Apple has issued a tart response to an extensive report by Google of a serious security flaw in iOS. The flaw, which let an attacker gain root access to a device visiting a malicious website, was reported last week. Apple wants to “make sure all of our customers have the facts,” which is funny, because it’s likely we wouldn’t have any of the facts if Google had not so rigorously documented this issue.
In a brief news post, Apple says that it has heard concerns from its customers and wants to make sure they know they are not at risk.
The attack, Apple says, was “narrowly focused” and not an exploit “en masse.” “The attack affected fewer than a dozen websites that focus on content related to the Uighur community,” Apple wrote.
While it’s true that only a small number of websites were affected, Google said that those websites were visited thousands of times per week — and the attacks were active for about two months. Even a conservative estimate based on these numbers suggests more than a hundred thousand devices could easily have been probed and, if vulnerable, infected. If only 1 in 100 were iPhones, that would be root access to a thousand of the target population. That rock bottom estimate already sounds pretty “en masse” to me.
Furthermore, while it may make the non-Uighurs among us feel better that we were not the targets of this campaign, it’s cold comfort as the targeted demographic could just as easily have been a political or religious institution we do take part in.
Apple takes issue with Google’s suggestion that this offered “the capability to target and monitor the private activities of entire populations in real time.” This was, according to Apple, “stoking fear among all iPhone users that their devices had been compromised.”
Yet Google’s warning in this case seems relevant. An undetectable root exploit for current iPhones deployed via website popular among a targeted population? That should stoke fear among all iPhone users, since it seems clear that they very well could have been compromised before now. After all, there’s no evidence this Uighur-targeted attack was the only one.
Apple points out that “when Google approached us, we were already in the process of fixing the exploited bugs.” That’s great. But who then wrote up a long technical discussion of the issue so that other security researchers, along with consumers, will be aware?
It’s a bit troubling for Apple to say that “iOS security is unmatched” during the discussion of an incredibly dangerous and powerful exploit that was apparently deployed successfully against an ethnic minority by, almost certainly, the only nation-state that has any interest in doing so. Has Apple explained to the Uighurs whose phones were invisibly and completely taken over by malicious software that it’s okay because “security is a never-ending journey”?
Had Google’s Project Zero researchers not documented this problem, we probably would never have heard about it except as an anonymous “security fixes” decimal point in our mobile operating systems.
Journey or no journey, this was a serious security failure that appears to have been successfully and maliciously exploited in the wild. Apple’s sour grapes and defensive language are out of place here, and a mea culpa would have behooved the company better.
Monotype recently introduced a new typeface called Ambiguity, created by its Type Director, Charles Nix. Its unusual proportions deliberately challenge typographical conventions, going wide where a letter was once narrow and vice versa. I had a chance to talk to Nix about the genesis of Ambiguity and the state of type design; The conversation was interesting enough that I felt I should publish it more or less intact.
The interview has been slightly edited for clarity and conciseness. I started by asking for a little background on Monotype and what Nix does.
Charles Nix: Monotype is a very old company. It’s at least 125 years old, if not hundreds of years, just based on the number of foundries that have consolidated over the last 200 years. The current iteration of Monotype is the largest purveyor of digital fonts in the world.
The Monotype Studio is a discrete section within it that creates and manages type collections. There are around 60 of us, a dozen or so of which are type designers.
We help customers navigate the library, because it’s vast. We make do typeface recommendation, identification, pairing; we also help customers by modifying existing typefaces slightly in order to make them perform more uniquely.
And lastly the studio does custom design work, so we work with customers in order to identify their type needs, then create custom type solutions from the ground up.
Devin Coldewey: You mentioned the company is an amalgamation of foundries and studios from a century and more. The digital era seems like an exciting and weird one to be in type because the tools are so strong and distribution is so straightforward. Is this a good time to be in type versus 10, 20, 50 years ago?
Nix: I mean, you’re talking to a type designer, so any time working on type is a good time. But I agree with what you said, this time and this company, I want to say it’s all been leading up to this moment.
The tools and communication regarding typography, the typographic plenty, the awareness of typographic history, all these things are so amazing and focused at this point, there’s no more exciting time in the history of type to be involved.
Coldewey: What do you think is the biggest change in the last decade or so? Digitally the adoption of high-DPI screens has probably made type look a lot better, but I don’t know whether it’s actually changed what people do, or how it’s designed or approached.
Tools, distribution, and awareness — those three things are coming together to create the greatest typographic plenty in the history of the world.
Nix: There’s a triangulation of factors that are affecting type design at this point. One is the tools — and I always make this distinction, popular tools versus democratic tools. The tools aren’t democratic, but they’re popular enough, and they’re available enough, not freely obviously, but much much more freely and more accessible than any time in the 500 years of type founding, right?
As you pointed out, type is and has been for the last 30 years software. And slightly longer actually, if you look back to the early, early digital type, but now and in the public consciousness, it’s software. So distribution is crazy fast, and widespread.
My mother, she’s a special case because she helped my dad, who was a printer, so she knows more about type than most mothers. But in 1985 she could probably name five or six typefaces off the top of her head. And now she and everybody else’s mother has a favorite typeface, right?
That’s a huge change in the way that the world views type. What will come into sharper focus in the coming years is how those people harness the ability of typefaces to help modulate their own language, to help tell the story of what they say in print.
So tools, distribution, and awareness — those three things are coming together to create the greatest typographic plenty in the history of the world.
When Medal.tv first launched on the scene, the company was an upstart trying to be the social network for the gaming generation.
Since its debut in February, the clipping and messaging service for gamers has amassed 5 million total users with hundreds of thousands of daily active users. And now it has a $9 million new investment from firms led by Horizons Ventures, the venture capital fund established by Hong Kong multi-billionaire Li Kashing.
“We’re seeing sharing of short-form video emerge as a means of self-expression and entertainment for the current generation. We believe Medal’s platform will be a foundation for interactive social experiences beyond what you can find in a game,” says Jonathan Tam, an investor with Horizons Ventures.
Medal sees potential both in its social network and in the ability for game developers to use the platform as a marketing and discovery tool for the gaming audience.
“Friends are the main driver of game discovery, and game developers benefit from shareable games as a result. Medal.tv is trying to enable that without the complexity of streaming,” says Matteo Vallone, the former head of Google Play games in Europe and an angel investor in Medal.
It’s a platform that saw investors willing to fork over as much as $20 million for the company, according to chief executive Pim DeWitte. “There are still too many risks involved to take capital like that,” DeWitte says.
Instead the $9 million from Horizons, and previous investors like Makers Fund will be used to steadily grow the business.
“At Medal, we believe the next big social platform will emerge in gaming, perhaps built on top of short-form content, partially as a result of gaming publishers trying to build their own isolated gaming stores and systems,” said DeWitte, in a statement. “That drives social fragmentation in the market and brings out the need for platforms such as Medal and Discord, which unite gamers across games and platforms in a meaningful way.”
As digital gaming becomes the social medium of choice for a generation, new tools that allow consumers to share their virtual experiences will become increasingly common. This phenomenon will only accelerate as more events like the Marshmello concert in Fortnite become the norm.
“Medal has the exciting potential to enable a seamless social exchange of virtual experiences,” says Ryann Lai, an investor from Makers Fund.
When Medal.tv first launched on the scene, the company was an upstart trying to be the social network for the gaming generation.
Since its debut in February, the clipping and messaging service for gamers has amassed 5 million total users with hundreds of thousands of daily active users. And now it has a $9 million new investment from firms led by Horizons Ventures, the venture capital fund established by Hong Kong multi-billionaire Li Kashing.
“We’re seeing sharing of short-form video emerge as a means of self-expression and entertainment for the current generation. We believe Medal’s platform will be a foundation for interactive social experiences beyond what you can find in a game,” says Jonathan Tam, an investor with Horizons Ventures.
Medal sees potential both in its social network and in the ability for game developers to use the platform as a marketing and discovery tool for the gaming audience.
“Friends are the main driver of game discovery, and game developers benefit from shareable games as a result. Medal.tv is trying to enable that without the complexity of streaming,” says Matteo Vallone, the former head of Google Play games in Europe and an angel investor in Medal.
It’s a platform that saw investors willing to fork over as much as $20 million for the company, according to chief executive Pim DeWitte. “There are still too many risks involved to take capital like that,” DeWitte says.
Instead the $9 million from Horizons, and previous investors like Makers Fund will be used to steadily grow the business.
“At Medal, we believe the next big social platform will emerge in gaming, perhaps built on top of short-form content, partially as a result of gaming publishers trying to build their own isolated gaming stores and systems,” said DeWitte, in a statement. “That drives social fragmentation in the market and brings out the need for platforms such as Medal and Discord, which unite gamers across games and platforms in a meaningful way.”
As digital gaming becomes the social medium of choice for a generation, new tools that allow consumers to share their virtual experiences will become increasingly common. This phenomenon will only accelerate as more events like the Marshmello concert in Fortnite become the norm.
“Medal has the exciting potential to enable a seamless social exchange of virtual experiences,” says Ryann Lai, an investor from Makers Fund.
Need a new operating system that doesn’t cost a penny? You might have heard about Linux, the free and open source alternative to Windows. However, there are many other free operating systems for laptops and desktop PCs.
Capable of performing standard computer tasks, these free operating systems are strong alternatives to Windows.
1. Linux
Linux is free, widely available, and has acres of online guidance, making it the obvious choice. MakeUseOf publishes its own Linux help guides, while we’re also addicted to compact Linux-powered ARM hobbyist computer the Raspberry Pi.
And that is the beauty of Linux: it will literally run on anything. If you’re looking for a free alternative to Windows, you try Linux Mint, currently the most popular Linux operating system. But this is a competitive field—perhaps you aspire to own a Mac? If your Cupertino lust is all about the visual design of macOS, then you might consider Elementary OS.
In short, Linux is the number one free alternative to Window for the simple reason that it is amazing. Check our list of the top Linux operating systems to download a version to suit you.
2. Chrome OS
In some ways this is another obvious choice. Chrome OS, from Google, is available on a number of low-cost and some high-end laptops, known as Chromebooks. It’s also available to download free, suitable for installing on aging hardware.
Lightweight and with a focus on cloud computing, Chrome OS is great for web browsing, social networking, and word processing. It’s less impressive at media playback, and media editing and gaming are beyond its capabilities.
If Linux isn’t your cup of tea but you’re looking for something that is easy to use, Chrome OS is a good free alternative to Windows.
Many think that FreeBSD is just another Linux distribution. While sharing the Unix-like roots of Linux, FreeBSD is the modern, open source version of the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD).
FreeBSD can be considered a relative of Linux and its code can be found in many places. These include Apple’s macOS and Sony’s PlayStation 4 operating system.
Overall, FreeBSD is a reliable operating system for servers and desktops alike. While it doesn’t ship with a desktop environment by default, there is support for GNOME, KDE and Xfce desktops.
FreeBSD is of interest to those with security and privacy concerns, offering enhancements developed by the TrustedBSD project. This has the of McAfee, DARPA, Google, University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, Apple, and many more.
Most modern operating systems are built around the concept of multitasking. FreeDOS is different. This DOS-compatible OS is as different from Windows as it’s possible to get— FreeDOS is based on Windows’ predecessor, MS-DOS.
A free operating system with support for older games and applications, FreeDOS can be easily connected to your network. In addition, various software packages can be installed, from tools to enhance the classic DOS experience to apps and emulators.
FreeDOS is as useful for productivity as it is for recovering old data.
It doesn’t matter if you own a modern desktop, an older rig, or you’re running it in a virtual machine. FreeDOS is a great option if you’re looking for a more traditional experience reminiscent of 80s/90s computing.
Another UNIX-based free Windows alternative, illumos is based on OpenSolaris, an operating system abandoned by Oracle in 2009. Based on the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) and System V Release 4 (SVR4), the illumos core is the heart of many OpenSolaris forks.
This is not unlike the way in which the Linux kernel is found in every Linux distribution. As a result, many illumos distributions are available. The most popular is probably OpenIndiana, which features in the accompanying video.
If talk of the alternatives being Linux and UNIX is leaving you on edge, consider ReactOS as your Windows alternative.
Originally launched in 1996 as a Windows 95 clone project, the official website states that “the ultimate goal of ReactOS is to allow you to remove Windows and install ReactOS without the end user noticing the change.”
In short, the aim is that you should be able to continue using your PC as you did before. ReactOS features over 9 million lines of code and is open source.
However, ReactOS has been in the alpha stage for quite some time now. While some apps such as Adobe Reader will run on ReactOS, many won’t. It’s lightweight, though, requiring just 500MB of hard disk space and 96MB of RAM to run.
One day, ReactOS might be a perfect, free alternative to Windows, but until then, it is available for your evaluation. Install it from the boot CD or run the LiveCD on your existing operating system.
Haiku is free and open source and was first released in 2001. Since then, this free operating system has been in continuous development and runs various apps. Some you will have heard of, like VLC Media Player and Quake. Haiku will also run may apps from the abandoned BeOS operating system.
However, Haiku releases are infrequent, making it perhaps the least attractive alternative in this list. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a free alternative to Windows, it’s certainly worth looking at Haiku.
MorphOS is an Amiga-like operating system, based on the 80s/90s home computer and available for PowerPC and similar devices. While, the chances an old Windows PC has a PowerPC processor are small, old Macs will run MorphOS.
However, if your Mac experience ended with Apple’s adoption of x86 CPUs, a Windows alternative might be useful. Time to dig out that old iMac, Mac Mini, or Power Mac!
AROS is a free operating system with a similar heritage to MorphOS but designed for x86 systems. This means that it should be able to run on your PC. In some ways, your PC or laptop turns into a modern-day Amiga computer, capable of running old and new software.
Note, however, you’ll be unable to read old Amiga discs on a modern PC, even with a 3.5-inch drive. As such, you’ll be limited to ROMs.
Even so, this makes for an interesting alternative to Windows. There’s a Live CD you can try of AROS, giving you a good flavor of this free operating system for PCs.
Available for 32-bit and 64-bit hardware, MenuetOS is an operating system that can be installed from a single floppy disk. Just to clarify, that’s a single floppy disk of 1.4MB.
Incredibly, it includes a full GUI desktop, a browser, media player, and spreadsheet pre-installed. Built with Assembly language, MenuetOS also features support for USB webcams, and handles resolutions up to 1920×1080 (16 million colors).
Some games are also built in, along with email client, FTP, and HTTP server. You don’t have to boot MenuetOS from a floppy disk—it can be installed from CD or USB.
And thanks to some independent developers, Android is available as a free download for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.
The benefits of using Android as your free Windows alternative are clear. After Windows, it is the most-used operating system on the planet. Apps for Android are everywhere and you’re probably already using at least one.
Android offers support for standard PC applications, like word processing and email/web, along with good media editing tools.
Android can also be used for media streaming and has a massive library of games. In short, Android could be the ultimate free alternative to Windows. It really depends what you’re looking for in an operating system.
Various Android versions are available for desktop and laptop PCs. Phoenix OS provides an Android gaming platform on PC; you should also consider PrimeOS for an Android desktop experience.
Awesome Free Windows Alternatives to Install Today!
These alternatives to Windows are free, easy to find and straightforward to install.
Linux
Chrome OS
FreeBSD
FreeDOS
Illumos
ReactOS
Haiku
MorphOS
AROS
MenuetOS
Android
Not all will suit your specific requirements, but we’re certain you’ll find a new OS you can grow to like. Interested in seeing how operating systems have evolved over the years? Check out this list of classic operating systems that you can access in your browser.
Until Apple’s own event later this year, the AirPods won’t be the world’s best true wireless stereo headset anymore. Huawei took another punch at Apple and crowned the new FreeBuds 3 with a range of noise cancelling features. But with its competitive advantage in the US, Apple might still beat them to the punch by bringing their new AirPods model to the market sooner.
In the meantime, let’s drool over the amazing product Huawei has announced. During his IFA 2019 Keynote, Huawei’s CEO Richard Yu wasn’t shy to stress Huawei’s achievements. Terms like “the world’s first”, “the world’s best”, or simply “the best” rolled off his tongue like tweets pulse through Trump’s hands. And the FreeBuds 3 deserve all the praise.
Huawei’s latest generation of true wireless stereo earbuds are powered by the company’s new Kirin A1 processor. It’s the world’s first Bluetooth 5.1 and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.1 chip for wearable devices, and it’s 5% smaller than Apple’s H1 chip. The Kirin A1 supports dual channel Bluetooth connections, which enables lower latency and lower power consumption than its competitors.
Interestingly, the slides highlighting how the Kirin A1’s speed compared to the competition omitted Apple’s H1 performance. Could it be that this point goes to Cupertino?
What makes the FreeBuds 3 stand out is their intelligent noise cancelling technology. In fact, they are the world’s first open fit earbuds with active noise cancellation. You can tune the adaptive noise cancellation to achieve up to 15dB of ambient noise reduction.
Huawei didn’t stop at optimizing your personal experience with their product. They also implemented “uplink noise cancellation”. A bone sensor will aid the microphone in capturing pure vocal vibration and eliminating ambient noise. Moreover, Huawei has designed an aerodynamic microphone duct that shields the microphone from noise created by winds of up to 20 kmh (12.4 mph). With Huawei’s FreeBuds 3, even your conversation partners will enjoy a crystal clear sound, regardless of what you’re up to.
Last but not least, the FreeBuds3 come in a stylish pebble-like case with fast-charging technology. It will extend the earbuds’ 4 hours of battery life by an additional 16 hours to 20 hours total. And whether you charge wirelessly or using a wire, you’ll be topped up 50-100% faster than your AirPods owning friends.
Clearly, the FreeBuds won’t be free once they come to market. But sadly, Huawei was not ready to share a release date or price. We might not see them until CES next year. Or Huawei might surprise us and trump Apple once more.
Foldable phones might not be ready to withstand every day use, yet, but dual screens are viable.
At IFA 2019, LG announced the LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen. It’s essentially a phone case with a screen for a flap. The phone that pairs with the Dual Screen case is the LG G8X ThinQ. This solution is not nearly as elegant as the foldable screens we’ve seen in the past, but it gets the job done, it’s more robust, and probably easier to repair.
LG had previously released the LG V50 Dual Screen, which introduced the concept. It has a smaller screen, but a better resolution (QHD+) than its Dual Screen cousin.
The G8X ThinQ features a 6.4″ FHD+ OLED display with a 2340×1080 pixels resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The secondary screen now has the same dimensions as the primary phone. It even duplicates the notch. Yes, it makes no sense. The Verge speculated that it might be for aesthetic reasons or because it saved costs.
Let’s have a look at the functionality of the two displays:
You can move open apps between screens with a three-finger swipe. You can also switch to landscape orientation and a special two-window app drawer across both screens. We thought that the gap created by the 360° Freestop hinge is a bit jarring. Both of these features work with any app.
Presently, only the Chromium-based Whale browser supports split-screen, multi-window (or tab) multitasking with both screens. In Whale, you can click a menu button to open a second browser window on the second screen. You can then swap screens with a separate menu button. While no other apps currently support this feature, LG said that Chrome will soon catch up.
Other than for multi-tasking, you can also use the second screen as a touch-based controller. It’s possible to detach the G8X ThinQ from the case, but we almost broke the USB-C connector when we tried that.
On the flip side of the Dual Screen, LG placed a third display. However, the cover display only serves as a status screen without any support for user input or interaction. The front of the cover looks like a mirror and it was covered in fingerprints after we were done playing with the phone.
LG wouldn’t comment on when or where the phone will be available or how much it will cost, except that the price will be in the high-end range.
Despite well documented recent troubles, Huawei appears unscathed at IFA 2019. The release of the flagship Kirin 990 5G dual SoC is a substantial step forward for mobile processor design and a boon for Huawei, especially with the release of the Huawei Mate 30 firmly on the horizon.
The biggest draw here is the integration of a 5G modem into the Kirin 990 SoC. The 7nm processor has over 10 billion transistors, is a massive 36% smaller than the previous generation, and integrates AI tech to make the Kirin 990 series extremely power efficient. The Kirin 990 series also uses a combination of “big” and “tiny” cores to help Huawei devices cope with strenuous tasks like mobile video editing or gaming, with the tiny cores taking care of the smaller tasks and remain power efficient.
In terms of hardware, the Kirin 990 5G has two big cores with 2.86GHz clock speed, two with 2.36GHz, along with four tiny cores with 1.95Ghz. The combination makes the Kirin 990 5G Huawei’s most powerful mobile CPU released to date. Furthermore, the Kirin 990 5G packs a 16-core Mali-G76 GPU. The Mali-G76 adds 6 cores from the previous generation, providing a 6% performance boost, but also a whopping 20% boost to power efficiency.
The Kirin 990 5G supports sub-6GHz networking on both the SA and NSA architectures, integrating the Balong 5G multi-mode chipset into the all new Da Vinci architecture.
Interestingly, Huawei is still launching a 4G “only” version of the Kirin 990 series. 5G adoption is increasing but remains low overall. Therefore, for the current time, consumers can still opt for a slightly less powerful chip. Overall, the Huawei Kirin 990 5G looks an exceptional piece of hardware, pushing mobile processor design firmly toward the future. Huawei are launching the new (and sublime looking) Mate 30 Pro in Munich on September 19th, and the Kirin 990 5G will be the powerhouse bringing the new device to life.
As a final note, Huawei also announced a major update to their wireless earbud range, known as FreeBuds. The Huawei FreeBuds 3 will now feature noise cancelling technology, something still quite rare in other wireless earbud options, such as Apple’s AirPods. Huawei say the noise cancelling tech can remove around 15 decibels of external noise, allowing wearers to hold a conversation via the FreeBuds “at speeds of up to 20km/h on a bike.” The FreeBuds 3 lineup also feature dual channel Bluetooth connectivity, helping decrease overall power use by nearly 50%, as well as decreasing latency around 30%.
Huawei may well be having a tricky time in other areas, but their tech innovating shines through once more.
Our verdict of the Z-EDGE Z3D Dual Lens Car Camera:
Looking for a dashcam with HD recording, GPS, and a parking mode that doesn't drain your car battery? Z-EDGE Z3D Dual Cam Dashcam should be top of your list, and at under $150 for two cameras, can suit a range of dashcam uses.910
Want to keep your motor insurance costs down? A dashcam is a great idea, but they can do more than save you money. With a dashcam, your car’s safety and security are always monitored. You can review your driving and check the details of incidents.
While many dashcams only provide forward-facing recordings, the Z-Edge Z3D Dual Dashcam has something more: a rear camera. But what value does this add to your dashcam experience?
Unboxing the Z3D Dual Lens Car Camera
As with any dashcam kit, you’ll find all the cables you need in the box, along with the two cameras.
Specifically, the contents are the front-facing dashcam featuring a 2.7-inch screen, a plastic tool, two USB cables, a shorter USB cable, a GPS windscreen mount, adhesive cable clips, the rear-facing camera, and a cable for connecting the two cameras. There’s also a dual USB adaptor, warranty card, and user guide.
The user guide will prove useful if you’ve never installed a dashcam before, but it’s worth reading even if you have. Most dashcam kits don’t come with a separate rear camera. Instead, they usually incorporate the rear-facing cam with the main dashcam unit. The result of this is that the car occupants receive more attention than the vehicles behind.
While this might be useful in some scenarios (like making a carpool karaoke video), having a better appreciation of the road behind can improve your driving.
Dual Dashcam or “Dual Lens Car Camera”?
Most dashcams work in a pretty simple way. The camera is powered via the 12V dual USB accessory socket (“cigarette lighter”) and mounted in the windscreen or dashboard. Note that there is no option to wire the camera directly to the car battery.
Instead, the dashcam has a G-Sensor and adequate battery to detect and record while the car is unattended. This could be you returning to the car and unlocking, or someone trying to break in and steal your vehicle.
The footage, or stop-motion images, are then stored on an SD card for review later. For most, the standard forward-facing single-camera dashcam is adequate. Some units have an additional rear-facing camera but remain concerned largely with action at the front of the car.
The Z-EDGE Z3D device differs in that it has these two separate cameras, both capable of recording at Full HD resolution. This affords clear recording of events around the vehicle, from the activity on the road to potential car crime when parked.
Z3D System Specs
Dashcams are increasingly finding new ways to entice customers. The system spec of the Z3D Dual Cam Dashcam is one of the most impressive we’ve seen.
With dual cameras comes dual 1080p recording, giving you the Full HD experience when driving. Just as important is the frame rate—30FPS is available, ensuring clear capture. Meanwhile, if you opt for just the front camera, the Z3D dashcam records in WQHD 2560x1440p (also at 30FPS).
The two cameras boast a 150-degree wide viewing angle. Recorded footage should capture four lanes of traffic ahead and behind, with reduced blindspots.
Night vision can be a problem for some dashcams. To deal with this, Z-EDGE has employed WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) technology to compensate for light and dark areas and balance exposure. The six-layer glass lens and imaging processor are designed to aid in the capture of clear footage and recording of details such as license plates.
Footage and stills are saved to the microSD card. The Z3D dashcam supports up to 128GB, providing up to 720 minutes of recording time. Loop mode ensures that footage is prioritized, with notable events stored in their own folder and other material overwritten as space runs out.
Built into the dashcam’s windscreen mount is a GPS module. This accurately records your vehicle’s location, speed, and route, and the data can be reviewed when loaded into the Z-EDGE desktop software (for macOS and Windows).
Installing the Z3D Dashcam
How you install the Z3D is entirely up to you. The rear camera is entirely optional, letting you carry on with a standard forward-facing dashcam with WQHD. Alternatively, you might opt to add the second camera either as a parking camera. It’s also suitable for use as an interior camera, which may prove useful if you’re a private car hire.
We started off by attaching the suction cup mount alongside the rear-view mirror. This twists-and-locks into place, ensuring your dashcam is securely mounted. The GPS module is built into this (more on that later) along with a power socket and short cable to power the dashcam. A slow is provided to attach the dashcam.
Connecting the dashcam to your car can be tricky. The included clips are almost certainly necessary. These are self-adhesive and should be attached to the windscreen along the path you want the cables to take. Of course, these should be nowhere within your view of the road.
Placing a dashcam on the actual dashboard is not really an option these days. However, the thing to remember is that the dashcam and cables should not impede your view.
For the safest results, cabling should be run around the edge of the windscreen, and behind the rear-view mirror. Installing this device, I let the cables hang above the dashboard until the power cable was successfully routed under the steering wheel. Only then did I use the adhesive cable clips.
Z-EDGE has helpfully included clips that are big enough to route two cables. This is useful for connecting the rear/secondary camera to the front dashcam.
Installing the Rear Cam
If you opt for the secondary cam, prepare yourself to route the cabling through the furnishings and panels of your car. Above the door, below the door, perhaps under the carpet. How successful this is will depend on the design and size of your car.
The rear cam comes with a data cable which should be long enough to connect to the primary camera. Once hooked up, it can be used to simply record events at the back of the car, or even act as a parking monitor.
It’s wise to measure out cable length first; at 26 foot long, it could prove to be far more than you need. One option is to store excess cable within the car’s upholstery or paneling. For example, the MPV used to install the Z3D Dashcam has a removable panel around the rear window. I used this to store the spare eight feet of USB data cabling.
With the rear cam routed to the main dashcam and the system powered on, you should see instant results. The secondary cam will appear by default in picture-in-picture mode.
Setting Up the Dashcam for Daily Use
Dashcam set up is straightforward, enabling you to quickly get started with it. The controls are minimal too, with a simple menu button, up and down, and an enter/OK option. These can be used for various purposes, from enabling the camera (OK) to altering the settings via the menu.
Booting the camera for the first time, you’ll be prompted to set your location and timezone. Moments later, footage from the camera will be displayed. It’s that quick!
Default settings are 1080p and 30FPS, 3-minute loop recording, G-Sensor sensitivity normal, date stamp enabled, and motion detection off. All of these can be adjusted to suit, however.
Configuration can largely be discerned from the display, although it is wise to wait until parked to do this. A red LED illuminates when the camera is recording, but all other information is on the screen, including recording and resolution settings. Loop duration is found here, too, along with GPS status, the parking monitor, and video protection. This can be enabled while driving by pressing the menu button. The event will then be protected from overwriting.
Does Your Dashcam Need GPS?
Dashcams record the road, so why is GPS needed? Well, it’s not for doubling the device up as a satnav! Rather, the GPS feature, courtesy of a module in the mounting component, logs your location. A dedicated app is available from the Z-EDGE website, providing GPS, video footage, and Google Maps integration.
Versions of the app are available for Windows and macOS, which should let you easily review your footage. Location, speed, and route are logged with GPS, with this information then clearly presented alongside the video in Google Maps.
When reviewing footage, you’ll see a map in the top-right corner displaying your location. However, if you’re in a GPS blackspot, this won’t happen until the car moves into a more receptive location.
To view the files in the app, it’s necessary to access them directly from the microSD card, or by connecting the dashcam to your computer via USB. The app uses the MAP files created by the dashcam to chart your GPS position. You can capture screenshots via the app, too, which are saved to your default image folder.
If you don’t want to use the app—perhaps you have no need for the GPS data—you can simply browse the SD card in your desktop file manager.
Does the Z3D Good Enough Make a Reliable Dashcam?
These days, anyone can afford a dashcam. Available at so many different price points, they range in quality and reliability.
To judge whether the Z3D is good enough, we can consider the following:
Easy setup
Stable software
Reliable battery
Appropriate storage media
Easy to install in your car
Lightweight build
Lengthy power lead
In the case of the Z-EDGE Z3D Dual Cam Dashcam, we can consider the advantages above, with one exception. The device isn’t easy to install unless you’re planning to only use the front-facing camera.
Do you know how to change the oil on your car? What about how to knit a scarf? Or how to make compost?
If you need some help with life’s little chores, the internet is full of guidance. But which sites should you head to when you need some advice? Here are 12 how-to sites that everyone needs to have saved in their bookmarks.
wikiHow is a collaborative site that allows anyone to submit an article about a topic of their choosing. And because it’s a wiki, other authors can update and amend pieces to make them more accurate and/or complete. Indeed, according to the site’s own literature, the average article is edited by 23 people and reviewed by 16 people.
The list of categories is massive. There are Arts and Entertainment, Philosophy and Religion, Sports and Fitness, Home and Garden, and Finance and Business, to name just a few.
Instructables is a how-to site with seven categories—Circuits, Workshop, Craft, Cooking, Living, Outside, and Teachers.
Projects on the site have varying degrees of complexity, but there are also varying degrees of “wackiness.” On one end of the scale, there are genuinely useful creations such as outdoor steel fire baskets and kids’ games. At the other end, we are not sure how many people really need a polar bear made from scrap metal in their lives.
It’s easy to overlook YouTube—it’s not something a lot of people think of when considering the best how-to sites on the web.
But if you don’t check it out, you’re missing out. There are thousands of channels dedicated to every topic imaginable. The trick is to find the right one and then explore its playlist.
Reddit has millions of how-to posts across its subreddits. However, there’s also a subreddit specifically dedicated to people’s how-to requests.
Users post how-to conundrums their facing, and readers chime in with their tips and suggestions. There are no restrictions on the type of advice people can ask for, with the exception of adult entertainment.
A quick scroll through the top posts at the time of writing shows people offering how-to advice on topics as diverse as cleaning sneakers to polishing brass bowls.
Acme How To (which thankfully has no connection to Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote!) is a DIY-focused how-to website. Broadly speaking, the content is split into three categories: Improvements, Repairs, and Decorate.
Just about every conceivable aspect of home DIY has its own subsection. For example, you can use Acme How To to learn how to grout, paint, lay a floor, control pests, and a whole lot more.
The site also has a small review section to make sure you’re buying the best tools for the job.
Cars can be confusing. And more importantly, they can also be extremely expensive to maintain.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you spend some time doing a spot of self-learning, you can save yourself a fortune and have some fun at the same time.
If you’re looking for a how-to site for autos, check out How a Car Works. The site is part-explanations, part-guides. All the information is categorized into subsections such as Brakes, Electrical, Fuel, Steering, Suspension, and other car-themed topics. Many of the video how-to guides require payment.
If arts and crafts are more your thing, Craft Stylish is a how-to site that you need to bookmark. It’s packed with how-to articles and videos across topics such as sewing, embroidery, jewelry making, knitting, paper art, and crochet.
The site also lets you create a personal profile. You can use it to interact with the community and resolve your how-to questions and queries.
If you’re looking for how-to articles about as wide a range of topics as possible, HowToDoThings is probably the site for you.
There are 18 categories to browse. They cover cars, pets, travel, careers, and everything in between. It means that on the same site, you will find articles as such as how to stretch before a dance class and how to get a housing grant for a first-time buyer.
Rather than publishing its own content, Hackr.io is a repo of how-to articles that have been bookmarked from other sites. As the name suggests, all the content is geared towards programming and coding.
You’ll find tutorials and how-to guides for subjects such as Python, C++, PHP, Google Analytics, Alexa, and even Bitcoin.
Users can submit new content; the site deploys an upvote/downvote system that’s similar to Reddit.
Snapguide is another community-driven how-to site. Categories on Snapguide include Art and Crafts, Food, Lifestyle, Deserts, and Automotive. There are how-to guides on everything from how to change a tire to how to bake a birthday cake.
Even though the site is excellent, Snapguide is primarily aimed at mobile users. People can add their own how-to guides thanks to the app’s simple interface. It lets you snap photos, record videos, and add text in a cinch.
We’ll end with a bit of shameless self-promotion. If you need to know how to do anything in the tech world, MakeUseOf should be your first port of call. We’ve published how-to articles on everything from Android Auto to Tinder.
We think we’re the best, and we’re confident you’ll agree if you spend a bit of time digging through our content.
The Best How-to Sites
The 12 sites we’ve listed cover a broad range of topics and hobbies, but we know our selections are nowhere near exhaustive. Ergo, we’d love to hear which sites you’d add to the list. Make sure you reach out and let us know in the comments below.
Google can now help you decide what TV show or movie to watch next. You tell Google what sort of movies and TV shows you like, and the company will return recommendations. And it’s all managed by a simple, Tinder-like swipe-right and swipe-left system.
How to Use Google to Find What to Watch Next
Google explains the new feature in a post on The Keyword, saying, “it’s not always easy to choose from all the options out there […] and you might find yourself spending more time browsing across multiple apps than actually watching a movie or TV show.”
Don’t worry, as Google has a new way to help you decide what movie or TV show to watch next. All you need to do is search Google for “what to watch” or “good shows to watch”. You’ll then see the new “Top picks for you” carousel.
No idea what to watch? No problem. Just search for “good shows to watch” or “what to watch” on mobile, then swipe left or right to get personalized picks. Learn more and find your new favorite show ? https://t.co/DDmBXvaDvupic.twitter.com/r9hJPwAA07
Tap the Start button in that carousel and you can begin rating TV shows and movies. Just like Tinder, you just need to swipe-right or swipe-left to indicate your preferences. Swiping right gives a thumbs-up, while swiping left gives a thumbs-down.
You can also drill down into specific genres by searching for things like “horror movies from the 80s” or “adventure documentaries about climbing”. Google will then try to give you options of what to watch in these (very specific to the point of being niche) genres.
Other Ways to Decide What to Watch Next
Once you have found what to watch, Google will help you find where to watch that movie or TV show online. Options will include streaming services you subscribe to, plus places such as YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon where you can purchase the content instead.
This new Google Search feature is now available on mobile in the US. You’ll have to put some effort in though, as Google can only work with what information you provide. Thankfully, there are other websites to find what TV show to watch next.
Yesterday at TechCrunch’s Enterprise event in San Francisco, we sat down with three venture capitalists who spend a lot of their time thinking about enterprise startups. We wanted to ask what trends they are seeing, what concerns they might have about the state of the market, and of course, how startups might persuade them to write out a check.
We covered a lot of ground with the investors — Jason Green of Emergence Capital, Rebecca Lynn of Canvas Ventures, and Maha Ibrahim of Canaan Partners — who told us, among other things, that startups shouldn’t expect a big M&A event right now, that there’s no first-mover advantage in the enterprise realm, and why grit may be the quality that ends up keeping a startup afloat.
On the growth of enterprise startups:
Jason Green: When we started Emergence 15 years ago, we saw maybe a few hundred startups a year, and we funded about five or six. Today, we see over 1,000 a year; we probably do deep diligence on 25.
As rumors about Apple’s plans to launch a Tile competitor swirl, Tile today announced it’s teaming up with Google to make it easier for users to locate their lost items using their Android devices and Google Assistant. For the uninitiated, Tile is a small hardware accessory that you can attach to items like keys, purses, bags, wallets, and more, which can then be tracked using a combination of Bluetooth technology and the wider network of Tile users running the companion app on their phone.
The newly announced Google Assistant integration will make it possible for Android users to use voice commands to ring the Tile attached to the missing item. This is supported by way of Tile’s “direct ring” technology, which allows the platform to directly connect with then ring the lost item.
The Google Assistant integration will be similar to using any other smart home Action through the Assistant, Tile says, and will launch later this year.
“This is big news for Tile customers,” said CJ Prober, CEO of Tile, in a statement. “If you were to lose or misplace your wallet, remote, backpack – anything, Google will soon join your personal search party with a simple voice command.”
Tile’s announcement of Google Assistant integration comes at an interesting time.
It’s unclear, of course, when Apple plans to actually unveil this hardware. But Tile, apparently, is looking to get ahead of any such announcement with its news for Android users.
Tile has grown to become one of the top makers of Bluetooth-powered lost item trackers on the market, with 22 million sold in 2018 and a user base that’s locating over 5 million items daily using its platform across 230 countries and territories around the world.
As of today, that list also includes Sennheiser, which launched its new Momentum Wireless around-ear headphones (339 EUR) at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin today. The headphones will ship with Tile’s Community Fine technology built-in, so users can locate them if they become misplaced, lost or stolen.
Tile now has over 20 partnerships with the addition of Sennheiser, the company says.
Why I became a climate activist -- and why you should too | Luisa Neubauer
"I dream of a world where geography classes teach about the climate crisis as this one great challenge that was won by people like you and me," says climate activist Luisa Neubauer. With Greta Thunberg, Neubauer helped initiate "Fridays For Future," the momentous international school strike movement that protests the lack of action on the climate crisis. She shares four first steps that anyone, regardless of age, can take to become a climate activist. "This is not a job for a single generation. This is a job for humanity," she says.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced this morning that she’s leading an investigation into Facebook over antitrust issues — in other words, whether Facebook used its social media dominance to engage in anti-competitive behavior.
In a statement, James said:
Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers. I am proud to be leading a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in investigating whether Facebook has stifled competition and put users at risk. We will use every investigative tool at our disposal to determine whether Facebook’s actions may have endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising.
According to the announcement, that coalition includes the attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia.
“People have multiple choices for every one of the services we provide,” Facebook’s vice president of state and local policy Will Castleberry said in a statement after the new investigation was announced. “We understand that if we stop innovating, people can easily leave our platform. This underscores the competition we face, not only in the US but around the globe. We will of course work constructively with state attorneys general and we welcome a conversation with policymakers about the competitive environment in which we operate.”
Xiaomi said on Friday it has shipped over 100 million smartphones in India, its most important market, since beginning operations in the nation five years ago. The company cited figures from research firm IDC in its claim.
“It’s a testament to the love we have received from millions of Mi Fans since our inception. There have been brands who entered the market before us, yet are nowhere close to the astounding feat we have achieved,” said Manu Jain, VP of Xiaomi and MD of the company’s India business, in a statement.
As competition in its home nation intensified, India has emerged as the most important market for Xiaomi in recent years. When the Chinese firm entered the nation, for the first two years, it relied mostly on selling handsets online to cut overhead. But in the years since, it has established presence in brick-and-mortar market, which continues to drive much of the sales in the nation.
Image: Manish Singh / TechCrunch
Last month, Xiaomi said the company is on track to building presence in 10,000 physical stores in the country by the end of the year. It expects offline market to drive half of its sales by that time frame.
Even as smartphones continues to be its marquee business in India, Xiaomi has also brought a range of other hardware products to India and has built software services for the local market. The company has also donned the hat of an investor, backing a number of startups including local social network ShareChat, which recently raised $100 million from Twitter and others, fintech startups KrazyBee and ZestMoney, and entertainment app provided Hungama.
In recent interviews with TechCrunch, Xiaomi executives have said that they maintain a dedicated team in India that looks at opportunities in investing in startups.
Samsung, which once led the Indian smartphone market, has launched a handful of smartphone models across various price points to better compete with Xiaomi. It has also ramped up its marketing budget in the nation. Xiaomi, which spends little on marketing, remains on top.
Xiaomi said on Friday it has shipped over 100 million smartphones in India, its most important market, since beginning operations in the nation five years ago. The company cited figures from research firm IDC in its claim.
“It’s a testament to the love we have received from millions of Mi Fans since our inception. There have been brands who entered the market before us, yet are nowhere close to the astounding feat we have achieved,” said Manu Jain, VP of Xiaomi and MD of the company’s India business, in a statement.
As competition in its home nation intensified, India has emerged as the most important market for Xiaomi in recent years. When the Chinese firm entered the nation, for the first two years, it relied mostly on selling handsets online to cut overhead. But in the years since, it has established presence in brick-and-mortar market, which continues to drive much of the sales in the nation.
Last month, Xiaomi said the company is on track to building presence in 10,000 physical stores in the country by the end of the year. It expects offline market to drive half of its sales by that time frame.
Before there was the Nest Home — heck, before there was even the Google Home Hub — there was the Lenovo Smart Display. The smart screen was far and away the nicest of the original Google Assistant screens, and the partnership between the two companies continues to be a fruitful, including the recent Smart Clock, a purpose-built bedside alarm clock.
With the Smart Display 7, announced today at IFA in Berlin, the company has slimmed down both the screen size and overall device footprint. At seven inches, it’s smaller than both of the original models (eight and 10 inches, for the record). It’s a rare step down in screen size for a new generation, but given the relative freshness of the category, there’s probably a fair amount of trial and error here.
The design language looks nice enough — perhaps a bit more generic than the first generation with its faux wood panel backing but the fabric speaker grille is a nice touch that fits in nicely with the rest of the Google Home line. Feature wise, you’re getting pretty much what you’ll get with the rest of the Assistant smart displays — Youtube, answers, smart home control.
Of course, Lenovo’s got more direct competition this time out from Google itself, in the form of the Nest Hub Max. And when it comes to products like these, it’s can be tough to compete with first parties. That said, at $130, it’s a full $100 cheaper than Google’s version, which is compelling in and of itself. The device ships next month.
