#_tech

[summerfanous-blog]

What to do with your Samsung Galaxy Note 7 now that it’s been recalled

After repeated reports of smoke and explosions, the Galaxy Note 7 is off the shelves, for good.

While Samsung wades through the mess of millions of recalls and refunds of millions of dollars’ worth of phones and accessories from around the world, if you had one of these devices, you’ve got your own work cut out for you: Where and how do you return your potentially-dangerous device

Luckily, your task is not nearly as complicated as Samsung’s. For the tech giant, nixing the Note 7 is a major upset and, as reported this week by The New York Times, a rarity in today’s fast-paced industry. In today’s world of technology, companies typically continue to fix and fiddle until the problem is discovered and resolved.

[The Galaxy Note 7 is being permanently discontinued. (CNBC)]

In Samsung’s defense, they did try to fix the problem. The first phone explosions were reported in August. Since then, the multi-billion-dollar South Korea-based electronics company has attempted, repeatedly, to determine the cause of the malfunction.

To date, an official reason for the phone’s defect has yet to be announced, although it appears the battery is to blame. It’s likely this was the last reason Samsung wanted to hear, as the battery is non-removable. This is another reason why a complete recall has been declared.

First steps

To swap your Note 7 for a safer option, first, shut it off. Samsung is recommending that everyone power off their phones immediately, regardless of whether you’ve experienced any personal problems with your device.

Exchange at a retailer

Next, take your phone back to whomever you purchased it from. Samsung, along with essentially all the major national retailers—including Telus, Bell, Rogers and SaskTel—are offering to exchange your phone for a device of equal or lesser value. Samsung will also refund your purchase altogether, if you so choose.

Online purchase via Samsung

If you ordered your phone via Samsung’s website, you should have received an email with instructions on shipping. It’s important to follow protocol, as national and international mail carriers are refusing to deliver Galaxy Note 7s that aren’t shipped in Samsung-monitored packaging. Samsung will send the appropriate shipping container directly to you.

Online purchase via anyone else

If you ordered online from any other main retailers, you will need to deliver it in person to the store nearest you.

What to get next

As for a worthy replacement, Samsung is limiting customers to a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge—which might not be such a bad option anyway. The Galaxy S7 Edge has received great reviews for its long battery life, water resistance and state-of-the-art camera.

If you are willing to spend a little more and wait a little longer, the Google Pixel is receiving noteworthy buzz. Boasting top-of-the-line features in just about every category possible, the 5-inch and 5.5-inch Pixel XL are looking to be the best Androids on the market yet, hands down.

For 2.5 million people who rely on their new Note 7 phones daily, this Samsung fiasco is a serious inconvenience. Fortunately, major providers have made it relatively easy to get your hands on an exchange or a loaner today. For Samsung, the solution not so simple. How the tech giant will fare from this PR nightmare and $2.3 billion loss remains to be seen.

[whenwedrift]

Digital detoxing without losing your job (or your mind)

[It’s hard to put down the digital devices, but every once in a while, it can be the right move.]

Michael Harris convinced himself he was the world’s greatest multitasker, able to seamlessly navigate the three screens on his desk and the dozens of windows they had open.

“I was living with a kind of ambient awareness of everything, (my) attention 10 per cent on 10 different things,” says the former magazine editor and author of the Governor General’s Award-winning “The End of Absence,” an exploration of the way being plugged in has changed our lives practically, socially, intellectually and emotionally. “I was staring at glowing rectangles and realized this wasn’t the life I imagined for myself.”

So in 2012, he quit his job and decided to focus his attention on writing “The End of Absence,” complete with a 30-day digital detox. Now before you jump to the comment section, it’s worth noting that Harris knows his stance is a somewhat privileged one.

“For most people, taking 30 days offline while still trying to be a productive member of society is not reasonable,” he says, adding that pulling off a digital detox is actually possible for “99 per cent” of society.

Yahoo Canada Finance spoke with Harris and fellow Canadian digital detox expert Christina Crook whose book “The Joy of Missing Out” looks at finding balance in a wired world, about how to escape from the moment-to-moment connectivity without losing your mind and your job.

Decide on your ideal media environment

“When we look at the Internet as a tool, it helps put our use of it into perspective,” explains Crook. “Start by asking the right questions: how is the technology serving me and is it actually serving me in the ways I want it to?”

Defining what goals you want to complete with or without technology can be anything from writing out a list of planned accomplishments to developing a hard schedule.

“Social media is basically a technological meme that has evolved with the expressed purpose of filling in any gaps that you leave, so you can’t be passive about your day’s schedule,” adds Harris. “If I know I’m doing three hours before lunch of concentrated creative work (then) the media environment I require is one of total digital silence – no phone and no email.”

Make your media diet 

“The jolt of dopamine you get when you check your phone or email and there’s a message (is) the real reason you’re running back to your inbox,” says Harris. “In the same way we are designed to hoard sugar and fats and oils and have to make a decision to not eat McDonald’s everyday, we have to craft a healthier media diet for ourselves… which (requires) using a bit of willpower.”

Harris advocates spending at least one day every week or so unplugged while Crook recommends taking an afternoon a week where you unplug and do other activities like exercise or non-digital work.

“Leave the house and your phone behind or if you take it with you, have it off or have the data off,” she says. “Just give yourself over to other activities as a weekly reset.”

Keep people in the loop

The key to keeping your job while spending less time with your mobile device is to let your colleagues and boss know.

“We all believe the world would fall apart if we left, especially in business,” says Harris. But checking your email from a beach in Hawaii isn’t doing your colleagues a favour. “Usually there’s confusion for about half a day when somebody genuinely goes offline and then people figure it out – just make sure people understand you’re going offline.”

Crook agrees that setting parameters even on a day-to-day basis can help you preserve your online/offline sanity.

“There’s so much unspoken in office,” says Crooks. Which is why managers and employees alike should be communicating what that media environment needs to look like for them to be at peak performance. “We need space with mental real estate for invention – that fuels us creatively.”

[michaelshulman-blog]

Man spends 11 hours trying to make cup of tea with Wi-Fi kettle

[A waitress pours tea at Bettys Tea Room, Harlow Carr on February 12, 2009 in Harrogate, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)]

Mark Rittman’s Tuesday morning was no cup of tea.

The Englishman waited 11 hours for his new, Wi-Fi-enabled kettle to boil the water for his drink.

Rittman, who is a data specialist from the town of Hove on the south coast of England, began his attempt at making a cup of tea at 9 a.m., but three hours later he still hadn’t produced a drop.

Still haven’t had a first cup of tea this morning, debugging the kettle and now iWifi base-station has reset. Boiling water in saucepan now. pic.twitter.com/lC3uNX5WTp

— Mark Rittman (@markrittman) October 11, 2016

3 hrs later and still no tea. Mandatory recalibration caused wifi base-station reset, now port-scanning network to find where kettle is now. pic.twitter.com/TRQLuLzLpx

— Mark Rittman (@markrittman) October 11, 2016

According to the Guardian, the crux of the issue stemmed from the fact that the base couldn’t seem to communicate with the kettle itself.

Now my wifi kettle is basically taking the p*ss. Told me it had found network, now you need to recalibrate me, oh btw I didn’t rly connect pic.twitter.com/WbGsIrzBio

— Mark Rittman (@markrittman) October 11, 2016

The key problem seemed to be that the new-age kettle didn’t come with the software that would allow for it to be integrated with other devices in Rittman’s home, including the Amazon Echo, which he was using for voice commands.

It is, and OK apart from flaky WiFi connectivity; main issue is that there’s no IFTTT or HomeKit integration, so hacked that together myself https://t.co/0IjD7q4wzM

— Mark Rittman (@markrittman) October 11, 2016

So the data specialist went about integrating the technologies himself.

After 11 hours of troubleshooting, the kettle finally started responding to voice control.

Well the kettle is back online and responding to voice control, but now we’re eating dinner in dark while lights download a firmware update pic.twitter.com/yPTDoUkM9Z

— Mark Rittman (@markrittman) October 11, 2016

And shortly after, Rittman got his oolong-awaited cup of tea.

My work is done. And now onto everything else I meant to do today, after that first cup of tea. pic.twitter.com/bJPuJ85TCT

— Mark Rittman (@markrittman) October 11, 2016

In response to Rittman’s tweets about his tea troubles, some social media users expressed their worries about the integration of technology in the kitchen.

@markrittman At this point, I’m desperate to avoid this future at all costs.

— Michael Laccetti (@mlaccetti) October 11, 2016

Because you don’t mess with English Breakfast.

[whenwedrift]

Future of Shomi's content up in the air as service shuts down

[Shomi is shutting down its digital streaming service. (CBC)]

Shomi: nothing. The Rogers and Shaw streaming joint venture has announced it will be shuttering November 30.

“We tried something new, and customers who used Shomi loved it. It’s like a great cult favourite with a fantastic core audience that unfortunately just isn’t big enough to be renewed for another season,” Melani Griffith, senior vice-president of content for Rogers told tech site MobileSyrup.

According to an email to Yahoo Canada Finance from the streaming service, Shomi had “recently approached” 900,000 subscriptions. However, it’s unclear whether or not that takes into account Rogers subscribers who received the service free with their wireless package.

According to Solutions Research Group, a Toronto-based data tracking firm, Shomi is used in less than four per cent of Canadian households.

“I’m not an insider, but their business model is likely not competitive, or even realistic, in an ecosystem trending towards a global delivery model, with Netflix demonstrating unbeatable first mover advantage,” Irene Berkowitz, an expert on the impact of digital media on television and an instructor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management, told Yahoo Canada Finance.

Simply put, Shomi likely has too few subscribers and moreover, only a Canadian footprint, which further limits the potential subscribers. Even at 900,000 subscribers, they wouldn’t be close to Netflix’s five million.

“They likely don’t have revenue or even potential revenue necessary to compete for top content,” she says. “They lack scale and the imperative in the new eco-system.”

But the closure of the streaming service, which will result in a $100 million to $140 million write-down on the Roger’s third quarter, is a peculiar one in Canada’s still-fresh-faced streaming ecosystem.

In the past when a Blockbuster or Jumbo Video closed its doors, cinephiles could make pilgrimages to buy the excess titles at deep discounts — but what happens with all those leftover licenses?

According to an emailed response from Owen McCorquodale, a spokesperson for Shomi: “In regards to the content on shomi, we are in the process of working with suppliers on next steps and the details of which are a proprietary matter.”

The company declined to provide any other details but Berkowitz says the fate of the licenses and rights to that content is a complex situation.

“There may be different exit clauses, penalties, and/or conditions per contract,” she says. “I would hypothesize the risk of continuing was assessed as greater than cost of shuttering.”

With Shomi, which launched in beta in November 2014, typically signing two-year deals for the content, those licenses are likely running out in step with company shuttering.

For Netflix, the impending demise of Shomi will likely go unnoticed but Bell took to the airwaves saying that for CraveTV it’s business as usual.

“There’s no change in the status of CraveTV,” George Cope said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “It’s meeting our expectations, continues to grow and Canadians continue to subscribe to that service, so we’re going to keep competing in that marketplace.”

But whether or not homegrown streaming services succeed, there’s no shortage of global licenses to be had. Berkowitz points out that currently five main streaming services have 50 per cent of global over-the-top content revenue – Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, HBO and Hulu.

“All are strategically positioned for growth with respect to both scale/distribution reach and content creation (so) their presence – or not – in Canada depends on possession of content streaming rights,” she says. “The new eco-system is still emergent and rapidly evolving – watch closely.”

[michaelshulman-blog]

Google's new A.I. translator comes close to human accuracy

[Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listens to a translator as Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto speaks during a a joint statement in Mexico City, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)]

Google says its new translation tool, which has been bolstered by artificial intelligence, can achieve results nearly on par with human translators.

In a paper published this week, the tech giant said that side-by-side comparisons of Google Translate’s new method, called Google Neural Machine Translation, “approaches the accuracy achieved by average bilingual human translators” in some tests.

On average, the new system also cuts down on roughly 60 per cent of translation errors that result from Google Translate’s current algorithm.

It’s a marked departure the company’s previous method, which was phrase-based.

In this method, the algorithm breaks down a sentence into words or phrases and attempts to match it in a massive dictionary.

In contrast, the GNMT system considers the original sentence as a whole.

It relies on two neural networks that have been trained using the same large dictionary: one to realize the meaning of the sentence and the other one to translate it into another language.

According to Quartz, because A.I. systems don’t have to rely on human logic, they can independently come up with their own solutions, rather than be handcuffed by the original code work.

“You don’t have to make design choices,” Mike Schuster, a Google engineer who worked on the project, told the online publication.

“The system can entirely focus on translation.”

Google says its new system reduces translation errors by between 55 per cent and 85 per cent on several major languages.

The biggest improvement is with English to Spanish and French to English, with the software’s results also approaching levels of human translation in several tests.

For example, Google Translate previously scored a 4.9, with a 6 being the perfect rendition, in English to Spanish, but that number was bumped 5.4 thanks to the GNMT systems.

Meanwhile, humans generally scored a 5.6.

Despite these promising results, Google admits that its new translation tool isn’t perfect.

“GNMT can still make significant errors that a human translator would never make, like dropping words and mistranslating proper names or rare terms, and translating sentences in isolation rather than considering the context of the paragraph or page,” the company said in a blog post.

“There is still a lot of work we can do to serve our users better. However, GNMT represents a significant milestone.”

Google is initially rolling out the technology for Mandarin, with new languages set to be incorporated in the coming months.

[michaelshulman-blog]

What it actually costs to make an iPhone 7

[Lisa Gao, from Chicago, compares a new jet black iPhone 7, right, with her iPhone 6 at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)]

At a starting price of $899, the new iPhone 7 isn’t cheap.

But how much does it cost to produce Apple’s flagship phone?

According to market research firm IHS Markit, who recently dissected the iPhone 7, the total amount to manufacture it comes out to about $298, with the price of materials being $291 alone.

That price tag equals roughly a third of the phone’s retail value.

IHS Markit said it’s also markedly more expensive than the cost of the previous iPhone model.

Though the iPhone 7 and its predecessor are hard to distinguish when they’re side by side (besides the 7’s obvious lack of a headphone jack), it does have some pricey upgrades under the hood.

The new model saw its base storage upgraded from 16 GB to 32 GB, its display boasts a wider colour gamut and it has an improved haptic engine, which reproduces the sensation of motion and tactile experiences.

These beefier specs result in the total manufacturing cost to be an estimated $49 higher than the iPhone 6.

In fact, the iPhone 7 is one of the most expensive phones Apple has produced (IHS Markit has yet to take the iPhone 7 Plus apart).

It’s $298 price tag surpasses the cost of all previous flagship models, including the original iPhone which takes second place at about $288.

It does however trail the iPhone 6S Plus, which cost an estimated $313 to produce.

The cost to make the iPhone 7’s main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S7, is roughly in the same ballpark.

However, the South Korean tech giants’ bottom line on the phone appears to be lower.

The S7 currently has a retail price of $750 for its 32 GB base model and costs about $338 to make, according to an IHS Markit teardown.

[michaelshulman-blog]

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto: these two songs composed by A.I. are worth listening to

[Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto for these great songs. / Z-Machines]

Artificial intelligence is making waves for its impacts in health care, manufacturing, transportation, and a wide range of other fields, but now it’s entering the creative industries with impressive forays into music.

Sony’s CSL Research Laboratory has released two pop tracks, which were composed by an A.I. system called Flow Machines.

The first song, “Daddy’s Car,” an upbeat, harmony-filled tune, is reminiscent of The Beatles.

Meanwhile, a second track, “The Ballad of Mr. Shadow,” is slow and dreamy, and evokes the style of American composers Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and jazz musician Duke Ellington.

Flow Machines creates these works of art by first analyzing a massive database of 13,000 lead sheets — mainly jazz, pop but also some Brazilian, Broadway and other genres of music — and then composing a new work by following the patterns found in certain styles.

However, the A.I. wasn’t a solo act: it worked in concert with a human collaborator, French composer Benoit Carre, who arranged, produced and wrote the songs’ lyrics.

Flow Machines, which is also funded by the European Research Council, isn’t the company’s first attempt at A.I.-generated music.

Researchers at Sony’s CSL lab, which is headed by Francois Pachet, have previously used A.I. to create “impressive” jazz songs.

Google also released a 90-second piano melody created by its Magenta program, which uses a trained neural network, earlier this summer.

But Sony’s two tracks aren’t the end of its plans to take over the charts; the company is planning to release an entire album of A.I.-generated songs in 2017.

[marcsaltzmantech]

How to travel with your tech hassle-free

[A good pair of headphones and the right entertainment device and make any flight go much easier.]

Luggage? Check. Wallet? Yep. Tech? You bet.

Today’s travelers likely have some high-tech companions to help keep them organized, productive, entertained, and in touch with those who matter.

But to avoid any hiccups while on the road, there are a few considerations to make before you pack your on-the-go tech gear.

Laptops

When going through security in North America, you’ll need to take out your laptop – as it’s likely in a backpack, briefcase, laptop bag, purse, or small carry-on suitcase – and place it in a bin for it to be scanned by TSA. While they don’t ask as much as they used to, you might also be instructed to turn it on after it passes through the machine, to confirm it’s really a working computer.

You can leave all other tech in your bag while scanned at the airport, if you like, such as a smartphone, tablet, camera, or battery charger.

Keep in mind, any spare lithium-ion battery you have – say, an extra battery for a laptop – must be carried in carry-on baggage only. If you leave it in your checked suitcase, it could be declined once scanned, which could complicate your travels. Therefore, take it out and bring it with you onboard the aircraft.

If you like using a mouse with your laptop, remember you can’t use Bluetooth on a plane, so bring a wired mouse instead. Pro tip: Your local dollar store sells compact mice, which are perfect for travelers.

Smartphones and tablets

Because they’re thin and light, smartphones and tablets make for great travel accessories.

Bring your USB charger on the plane, as many airlines let you keep your battery topped up by plugging it into the back of the seat in front of you or in the armrest. A back-up battery is a must for travelers, so you can charge up your phone while still walking around, instead of being one of those “wall huggers” at an airport, where you’re stuck standing by your plugged-in phone.

If you need to get work done while traveling, which might require a lot of typing, be sure to invest in a mobile keyboard that lets you crank out long emails or documents on your phone or tablet – which will be faster, more comfortable and offer better accuracy than trying to type a lot on a small touchscreen.

If you’re using your phone outside of Canada, remember you’ll incur roaming fees, so contact your carrier to inquire about the best travel plan they have, or stick to Wi-Fi hotspots to pull down your messages in an airport, hotel, or coffee shop. Those who travel overseas might consider renting or buying a local SIM card to put into the phone.

Pro tip #2: You can use your tablet to make free calls back to Canada over Wi-Fi. Apps like magicApp Calling & Messaging (iOS and Android) let you call any 10-digit number, for free.

Headphones

Headphones and earbuds come in all shapes and sizes, but they could be an invaluable companion for travelers.

How so? It’s not recommended to hold your phone up to your ear for possible health-related side effects – that is, the jury is still out on long-term effects of radiation – and so you should have at least a pair of earbuds with a microphone plugged into your phone to talk to family, friends and colleagues, while running through an airport, sitting in an Uber or heading up to your hotel room. Going hands-free means you can multitask easier, so there will be no awkward scenes as you try to roll your suitcase along.

Noise-cancelling headphones could be a godsend on a noisy airplane, especially if you’re easily distracted and need to crank out a sales report on your laptop. Nothing like a crying baby in seat 28A when you’re toiling over a project for the boss.

On the fun front, headphones and earbuds mean you can listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks to help keep you sane on those hectic travel days. If the airline hands out free headphones, they usually say you can take them with you, and while they won’t be as good (or as comfortable) as your own earbuds, keep them in a laptop bag as a backup pair to use in a pinch.

Other odds-and-ends

When traveling overseas, it’s usually cheaper (and less aggravating) to bring various power adaptors with you instead of buying them there. Pro tip #3: Check the voltage of your devices as you only may need an AC adaptor – to change the shape of the plug – rather than a currency converter, which costs a lot more.

Be careful when using Wi-Fi hotspots, as there could be cyber-thieves trying to access your info. Do simple things like read the news. Don’t enter sensitive data – like online banking info – when browsing the web via a Wi-Fi network. If you can, also download and use free VPN (virtual private network) software or use your smartphone’s hotspot feature, which is safer (but will use up data).

While you should be doing it even when you don’t travel, be sure to backup important files – like irreplaceable photos, documents, and such – just in case your phone, tablet or laptop becomes lost, stolen or damaged. Take advantage of free cloud storage, such as OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive. Pro tip #4: While you’re at it, keep a digital scan of your passport on this cloud drive, just in case this is stolen or lost, too, which could be a help before getting replacement documentation.

Yahoo Canada Finance readers, do you have any travel tech advice of your own? Be sure to share your suggestions in the comments section!