been unable to damage the device in any meaningful way.

For those concerned that their particular models won’t be able to sustain as much damage as mine did, there’s no need to fear. In addition to including a ruggedized S-Pen in the box, the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 also ships with a rubber, anti-shock protective cover.

An Android tablet for people who don’t really care about tablets

As a result of my time with the Tab Active 2, I’ve been repeatedly forced to ask a complicated question: What is the point of using a tablet versus using a smartphone or laptop?

When they first became truly viable consumer devices, tablets were intended to occupy the space between smartphone and laptop. They were supposed to be devices meant for lengthy, versatile, comfortable web browsing and content consumption — devices that were simultaneously more powerful than regular smartphones, but that didn’t require the flexibility and sheer processing power of a desktop or laptop computer.

In 2018, however, the smartphone is not only significantly larger than it’s ever been before, it’s also more powerful than ever. If someone already has a smartphone with a 5.5-inch or 6.0-inch display, that person will need a compelling reason to use a tablet with an 8.0-inch or 9.7-inch display.

Sadly, I’m not quite sure that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Active 2 provides enough of a compelling answer to that question of utility.

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the tablet and yes, given a choice between the Galaxy Tab Active 2 and Amazon’s Fire HD 8 — a tablet that I described as an affordable media machine — I would choose the Samsung device. However, as a tech reporter, I’m not the average user.

If my mother, for example, asked which tablet she should purchase — the $100 device she found on Amazon, a $429 iPad or a $787 rugged Samsung tablet the answer to me is quite simple: don’t pick the rugged one, it’s too expensive for what it does.

Of course — and this really can’t be stated enough — this device isn’t for my mother. It’s also not for me.

For Samsung, this tablet isn’t supposed to be for average users. That being said, I’m not really quite sure who should buy this tablet anyway.

The post Samsung’s rugged Galaxy Tab Active 2 is a serviceable tablet, but who is it for? appeared first on MobileSyrup.

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China’s Oldest Science and Tech Publication Accepts BTC for Subscriptions

Live your best life with the Digitail app-controlled animatronic tail [Sticky or Not]

Innovators have used high-tech prosthetics to bring us one step closer to becoming Doctor Octopus, so why not do something similar with fellow Spider-Man villain The Scorpion?

That’s more or less the idea with The Tail Company‘s Digitail, a Kickstarter-backed animatronic prosthetic tail that can be controlled by a smartphone app.

Building on its previous tail concept from 2014, the Digitail aims to offer users a variety of customization options by connecting to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

To start, you can order tails of varying sizes and widths that are either “naked” and fully personalizable or themed after a particular character, like Nightcrawler from the X-Men or the Xenomorph of Alien fame.

You’ll then be able to download an Android or iOS companion app to connect to the tail. From there, The Tail Company says your phone will be given access to a suite of controls, including:

• • A remote control
  • Movelist editor (for example, setting a ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ mode for the tail)
  • Gesture mode to freely move the tail around by flicking on the screen
  • Notifications (for example, getting a text or Facebook message on your phone will prompt the tail to move)
  • Send a ‘wag’ to someone else using the tail

Should the Kickstarter exceed its funding goal, The Tail Company has promised to add other features like GPS and Wi-Fi detection (with the tail wagging to let you know you have a strong connection) and alarms (to get the tail to move at a certain time).

Pledges to get the tail on Kickstarter start at a steep £144 (approximately $245 CAD), with shipping to Canada costing a whopping £49 (about $83). A dedicated remote for the tail (separate from the smartphone app) can also be purchased for an additional £30 (roughly $50.63 CAD).

As of the time of this writing, the Digitail has raised £5,811 (approximately $9,898 CAD) of its £7,000 (roughly $11,923 CAD) goal. The funding period is set to wrap on October 20th.

Verdict: Sticky…ish

Let’s get this out of the way. This is a hilariously goofy and expensive product that few — if any — will wear while walking down the street or go to school or work wearing this. I know I definitely wouldn’t.

But in a day and age where pop-culture conventions, dress-up parties and the like are increasingly more prevalent, I can certainly see how the Digitail could appeal to a fairly large amount of people. Cosplayers, in particular, will surely get a lot of mileage out of the device.

The very steep price is the only significant issue. I’m not into cosplay, so I absolutely wouldn’t pay it, myself. That said, I totally appreciate the artistry that can go into the hobby.

For that reason, I imagine that the people who dress up often and don’t skimp out when putting their outfits together probably won’t mind paying a pretty penny for something like the Digitail.

Personally, I’m just curious to see the YouTube videos featuring Xenomorph-dressed people creatively using the tail to frighten their friends and family.

Note: This post is part of an ongoing series titled Sticky or Not in which staff reporter Bradly Shankar analyzes new and often bizarre gadgets, rating them sticky (good) or not (bad).

Image credit: The Tail Company, Twentieth Century Fox

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A Review of the New Stellarx Decentralized Exchange

Tracking your sleep with Sleep Cycle offers interesting slumber insight [App of the Week]

Sleep tracking app Sleep Cycle is a great tool for monitoring and learning about your sleeping habits.

The app either uses a smartphone’s microphone or accelerometer to track the user’s movements while they sleep. By doing this, it’s able to determine what sleep phase the user is in.

Once the app figures out the user’s sleep pattern, it then uses that data to intelligently detect when the user is in a light sleep cycle and wakes them up.

The concept is to avoid what sleep researchers refer to as ‘sleep inertia.’ This is the process of being woken up in either slow wave (deep) or REM sleep.

The app is also capable of‘ Snore Detection‘, and if it’s used for 30 days, it’s able to develop a ‘Sleep Score’ for the user that assigns a score based on the user’s average sleep pattern each night.

Some Sleep Trends on the iOS version of Sleep Cycle.

Additionally, Sleep Cycle offers a plethora of Sleep Trends related to things like the average amount of sleep, average wake up time, weekly night comparisons and more.

Only Sleep Cycle Plus subscribers get access to the statistics and Snore Detection. This is the app’s yearly $34.99 CAD subscription.

How to use the app

To set up the app to track a night you need to set the alarm for the time you want to wake up at. The app then directs you where to place your phone for the best results.

The alarm interface on the Android version of Sleep Cycle.

The final screen is an alarm interface that displays the time and the alarm schedule. For example, my alarm is set for 7:15am, resulting in Sleep Cycle waking me up between 6:45am and 7:15am. The app sets a 30-minute window around the time you want to wake up. In that window it then determines when you’ll be in a light sleep and wakes you up.

While the phone is in sleep tracking mode, it also silences all incoming calls and notifications to help the user maintain their sleep pattern.

Cool extras

There are a few other tricks up Sleep Cycle’s sleave. For instance, it can be set to work with Phillips Hue lights to also use light to wake the user.

The app also works if there are two people in the same bed. If both users connect to the same Wi-Fi network, their devices ‘Link.’ Link helps each app determine what sounds it should be tracking and what ones need to be ignored.

My sleep testing

In my tests, Sleep Cycle worked pretty well, and it seemed to help me get into a morning routine since I’m a notoriously lousy snoozer.

I tracked my sleep for a few nights and being able to view my sleep patterns each morning when I woke up was interesting.

My only issue with it is I still have trouble believing its accuracy. I ran a test on Android and iOS, and I got different results depending on the device I was using.

A comparison of my Wednesday nightly sleep analysis on Android and iOS. A OnePlus 6 is on the left and an iPhone 7 Plus is on the right.

In addition to this, some of the research I found when I was looking into the app didn’t necessarily bode well for Sleep Cycle’s accuracy.

Either way, since the app is so simple to use (it runs while I’m sleeping) I think I’ll stick with it for at least the 30-day Sleep Cycle Pro free trial in order unlock all of my sleep statistics. Who knows, maybe an app that helps build a routine is worth it, even if the tracking information isn’t always accurate.

For reference, I’ve only been testing the app for a week. This means that it’s possible it could get much better over time.

Download Sleep Cycle for iOS here and Android here. 

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Launching a Website on the Bitcoin Cash Network Is Now a Reality

Realme C1 Announced; Comes With A Massive 4230mAh Battery

As it turns out, Realme 2 Pro was not the only new phone from OPPO’s sub-brand, Realme. Another new model called C1 made an appearance alongside Realme 2 Pro earlier this week and at a glance of the specs, this phone seems like a marathon runner.

To start, the Realme C1 has got a pretty large battery, rated at 4230mAh. Adding to that is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor, which makes getting the phone to last a day an easy thing to do. The C1 will also be running ColorOs 5.1 overlaying Android 8.1 out of the box.

That aside, it’s got a 6.2-inch 1520 x 720 display, a 5MP front-facing camera, and a 13MP + 2 MP rear camera setup. You can also use the front-facing camera to unlock the phone.

The C1 has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, so don’t expect to be able to strain it too much. It does support a microSD card of up to 256GB, which you’ll likely need due to the internal storage limits.

On the subject of microSD cards, it looks like the C1 can have one while also supporting two nano-SIM cards. Other connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.2 and a Micro-USB port.

The Realme C1 has two colour options available – Ocean Blue and Deep Black. It’s priced at INR6999 (~RM399), but this may change some time down the line as its page on the Realme site states that this is an “introductory price for Diwali season.”

We don’t know when the phone will make its way to Malaysia, but hopefully, it will be brought in with the introductory discount if the phone reaches us before Deepavali.

(Source: Realme)

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Realme 2 Pro Now Official; Looks A Lot Like OPPO F9

After being teased for quite some time, Realme 2 Pro has finally been officially revealed by the company in India. In case you never heard of Realme before, the company is a sub-brand of OPPO.

Hence, it is not surprising that the new phone contains trait from existing phone from the famed Chinese company; specifically the OPPO F9. It even got the same screen size and resolution, measuring at 6.3-inches and 2340 x 1080 as well as the same teardrop display notch although Realme referred it to as the ‘Dewdrop’ design.

It’s much the same case round the back, down to the placement of the cameras and the fingerprint sensor. Granted, the design is slightly different since Realme 2 Pro didn’t feature the gradient colorway and pseudo-diamond shape pattern or glittery stars, but the similarity is uncanny.

On the subject of cameras, the Realme 2 Pro also comes with a 16MP + 2MP rear camera setup just like the F9. The front camera, on the other hand, is a 16MP shooter instead of 24MP though although all of them are still enhanced by AI to help you get the best shot you can.

Previously, we saw that the Realme 2 Pro will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, as well as 8GB of RAM. Now that the phone is official, we also know that it is carrying 128GB of internal storage. Pre-installed with ColorOS 5.2 that is overlaying the phone’s Android 8.1 operating system, then there’s also its 3500mAh battery.

According to the site, the Realme 2 Pro will be available in three colours – Blue Ocean, Black Sea and Ice Lake. As for price, it costs INR13990 (~RM797). As we reported before, there’s no news as to when the Realme 2 Pro is coming to our shores, but we’ll keep you updated once we learn more.

(Source: Realme)

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The Daily: Blockchain.com Launches OTC Trading Desk, Shapeshift Relaunches Coincap

Wallet provider Blockchain.com has created an OTC trading desk as part of its efforts to cater to institutional investors. Also in The Daily this Sunday, Shapeshift launches the redesigned Coincap tracker, Kraken lists Cardano and Qtum, and Compound offers its users the option to short cryptocurrencies.

Also read: Fiat vs Crypto Laundering, Bitcoin Anniversary Cash-Ins

Blockchain.com Launches OTC Trading Desk for Institutional Investors

Blockchain.com, the popular cryptocurrency wallet provider, has launched an over the counter (OTC) trading desk as part of its plans to attract institutional investors. The company already offers custodial services tailored to serve the needs of clients such as hedge funds and asset managers. The move will allow Blockchain to conduct large private crypto trades outside of public exchanges.

Former DRW fixed-income trader, Vince Machi, is running the new OTC desk, according to a source familiar with the development, quoted by The Block. The news comes after earlier reports that Jamie Selway, the former head of electronic brokerage and execution services at Investment Technology Group (ITG), has taken responsibility for Blockchain’s institutional efforts.

A number of companies in the space already provide OTC services, including DRW and DV Trading as well as established cryptocurrency exchanges such as Kraken and Itbit. Blockchain.com claims to have 28 million downloads of its wallet offered as part of its retail business.

Shapeshift Announces the New Coincap Tracker

Digital asset exchange Shapeshift has announced the relaunch of its cryptocurrency tracker, Coincap. The rebuilt platform now offers users new features and functions for tracking and interacting with global pricing data for cryptocurrencies and tokens, the company said in a blog post. Coincap, which is one of the alternatives to Coinmarketcap, offers real-time market data for these assets, including market capitalization, 24-hour coin and exchange volume, and available supply. It supports more than 1,000 cryptocurrencies and uses information from over 65 crypto trading platforms.

Some of the new features that come with the update include real-time price and market changes, exchange pair and volume listings, trading view with granular candle charts, timestamped status updates, and a new API with more endpoints such as rates, exchanges, markets, and candles. The Coincap.io website now features mobile-friendly design, dark mode and is free of ads. Redesigned mobile apps for Android and iOS users are expected to be released by the end of the year.

Commenting on the relaunch, Shapeshift’s founder and CEO Erik Voorhees noted: “Coincap’s new web and API service, built entirely from the ground up, is another way we are committed to creating the best experience for our users. This is the next step in a product delivering reliable and transparent crypto market data,” he said.

Kraken Adds New Coins – Cardano and Qtum

US-based exchange Kraken has added two new cryptocurrencies to its listings, Cardano (ADA) and Qtum (QTUM), the trading platform announced in its blog and on social media. Trading for the two coins started this past Friday. ADA and QTUM are to be paired with USD, CAD, EUR, BTC, and ETH. According to the press release, margin trading will not be available at launch, but may be enabled in the future. The company says it plans to list more digital asset but notes it will follow its policy not to reveal the details in advance.

Compound Offers Option to Short Cryptocurrencies

Customers of Compound, a platform for borrowing and lending digital coins, will now be able to earn money from falling crypto prices. The firm has reportedly launched a money market protocol for shorting cryptocurrencies. The option allows users to borrow and short Ethereum (ETH), 0x (ZRX), Basic Attention Token (BAT), and Augur (REP). The company’s chief executive officer, Robert Leshner, told Techcrunch that if or when Compound scales, “this will lead to some really interesting improvements in market structure, namely, fairer prices.” The startup, which is funded by Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital, has established partnerships with over two dozen hedge funds, including high-frequency trading platforms and over the counter trading desks.

What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section below.

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Coincap.

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Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today.

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New Uses for Lasers Coming Soon In 2019

There will be no doubt that in the five decades since its innovation, the laser has driven technological and scientific innovation into virtually every part of today’s modern life.

From communications to surgeries, from healthcare diagnostics to printing technology, from metal-cutting or even an industrial CO2 laser tube, the laser has proven to be an important and life-changing tool.

But do you think that the laser will continue to drive similar developments down the road? Or would it level off into a helpful, but progressively routine technology supporting step-by-step progress in 2019?

The answer is: The laser shows each and every sign for continuing its distinctively innovative role.

“The laser is so exceptional because it helps us to take advantage of light in a specific way,” says Nicholas Bigelow, DuBridge Professor of Science and optics at the University of Rochester. “Light is actually the ‘quanta’ of electromagnetism, meaning that light is the particular carrier of the standard force that forms the entire world as we know it.”

Computing Data or Numbers at a Light Speed

In the 90’s the laser joined the computer system as a helpful working connection, but the laser still only scans, reads, and memorises for the computer. Some researchers think that the laser could possibly go further and provide a radical change in the way the computer is made. The computer system itself contains wire connections, chips, connectors, and various other parts through which electrically powered signals circulate. Industry experts explain that in the bigger supercomputers sometimes too many fragments of information try to reach the same point simultaneously.

The Fantasy of Unlimited Electrical Power

A far more ambitious and far-reaching long-term use for the laser will certainly be the production of electrical power, primarily in the form of energy to power factories, offices, machines, and homes. Today’s significant resources for power are water energy, the burning of fossil fuel, oil, gas, and atomic reactors. However, most of these approaches may not be adequate to fulfil the energy requirements for the future. The populace of the world is growing speedily, and more people have a demand for more electrical power. Laser advancement will be the breakthrough in providing the maximum energy in the world. In 2019 the revolution of energy will take place, and it will be a surplus.

Nuclear and Lasers Fusion

The majority of atomic scientists believe that sooner or later atomic power will likely be supplied by a combination, an atomic effect in which a couple of atoms are paired. However, starting a combination reaction requires a massive initial power. Many experts believe that “laser chains” can certainly supply that power. A laser chain contains a number of laser amps over 100 feet long, which accentuate the energy of lasers. The particular high-powered beams are usually linked through laser beam splitters to ensure that several beams reach a tiny gas pellet from all ends simultaneously. This will cause an explosion strong enough to induce a fusion reaction.

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Top Canadian mobile stories from the past week

Every week we bring you the latest in Canadian mobile news. Listed below is a quick overview of the top stories from the past seven days.

• CRTC to begin evaluating and selecting broadband fund projects in 2019 [Read here]
• Amazon Music Unlimited is now available in Canada [Read here]
• ISED launches consultations to review broadcasting, telecom sectors [Read here]
• More alleged Pixel 3 and 3 XL press renders show off white variant [Read here]
• Here’s what’s coming to Netflix Canada in October [Read here]
• New leak gives first look at alleged Pixel Stand press renders [Read here]
• Instacart plans to expand Toronto office and hire 200 people [Read here]
• Fido launches ‘XXL’ rate plan tier across Canada [Read here]
• Canada ranks 30th overall in global mobile video quality report [Read here]
• Rogers tipped to release BlackBerry KEY2 LE on October 5 [Read here]
• macOS Mojave is now available – here are 3 notable features [Read here]
• 66 percent of Canadian gamers play online on smartphones [Read here]
• City of Toronto launches new ‘TOwaste’ app to help with waste disposal [Read here]
• Shazam is going ad-free following Apple acquisition [Read here]
• Best Buy Canada and Amazon Canada clearing Echo Dot inventory with smart speaker sale [Read here]
• Pixel 3 live wallpapers leak, new ‘Come Alive’ and ‘Living Universe’ options [Read here]

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Disgruntled ICO Investors Threaten to Bring in the Crypto Lawyers

OPPO Find X with 10GB RAM Appears On TENAA

Thanks to its motorized slide-up camera module, OPPO Find X is certainly one of the more interesting phones in the market. Now, it about to get a little bit more interesting soon as a filing on TENAA lists a new variant of the phone with an increased amount of RAM.

Instead of the 8GB that we saw for the Malaysian market, the database lists the RAM of this model as 10GB. The images on the certification site also show the phone in Grey, instead of the previously released Blue and Red.

 

However, the other specs of the phone remain the same though. In other words, we still looking at Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 with up to 256GB internal storage. There is also the 6.42-inch Super AMOLED Full HD+ screen and the three cameras – 16MP +20MP on the back and 25MP selfie – on the motorized slide-out rails.

In general, 10GB may be overkill for a smartphone but then again, this model could be a limited-run for certain markets such as China. Even so, it will be interesting to see the dawn of double-digit RAM in smartphone pretty soon.

(Source: TENAA, Theleaker.com via GSMArena)

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Continual Learning is the Key to Personal Development

Whether you are working in the technology field, in finance, or running a business in another field, staying current with the latest developments is a key differentiator. Indeed, Bill Gates and other business titans read many books a year (Gates reads at least 50) and some set aside time every year to do so. Often this leads to breakthroughs in thinking and clarification about business objectives; other times, it allows some much-needed perspective on the business they’re running.

Continual learning is important. In the fast-moving world we’re living in, creating tectonic shifts in previously immovable business landscapes, learning how to develop knowledge across a broad range of disciplines improves thought processes, decision-making and final outcomes.

Fitting Your Homework in at Night

Whether you are learning a course at home or taking night classes, it’s easy to fall behind or get lost in the details. The risk with falling behind with a course that you attend in person is there’s no easy way to catch back up; you just end up lost in the tall grass and nothing that comes later in the course makes sense.

A good example of this is a business executive taking a course in economics, a dense topic that helps better understand the numbers behind the company, industries and economies. It also informs people about investing, which assists in knowing where to park spare business earnings. To continue the example, when falling behind, getting some economics homework help is in order. These courses include sample questions, assignments, extra papers, and guides to help with the sub-topics.

Educated Through Books

Learning new lessons is possible through books. Whether it’s autobiographies of business titans in another industry that still have general relevance or business books that teach about thought leaders, the top CEOs are usually well read. Indeed, leaders tend to keep up with the best of the latest slew of book releases. That isn’t just a coincidence!

Reading approaches vary from physical printed book, to Kindle, Nook or Kobo e-readers, and the various audio book formats. The best format for you partly depends on your time availability to read vs listening to an audio recording. Also, consider what your best learning method is for best retention of the material too. For example, not everyone finds audio books easy to retain information once listened to.

Podcasts While Exercising

Podcasts, especially business podcasts, are helpful when you want to continually develop yourself. Useful books get highlighted and important guests discuss their latest ideas, research and findings. The best time to listen to an audio book is when traveling to and from work, or when exercising. It’s one of the few times when multi-tasking is actually more productive, not less.

The process of continual learning isn’t something we should stop doing once we leave higher education. There are people who’ve never read another book after leaving school or college. Make sure this isn’t you because it’s necessary to be well read on current business thinking as well as specifics within your niche or industry to get an edge over your competition.

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Proposed Crypto Mining Moratorium Rejected by County in Montana

Montana’s second most populous county, Missoula County, has rejected the proposal for a moratorium on cryptocurrency operations. The proposal was first presented at a public hearing in June but was postponed for three months.

Also read: 160 Crypto Exchanges Seek to Enter Japanese Market, Regulator Reveals

Proposed Crypto Moratorium Rejected

Missoula County’s board of commissioners held a public hearing Thursday to decide whether to accept or reject the proposal for a one-year emergency moratorium on new or expanded cryptocurrency operations.

Crypto mining could be limited in the county “under temporary emergency interim zoning,” the Missoulian described. The mining moratorium proposal was first presented at a public hearing in June but the decision was postponed for three months “to give staff more time to consider various options,” the publication added.

After Thursday’s hearing, the county posted a notice on its website stating:

The commissioners voted not to adopt interim zoning, and instead directed staff to investigate the development of regulations targeting the impacts of concern such as noise, electronic waste, and energy.

Jennie Dixon from the county’s Community and Planning Services department revealed that 92 percent of about 80 written comments from 71 individuals supported the moratorium, the news outlet noted.

No Authority

Attorney Jaymie Bowditch represents Hyperblock Technologies, the parent company of Project Spokane, one of the companies operating a cryptocurrency mining operation in the Missoula town of Bonner. He explained:

In order to approve the one-year moratorium using interim zoning, they [the county] had to show an imminent threat to public health or safety. By extending the public hearing for three months, it showed that no immediate danger was posed.

Commissioner Jean Curtiss was quoted by the publication confirming that “the county doesn’t have the authority that the state or cities may have to regulate one industry using the interim zoning.”

Commissioner Dave Strohmaier commented, “We are talking about the impacts themselves, not necessarily crypto mining as an industry — the noise, e-waste, possible excessive use of electricity that threatens our planet.” He was further quoted suggesting: “It may be that we need a much broader approach because of the potential this would be myopic. But I do have serious concerns about the energy use.”

Crypto Mining in Missoula County

The county has been trying to attract crypto miners to set up operations. According to its website:

Missoula County is an attractive place for locating cryptocurrency mining operations due to the region’s low electricity rates and cool weather which helps to keep equipment from overheating.

The county’s website also details that “Electric utilities that operate in Missoula County report receiving large numbers of inquiries from cryptocurrency mining firms.” Furthermore, there are “two commercial-scale cryptocurrency mining facilities” that are currently operating in the county, “as well as an unknown number of small home-based cryptocurrency mining operations.”

However, the website also points out some concerns regarding “the current and potential adverse impacts of cryptocurrency mining on the public health and safety of its residents.” These impacts include noise pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, electrical system reliability and safety, fire safety hazard, and electronic waste containing heavy metals and carcinogens.

What do you think of Missoula County rejecting the proposed crypto mining moratorium? Let us know in the comments section below.

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