August 5, 2016 - The WAN Show Document

[LinusTech]

 

 

Main News Topics

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Announced

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/636834-samsung-galaxy-n OP: DocSwag

Source 2: http://www.anandtech.com/show/10538/hands-on-with-the-samsung-galaxy-note7

Specifications

Soc: Snapdragon 820 (US)

RAM: 4GB LPDDR4

Storage: 64GB + microSD expandable

Screen: 5.7” 1440p SAMOLED Dual Edge Display

Dimensions: 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm, 169g

Camera: 12MP Rear Camera, 5MP Front Camera

Battery: 3500mAh

 

• Samsung has added iris authentication to the Note 7 (useful for glove users?)

• Ability to turn videos into GiFs using the S-Pen

• Can’t put the S-pen in the phone backwards anymore

• IP68 compliant, even with the S-pen attached or detached

• Pre Orders for the phone start August 3rd

• Releases in US on August 19th

 

Note 5 vs Note 7 Specs Comparison

 

NVIDIA TITAN XP Reviews and Benchmarks

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/636779-nvidia-titan OP: HKZeroFive

Source 2: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3102877/components-graphics/tested-nvidias-new-tit

Source 3: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/73148-nvidia-t

• Specs

  • 16nm GP102

  • 3584 CUDA cores (compared to GTX 1080’s 2560)

  • 224 texture units

  • 96 ROPs

  • 1417MHz base, 1531MHz boost

  • 12GB GDDR5X clocked at 10GHz (QDR)

  • 384-bit memory bus, 480GB/s memory bandwidth

  • 250W TDP

• Price comes in at a whopping $1200 USD

• HardwareCanucks got theirs to overclock up to a continuous frequency of 1923MHz

• Gaming performance pretty much destroys everything else, coming in around 20% faster than aftermarket 1080s in some titles

 

Microsoft Pitches Technology That Can Read Facial Expressions at Political Rallies

Source 1: https://theintercept.com/2016/08/04/microsoft-pitches-technology-that-c

Source 2: http://www.politico.com/events/2016/07/digital-campaigns-at-the-dnc-224937?slide=0

• In Cleveland, OH, Microsoft's Research Division advertised a tech that can read facial expressions in a massive crowd

• Can analyze emotions, and report back in real time

  • Titled “realtime crowd insights”

  • Small camera scans the room, while a monitor displays the captured image

  • Picture From Test

• Every five seconds, new image would appear with data annotated for each face

  • Assigned serial number, gender, estimated age, and any emotions detected in facial expression

  • Keeps track of serial number, and can identify the same person hours later

• Christina Pearson, Microsoft spokesperson told Alex Emmons from “Theintercept” that you could use this tech at a Trump rally, or even the Super Bowl as an example

• “Real Time Crowd Insights” is an Application Programming Interface (API)

  • Connects web applications to Microsoft's cloud computing services

  • Through their emotional analysis API, Microsoft's servers analyze the faces and return emotional profiles for each one

 

World's First Programmable Quantum Computer

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/637701-first-programmab OP: NumLock21

Source 2: http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/science-world/scientists-have-created-a-

• Programmable quantum computer has been built and tested for the first time

  • Done by a team at the University of Maryland

• At the heart of the device is five electrically charged atoms, or ions, trapped in a magnetic field and vibrated by precisely targeted laser beams

  • By manipulating the ions in ways that exploit their ability to be more than one state at the same time, scientists were able to run programs that would be difficult or impossible for a conventional computer

    • One test involved performing a calculation in a single step that would normally require several stages

    • Another demonstrated a “quantum Fourier transform (QFT), a mathematical operation that could be used to break secure encryption codes

• Despite consisting of only five “qubits” - researchers say their quantum computer module is flexible and can be scaled up

• US quantum physicist Professor Christopher Monrow, who led this University of Maryland team, said:

  • “Very few people know what their iPhone is actually doing at the physical level”

  • “Our experiment brings high-quality quantum bits up to a higher level of functionality by allowing them to be programmed and reconfigured in software”

• How it works video (1:43 Long)

• Machine uses laser-manipulated ytterbium ions to drive quantum “logic gates” - equivalent of switches and transistors that power ordinary computers

• A number of quantum computing devices have been built, but generally perform one function and can’t be programmed to run traditional software

 

• •  

NASA Trains Astronauts Using Consumer Grade VR and “NVIDIA GPU Technology”

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/637887-nasa-trains-astr OP: LeapFrogMasterRace

Source 2: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/08/01/astronauts-next-steps-journey-s

• NASA embarking on a 15-year journey to Mars

  • VR will play a key role in this

• They use NVIDIA GPU technology, combined with Unreal Engine 4, consumer-grade VR, physical mockups and models, wearable technologies, and room scale tracking

  • Used to create what NASA calls a “Hybrid Reality System”

  • Will provide an extremely immersive and realistic training capability at a lower cost than traditional “analog” field tests

• Frank Delgado and Matthew Noyes at NASA’s Johnson Space Center Hybrid Reality Lab have the goal to create a low cost, scalable platform to enable an “out of the world experience”

  • “Hybrid Reality is about incorporating the best elements of physical and virtual realities to get the best of both worlds”, Noyes states

  • “Our objective is to improve the experience for your other senses so it feels less like a headset and more like a Holodeck”

• Next step for this program is to create a sense of weightlessness

  • Noyes says that the Johnson Space Center’s “Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) is an excellent candidate

  • ARGOS “is a smart, robotic crane that offloads all or part of your body weight

  • System allows astronauts to practice navigating around the outside of a spacecraft

• NASA uses NVIDIA GPU technologies like VRWorks to help NASA visualize training scenarios

 

Rapid Fire

6% Netflix Tax for Citizens of Pennsylvania, USA

Source 1: https://www.yahoo.com/style/one-state-start-paying-netflix-200813488.html

Source 2: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/16/08/03/2229242/pennsylvania-to-apply-6-netflix-tax

•  

• Citizens of Pennsylvania will have to pay a 6% sales tax on their streaming services

  • Will be extended to digital downloads and subscriptions services such as Netflix and Hulu

  • Also will include music, e-books, apps, online games, and ringtones

• Exemptions will include magazine and newspaper subscriptions, as well as digital versions of the bible and some textbooks

• Also exempt, is the resale of digital products

• People referring to it as the “Netflix tax”

  • Done to help offset a $1.3 billion hole in the state’s budget

  • WTAE reported that it could bring in an additional $47 million for PA

 

Facebook to Tweak their News Feed to Show you Less Clickbait

Source 1: http://venturebeat.com/2016/08/04/facebook-tweaks-the-news-feed-to-show-you-less-c

Source 2: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36985662

Source 3: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/08/news-feed-fyi-further-reducing-clickbait-in-feed/

• Facebook have built a technology that scans for signs of clickbait headlines on its news feed sections

  • Examples including “you’ll never guess why” or “his response was priceless”

  • Created by a team at Facebook who manually reviewed “thousands of headlines” to put together a list of commonly identifiable clickbait traits

• Two key points to determining “clickbait” titles:

  • 1) if the headline withholds information required to understand what the content of the article is

  • 2) if the headline exaggerates the article to create misleading expectations for the reader

• System will analyze posts the frequently come from “clickbait” pages, and will rank them to appear lower in the news feed

• Update to News Feed will hit in the coming weeks

• According to an august 4th post in Facebook’s news room

•  

Comcast Says It Wants to Charge Broadband Users More for Privacy

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/638119-comcast-says-pa OP: Lurick

Source 2: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Says-It-Wants-to-Charge-Broadb

Source 3: https://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Votes-For-New-Broadband-Pr

• Comcast has informed the FCC this week that it should be able to charge broadband users looking to protect their privacy more money

• FCC has been crafting new privacy rules for broadband that would force ISPs to disclose exactly what they’re collecting and selling

  • While also working provide opt-out tools for customers

• In a new filing with the FCC, Comcast argues that charging consumers more money to opt out of snoopvertising should be considered a “perfectly acceptable” business practice

• “A bargained-for exchange of information for service is a perfectly acceptable and widely used model throughout the U.S. economy, including the internet ecosystem,” Comcast said in the filing

  • Argument is that protecting your own privacy should be a luxury option

• AT&T was the first major broadband provider in the US to charge users more to protect their privacy

  • When it launched its gigabit broadband service in Austin in late 2014

  • Users have to pay $30 or more on their monthly premiums if they want to opt out of AT&T’s “Internet Preferences”

    • Deep packet inspection program that tracks your browsing behaviour around the internet

• This comes as the FCC is looking to update legacy phone privacy rules in the Communications Act for the broadband era

 

US Copyright Office Sides with Cable Companies Against FCC’s Proposed Set-Top Box Rules

Source 1: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/08/us-copyrigh

Source 2: https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/04/us-copyright-office-doesnt-want-the-fcc-t

Source 3: https://www.publicknowledge.org/assets/uploads/documents/CO_set-top_letter_%

• US copyright office doesn’t want the fcc to unlock cable boxes

• They think they should remain under control of cable providers

• Stated in a letter:

  • “"We have no doubt that a number of the third-party products facilitated by the FCC's [new] rule would enable fair and other noninfringing consumers uses of MVPD [multichannel video programming distributor] programming," writes Maria Pallante of the US Copyright Office. "The Copyright Office is therefore focused on whether or not these goals can be accomplished without overriding other concerns of copyright law and policy. The Office's principle reservation is that, as currently proposed, the rule could interfere with copyright owners' rights to license their works as provided by copyright law, and restrict their ability to impose reasonable conditions on the use of those works."

• Piracy is only one concern coming from the US Copyright Office

  • Just as concerned for potential for third-party boxes to work around other aspects of selling content that make cable providers money

 

Valve Will Grant Royalty-free Licenses to Anyone Making SteamVR peripherals

Source 1: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/08/valve-will-grant-royalty-free-lice

Source 2: https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/04/htc-vive-open-source/

• Currently you can only use hardware from HTC to play VR games or apps in the SteamVR ecosystem

• May soon change as Valve announced Thursday that all licenses for the system’s VR tracking interface will be free

• To be clear this is not an announcement for new HEADSETS, it’s for other add-ons and peripherals

• SteamVR has always been advertised as a platform that will be open to other headset manufacturers, though that hasn’t happened yet

• Add-on examples given are a pair of gloves, two-handed shotgun, a iece of fake medical equipment, or “whatever else you can imagine”

• All add-ons will need to interact with the lightboxes to work in SteamVR

• Some manufacturers have been attempting to do this already, but now it is officially supported by Valve

  • Valve will provide a trackable-peripheral dev kit

    • Includes EVM circuit boards, Vive lightboxes, and 40 individual sensors

  • Kits will be made available for free to approved licensees

  • Will include documentation and information that hardware manufacturers can use to eventually mass-produce any finished product

  • Approved parties are required to attend a training seminar hosted by a consulting firm in Seattle which costs almost $3,000 per attendee

  • HTC will provide similar seminars in Asia “in the coming months”

• Ars notes that Valve representatives had not yet commented (at the time of writing) to questions about approval and curation of SteamVR-compatible sex toys and “teledildonics” (tools for remote sex or other sexual activities)

•  

 

Using VPNs: What UAE Residents Need to Know

Source 1: http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/crime/using-vpns-what-uae-residents-ne

• Experts spell out the benefits of VPNs and when the use of the tech can be considered illegal

• The legality around VPNs has not changed, and not all residents in the UAE who use the technology will face imprisonment and fines

  • Confusion surrounding the impact of the law stemmed from “inaccurate reporting” by some foreign news websites, according to a UAE based lawyer

• What has been amended in the Cybercrime law, is the amount of fines that offenders will face, in addition to the existing provision on imprisonment

• Kellie Blyth, a senior associate at Clyde & Co, suggested that private individuals, aside from corporate organizations, don’t run the risk of going to jail and paying a fine as long as they don’t use a VPN to commit a crime

  • She says any misuse of the technology however, may still be punishable

• The Telecommunications and Regulatory Authority (TRA) issued a statement to clarify that companies, banks and institutions are not prohibited from using VPNs

 

Photographer Sues Getty Images for Selling Photos she Donated to Public

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/637684-photographer-sues-g OP: mohawkADE

Source 2: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/07/photographer-sues-getty-images-for-s

Source 3: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2999596-Gov-Uscourts-Nysd-46078

• Firm demanded $120 from Carol Highsmith for alleged copyright violation of her own photo

• This well-known American photographer has sued Getty Images and other related companies

  • She claims they have been wrongly been selling copyright licenses for over 18,000 of her photos that she had donated to the public for free, via the Library of Congress

• According to the lawsuit, Highsmith’s gift continues “to the present” as she continues to take new photographs

• Ars Technica searched for Highsmith’s photos on Getty Images and sees that they’ve been removed

• According to the suit, Getty and its affiliates have not only sold unauthorized licenses of Highsmith’s photos, but have sent threatening letters to people who they believe have infringed the copyright

  • One of these recipients being Highsmith’s own non-profit group: This is America! Foundation

 

Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine

Source 1: https://torrentfreak.com/torrentz-shuts-down-largest-torrent-meta-search

Source 2: http://www.storypick.com/torrentz-shut-down/

• One of the world’s largest torrent sites, has announced “farewell” to its millions of users

• Was a meta-search engine that hosted no torrents of its own, instead linking to other sites such as Pirate Bay

• Founded in 2003

• A few hours ago on August 5th, Torrentz disabled its search functionality

  • Now refers to itself in the past tense

  • Linked Picture

• Site users are no longer able to login either

• Now simply says “Torrentz will always love you. Farewell.”

 

Xbox One S is Faster than Xbox One

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/637175-xbox-o OP: AluminumTech

Source 2: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-xbox-one-s-has-a-gpu-ove

Source 3: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-inside-xbox-one-s-tech-interview

• Xbox One S released August 2nd

  • Has a GPU clock speed of 914MHz (Up from 853MHz on the older version)

• Supports 4K as well as HDR media and gaming

  • 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray & 4K video streaming are supported

  • HDR supported for games and video

  • Important note: HDMI 2.0 is not currently supported, so 4K is only available in up to 30fps

  • Also upscales 1080p or other content to 4K

• Microsoft said “Some games (ones that utilize dynamic resolution and/or unlocked frame-rates) may see a very minor performance improvement. Our testing internally has shown this to be pretty minor, and is only measurable on certain games, so we didn't want to make it a 'selling point' for the new console."

 

Starting This Fall, Apple Will Pay up to $200,000 for iOS and iCloud Bugs

Source 1: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/08/starting-this-fall-apple-will-pay-up-to-20000

• Bug bounty program to start small and slowly expand over time

• As part of a security presentation given at this year's Black Hat conference, Apple announced it would be starting up a bug bounty program in the fall

  • Program will reward security researchers who uncover vulnerabilities in Apple’s products and bring them to the company’s attention

  • Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and many other companies already offer a similar program

• Apple is keeping the scope of the program small for now

  • Bounties are being offered for a small range of iDevice and iCloud bugs

• List:

  • Secure boot firmware components: Up to $200,000 (USD)

  • Extraction of confidential material protected by the Secure Enclave: Up to $100,000

  • Execution of arbitrary code with kernel priveileges: Up to $50,000

  • Access from a sandboxed process to user data outside of that sandbox: Up to $25,000

  • Unauthorized access to iCloud account data on Apple servers: Up to $50,000

• Company will expand list of eligible security researchers, as well as list of hardware and software for which the bounties are offered

• Researchers who want to claim the bounties will need to submit a report to Apple with a working proof-of-concept exploit that works on the latest stable version of iOS

• Payments listed above are upper limits - actual payments will vary

• Apple said it is implementing this program because bugs are becoming harder to find

 

The Next Google Maps Update Could Show How Bad Parking Is

Source 1: https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/04/the-next-google-maps-update-could-

Source 2: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3725166/Never-waste-hours

Source 3: http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/08/03/google-maps-v9-34-beta-adds

• Update currently in beta

• Could include text-based alerts informing users to parking shortages at their destination

• Will allow for you to account for both traffic and parking scarcity at your destination

• Service will likely be based on total number of spaces available in a given area

  • Taking into account time of day and nearby public events

• Update also includes a feature that will fix when you accidently reorient the direction of the map

  • Keeping it in “always point north” mode

• More details to come

 

• •  

 

OnePlus to Halt Sales of OnePlus 3 for More Than a Month in 24 Countries

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/637519-oneplus-to-halt-sales-o OP: patrick3027

Source 2: http://www.phonearena.com/news/OnePlus-to-halt-sales-of-the-OnePlus-3-for-

• Without the invite system, OnePlus 3 is selling better than the company expected

• Has forced them to extend the shipping date on new orders, especially in Europe

• They are running out of inventory in certain markets

• In order to build inventory back up, sales of OnePlus 3 will be halted starting August 9th at 6pm EDT, until September 12th at 5:50 EDT for the following:

  • Austria, belgium, bulgaria, croatia, cyprus, czech republic, estonia, france, greece, hong kong, hungary, ireland, italy, latvia, lithuania, luxembourg, malta, netherlands, poland, portugal, romania, slovakia, slovenia, spain

• If you place an order before this sales hald, your phone will go out on the estimated shipping date

 

Now Anyone (With $3,000) Can Buy Microsoft’s HoloLens AR Headset

Source 1: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/637750-now-anybody-can-b OP: AluminumTech

Source 2: http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/2/12358554/microsoft-hololens-augmented-rea

Source 3: https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2016/08/02/hololens-development-edition-updat

• Microsoft opening up sales of its HoloLens augmented reality headset

• They’ve been amazed to see what people have done with the hardware

  • Gave examples like training aircraft mechanics and flight crews, to helping golf pros and fans get more out of their game

• They’ve fulfilled orders for their first wave of developers, and announced to extend their program

• Making HoloLens Development Edition available to all developers and business customers in the United States and Canada

• Also introducing the Microsoft Commercial Suite

  • Will include the development edition hardware, as well as enterprise features for added security and device management

• Some features include:

  • Kiosk mode: can limit which apps to run in order to enable demo or showcase experiences

  • Mobile Device Management: IT department can manage multiple hololens devices simultaneously

  • Identity: Azure Active Directory & next generation credentials with pin unlock

  • Windows Update for Business: controlled operating system updates to devices and support for long term servicing branch

  • Work access: can remotely connect to corporate network through a VPN on a HoloLens

  • Windows Store for Business: IT department can set up an enterprise private store

    • Containing only your company’s apps for your specific Hololens usage

Anniversary Update Video (1:27 Long)

Can go to http://hololens.com/ to purchase the device

[iamdarkyoshi]

Dat black text on grey background

[MoonlightSylv]

Plz fix the text Linus.

 

EDIT: Second?

Edited August 6, 2016 by ShadowTechXTS

[jman116]

Oh my god, it's on soundcloud, I'll have to listen as a podcast at school during robotics!

[givingtnt]

woop !

[FanBlade]

The best news is Facebook fixing clickbait. I think they should also search the pictures that link to a newsfeed for clickbait. Overall a good news week

[Master Disaster]

Don't you guys have catch up TV in America? Here in England if you miss a show you've got a week where you can watch it direct from the box. 

[Inkz]

    @LinusTech @nicklmg  August 5rd? Whoever uploaded the video needs to go to bed.

[Master Disaster]

Also Jay got his Titan XP running at 2005Mhz stable and he reckons he could push it further with more tweaking. 

[Murasaki]

4 hours ago, Inkz said:

    @LinusTech @nicklmg  August 5rd? Whoever uploaded the video needs to go to bed.

AUGUST FIFURD

[Sacredsock]

Always entertaining to see Teran on the show, he has mastered the art of derailing Linus's train of thought.

 

What I actually wanted to highlight is the Xbox, (I know, Boo, hiss etc) the One-S is smaller, lighter and more power efficient. I think that it is more of a midlife facelift to tide things over until the new console launches, the fact it is only a light improvement in spec and no 4K gaming support kind of supports this.

[HBPencils1]

I am confused as to why Linus has no idea about the Lumia 950XL, 950 HP Elite X3, Surface Pro 4, Surface 4, Surface Book etc. This technology is not that new and is in place with Windows 10 and Windows Hello! I have no idea as to what is happening at this point when iris scanners can be used in darkness, with glasses etc. Please can I have an answer and a more rounded experience, it is all Apple and Android.

[Stagea]

8 hours ago, Sacredsock said:

Always entertaining to see Teran on the show, he has mastered the art of derailing Linus's train of thought.

 

What I actually wanted to highlight is the Xbox, (I know, Boo, hiss etc) the One-S is smaller, lighter and more power efficient. I think that it is more of a midlife facelift to tide things over until the new console launches, the fact it is only a light improvement in spec and no 4K gaming support kind of supports this.

Yep, Taran is cool.

 

I think the port and refresh/frame rate information given was incorrect, however. The new model has HDMI 2.0a based on my understanding, and supports 4K 60Hz in HDR. When you connect an Xbox One S to a screen it actually tries to detect if the screen would support that mode.

 

Here's what one would see (image from another site):

 

With how UHD Bluray players are priced, the Xbox One S can be treated as a disc player / media streamer with some gaming functionality built-in. 

[AlTech]

@nicklmg Can you fix the text for Dark Theme users? Thanks

[ESPImperium]

Listening to the WAN Show, and Linus Rant on the Core iX range, I'm thinking that it would make sense for Intel for Kaby Lake or the successor Cannonlake, would it be better to make the Core iX line like this:

 

(Use of present numbers for a crude comparison)

 

G3900 Celeron (Dual Core/Capped Ghz/low TDP - Fanless cooling allowable)

G4400 Pentium (4 Core/Hyperthreaded/Somewhat overclockable/Low TDP - Fanless cooling allowable)

6100 Base Core i3 (Non K/Hyperthreaded/Dual Core)

6300 Better Core i3 (Non K/Hyper Threaded/Higher Clock/Dual Core)

6400 Base i5 (Non K/No Hyperthreading/4 Core)

6500 Lower Tier i5 (Non K/Hyperthreading/Higher Base and Boost Clock/4 Core)

6600 Higher Tier i5 (Non K/Hyperthreading/Highest Base and Boost Clock/4 Core)

6600K Enthusiast i5 (K SKU/Hyperthreading/Highest Base and Boost Clock/4 Core)

6700T Base i7 (Non K/Hyperthreading/6 Core)

6700 Mid i7 (Non K/Hyperthreading/Higher Base and Boost Clock/6 Core)

6700K Enthusiast i7 (K SKU/Hyperthreading/Higher Base and Boost Clock/6 Core)

 

In UK prices, it would be everything from £99 for the base i3 to £399 for the top tier enthusiast i7. With the Celeron and Pentium each being available for £39 for the Celeron and £69 for the Pentium.