On 21 August 2017 Google has announced the launching of the final version of Android 8.0 Oreo which is smarter, faster and more powerful than ever. Android 8.0 Oreo is the latest version of the Android software by Google. The normal name of this version Android O but officially it is known as Android 8.0 Oreo. Google’s own Pixel and Nexus devices are going to be the first to get Android Oreo via the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
Google Posted the OTA (over-the-air) download links for Android 8.0 on its developer site which allows people to install Android 8.0 Oreo before their carrier pushes the update to their phones but to do this you need to have a certain level of technical knowledge and this comes with a series of warnings. The Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 will not be getting Android Oreo .
Update as Google only supports older handsets for two years with software and these two were released in 2014. Google mentioned in its post that they are working with their partners and by the end of this year hardware makers including HMD Global (The Company who is making Nokia Phones), Huawei, General Mobiles, HTC, Kyocera, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony are scheduled to launch or upgrade the device to Android 8.0 Oreo.
Here is some special feature of Android 8.0 Oreo.
Picture-In-Picture Mode
In this feature Oreo allows users to use two apps together like if you are watching any video on YouTube and in the mean while you got an urgent message to reply or urgently you need to book a cab but you don’t want to close that video now with this feature you can continue with both the works.
Smart Text Selection
This feature includes a smart action that will depend on the type of text you have selected like select an URL and Android 8.0 Oreo will suggest operating it in chrome.
Battery Saver
Now Oreo will control your apps when they are on the non-functional mode in the background which means cutting off broadcasts, background service, and location updates. This will increase your battery life and give you an efficient long-lasting device.
Notification
A new feature called Notification channel is also there in which you will be able to customize your notification category and put your necessary app’s notification on top which you use frequently. You will also be able to silence the notifications which you don’t want and return them later
Sound Quality
It has ‘High-quality Bluetooth audio codecs’ to improve your wireless cans. Sony has apparently been a major partner for that infusion, it is also providing more important features enhancement and more than 250 bug fix to Oreo.
System Optimization
Android Oreo makes apps run faster and smoother. The search giant has made Changes in its runtime including new optimizations such as concurrent Compacting garbage collection, code locality and more.
New Emojis
Google has launched new sets of emojis which are more users friendly.
Autofill Support
Google has come up with this new Autofill APIs feature which allows user to select password and data storing apps to behave as their preferred autofill app. Now how this will be helpful for users? Because many people use password administrative apps to store their important data information which is sometime not all that safe.
Ever since its first iteration, one of the Apple TV’s major weaknesses has been its lack of an Amazon Video app. Apple listened to customer complaints, and promised way back in September that the service would make its way to the premium streaming box in question. As of today, Apple TV (2015)and Apple TV 4K can access Amazon Video at long last. All you have to do is install the app.
Credit: Tom's Guide
Amazon announced the app’s availability today (Dec. 6), and laid out all the salient points. Apple TV owners can find Amazon Video in the App Store, and download it for free. From there, you can either watch programs through a Prime subscription ($100 per year for all Prime benefits, or $9 per month for Video only), and buy or rent individual shows and movies à la carte (prices vary).
The app does not have any Apple-specific features, but it does leverage the device’s Siri search. Users will be able to find content on Amazon Video simply by speaking or typing their queries into the Apple TV’s robust search feature. This includes 4K TV and movies, for those who are using an Apple TV 4K — a helpful feature, as Amazon Video is one of the few streaming apps to offer 4K HDR content at no additional charge.
Beyond that, the app will be immediately familiar if you’ve used it on any other streaming or mobile device recently. Even if you don’t subscribe to Prime, Amazon Video might still be worth a look, as it offers the first episodes of Amazon Original TV shows for free, for all users.
Apple and Amazon seem to have buried the hatchet, at least for the time being. We’ll see if Amazon and Google can take a similar approach.
Since the bike is optimized for handling, the ride quality is on the stiff side.Previous versions of Apache had a wheelbase of 1,260 mm (50 inches) which resulted in better turning in at the expense of stability. TVS increased the wheelbase by 40 mm (1.6 inches) to improve the stability. The Apache 180 introduced ABS to the lineup in 2011.Weight of the bike is 148 kg.
First showcased as the Akula 310 race bike concept at the 2016 Auto Expo, the TVS Apache RR 310 was one of the most awaited motorcycle in the Indian market. And the model which is going to hit the Indian roads now actually takes a lot from its concept model including the aerodynamic front fairing with a large windscreen. The fairing, however, gets some changes like addition of aggressive split headlamp with projector beams.
While the front silhouette is exactly similar to the concept model, the rear gets a lot of noticeable changes. The Apache RR 310 gets a sleek rear section with seating for two and an interesting LED tail lamp.
TVS Apache has won awards including Performance Bike Of The Year (2008) from Business Standard Motoring Awards.It was the first vehicle to get 6 prestigious awards in a row.
In his Twitter post, Sung says, "Is everyone ready for the all-new Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus? We're launching these two new devices in China on Thursday Dec 7. Giving everyone a sneak preview!" As we mentioned, the images shared by Sung show the smartphones from all angles, and we can see a taller than usual 18:9 display, the lack of hardware capacitive buttons for navigation, and the presence of a rear fingerprint sensor below the flash module.
There appears to be no visible design difference between. Instead, the differences can be expected to lie in the specifications.
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus tipped to be a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that will accept Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM. Connectivity options are said to include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, Infrared, USB OTG, FM, 3G and 4G. Sensors on the phone are rumoured to include Compass Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer and Ambient light sensor.
About Xiaomi
Xiaomi is a privately owned company that designs, develops, and sells smartphones, an Android-based OS, and other consumer electronics. Xiaomi also makes fitness trackers, TVs, air purifiers, and tablets. It has a skin for its Android phones and tablets – MIUI. The company largely sells its phones via flash sales in India.
The purported Redmi 5 listing on TENAA mentions three RAM options - 2GB, 3GB, and 4GB - as well as three storage options - 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB - which can be expected to correspond in individual SKUs. Storage is said to be expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). The smartphone is listed with a 3200mAh battery - significantly smaller than the Redmi 4's 4100mAh offering. It is said to sport 12-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. Dimensions are listed as 151.8x72.8x7.7mm, and a weight of 157 grams. The smartphone is listed to run Android 7.1.2, tipping an MIUI 9 build out-of-the-box. The fingerprint scanner can be seen on the rear panel.
The Redmi 5 Plus on the other hand, based on previous leaks, can be expected to sport a Snapdragon 625 or Snapdragon 630 SoC, different RAM and storage variants, and a larger 4000mAh battery. We don't have long to wait however before the December 7 launch, when Xiaomi can be expected to reveal everything about the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus.
Slashleaks also corroborates the Redmi 5 listing, with its own matching leaked renders and specifications. It adds a CNY 1,399 (roughly Rs. 13,600) price, and claims the first sale will be on December 10.
PLENTY OF THESE ARE STILL IN DEVELOPMENT, AND SEVERAL ARE UTTERLY BONKERS. ROGISTOCK/SHUTTERSTOCK
The saga of the Cuban sonic weapon attacks continues. As of mid-October, the American President has accused the nearby nation’s intelligence agency of masterminding the audio assaults on its diplomats, several of which have been left with hearing problems, debilitating nausea, and, in some cases, permanent brain damage.
Much of the mystery has focused on what possible device could cause such a weapon. At present, it’s unclear what types of sound waves were used in the attacks. This means that the symptoms could have been caused by an infrasound device, a microwave source, or a focused beam of audible sound that’s previously been used on rioting crowds.
In any case, this got us thinking. These Cuba-based incidences involve weapons technology that has either been trialled or has been used in the past – so what other strange types of deterrents exist today? Here’s a collection of some of the oddest.
1 – Pain Ray
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the US military has invented a heat ray that is designed to blast high-frequency waves at crowds of people and cook them a little bit. Officially named the Active Denial System, it’s come to be known as the “Pain Ray” by those it has been tested on.
When fired at an individual, the atoms at the surface of their skin begin to vibrate rapidly, as if they’re in a microwave. There’s no noise or flash of light; instead, they just begin to sizzle, and it’s enough to force people to run a mile.
It’s not technically a microwave gun. Instead, electromagnetic radiation is passed through a magnetic field, whereupon it generates heat in the epidermis of a person. Unlike microwaves, it cannot pass through the skin and damage your internal organs. That’s why, despite their best efforts, the Armed Forces has failed to cook a turkey with it.
One problem, though: It takes about 16 hours to become operational, which means that it can’t be deployed in a hurry.
2 – The Impulse Swimmer Gun
This is somewhat like an aquatic version of the device suspected of being used in the Cuban attacks. Currently under development in the US, it is said to use “pulsed sound waves” to induce auditory impairment and extreme nausea in scuba divers and submarine crews.
It’s not clear what kind of technology this weapon would use, but it's likely infrasound or something far more high frequency, yet again.
3 – The Blinding Laser
Although weapons that blind people are outlawed by the Geneva Convention, the US Military’s Long Range Ocular Interruption Laser is designed to temporarily incapacitate targets up to 3 kilometers (about 1.9 miles) away.
Acting a bit like a concentrated flash grenade, this handheld or weapon-mounted device – which is currently in development – is likely to deter snipers or approaching hostile forces, allowing friendly forces to move past without making much of a fuss.
4 – The Crowd Taser
Although it doesn’t really have a proper name yet, this type of technology – currently being looked into by the Department of Defense (DoD) – emits waves of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation in small, nanosecond bursts. Not enough to do serious, long-term damage, but sufficient to cause involuntary muscle spasms in crowds, which would presumably stop their unwanted advance.
5 – The Tractor Beam
As you’ve probably realized by now, the DoD has an entire platform for testing out incapacitating weaponry. Named the “Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate”, it appears that a document summarizing the latest developments in the field was leaked not too long ago, and there’s some really weird stuff on there.
One, named the Laser Based Flow Modification device, is entirely conceptual right now. It aims to fire laser pulses at the leading edge of another plane’s airfoil, in order to alter the drag and lift forces. This would allow the firing plane to essentially steer the other one however it liked – a tractor beam, of sorts.
The practicalities of this remain unfeasible for the time being, so don’t expect to see this in operation any time soon.
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6 – The Ultimate Stink Bomb
Now, with all these lasers and sound beams and electrical shockwaves going around, you may be wondering if the military has ever come up with a non-lethal chemical deterrent. Why yes, yes it has – several times in fact.
Back in the Second World War, a compound designed to be used by the French Resistance was concocted. Going by the moniker of “Who, Me?” this compound smelled of the worst fecal matter imaginable, and was designed to, well, bemuse the German occupying forces. Since the sprayee often ended up smelling much like their target though, this project was quickly deemed a failure.
Nevertheless, after spending much of the 90s and 00s determining what smells people from various cultures hate the most, and after working out some of the precise psychological drivers that cause people to think a smell is inherently “bad”, a revelation occurred: Fecal matter really is quite despised by many.
To date, however, the manufacture of a weapons-grade stink bomb remains a fantasy. Odor warfare is on hold for now.
7 – The Plasma Paralysis Weapon
Plasma rifles in real life? It could happen sooner than you think. UzPhoto/Shutterstock
Technically called the Pulsed Energy Projectile, it’s hard to believe something like this could be real. Currently under development by the US Military, it emits a powerful and invisible infrared laser pulse that impacts a target and creates a small amount of exploding plasma, or highly energized particles.
This micro-blast produces a pressure wave that’s powerful enough to knock a person over. In animal testing experiments from the last decade, the weapon reportedly was demonstrated to trigger an acute sense of pain, and a temporary paralysis, in the targets.
Although designed to be non-lethal, the pulse energy can be upped enough to trigger a deadly plasma explosion at a fairly long distance. When news of this long-range, bullet-less technology emerged back in 2003-2005, it caused quite the uproar.
8 – Blackout Bombs
Only declassified recently, and brought back into the mainstream due to the simmering tensions on the Korean Peninsula, these non-lethal weapons were first used in the second Gulf War, back in the early 1990s. They release a cloud of highly conductive carbon filaments, which come to rest over power lines.
When they do, they create several high-energy arcs that burn and short out any uninsulated wiring in the area. These weapons have been so successful in the past – on several occasions, most of a nation’s electricity infrastructure was crippled – that South Korea is developing their own version to potentially use on their aggressive neighbors to the north.
The weapon is dropped by multi-purpose fighter jets. MonoRidz/Shutterstock
Bonus – Operation Acoustic Kitty
This outlier was simply too strange not to include on the list. This utterly unusual program involved the CIA, back in the 1960s, spending $20 million dollars to install listening devices inside cats. Although obviously a surveillance technology, the idea was reportedly designed to induce paranoia in spies that refused to trust cats whenever they saw them – regardless of whether they were employeed by enemy spooks or not.
Appropriately named Operation Acoustic Kitty, the first augmented cat’s inaugural test ended in a – wait for it – catastrophic failure when it wandered away from the target and was subsequently run over by a taxi.
Still, things could be stranger. The US Marine Corps once planned to drop Mexican free-tailed bats armed with incendiary devices over Japanese cities back in the 1940s.
SCIENCE IS UNDER ATTACK. DROP OF LIGHT/SHUTTERSTOCK
In case you missed it, scientists are running for Congress. Largely thanks to the actions of the political action group 314 Action, academics from fields as diverse as cancer research and volcanology are gearing up to take on the climate change-denying acolytes of the Trump administration.
Back in June, we spoke to the masterminds behind this unprecedented drive to make American science great again. In the months since then, their efforts to get qualified scientists back into politics – precisely the opposite of what the current President is doing – has made giant strides forwards.
314 Action recently had a gathering in Washington DC of those on the frontline of the war on science, including researchers that are currently in power and those that were seeking office for the first time.
We at IFLScience thought this was a good opportunity to ask them to do what scientists are exceedingly well practiced in: peer review. This time around, the research focus was on the Trump administration, and it’s safe to say that they’re enraged, saddened, and aghast. As a result, they’re all the more emboldened to resist.
Here’s what some of them had to say.
Aerospace engineer Joseph Kopser tells us that the Trump administration's treatment of scientists remind him of the “hysterical witch hunts of yesteryear... the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Dark Ages.”
“We should be elevating the amazing works that scientists have accomplished throughout history and celebrating the continued accomplishments thereof – from Benjamin Franklin, to Neil DeGrasse Tyson, to the young men and woman who will pioneer the next great breakthrough.”
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Kopser is running for TX-21, where Lamar Smith – the Republican Representative who is currrently is in charge of the embarrassingly anti-scientific House Science Committee – announced he is retiring from in 2018. If successful, Kosper said he “would restore science to its proper place... to ensure it’s viewed as a way to advance society, improve life, and enhance a greater understanding of our world.”
A Democratic congressman with a background in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and a long history of supporting scientific research, Representative Paul Tonko (NY-20) thinks we’re at a flashpoint in history.
“Not since the Scientific Revolution has there been a more important moment to stand for the basic ideas that inquiry must be free and facts and evidence matter,” he tells IFLScience.
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“Our economic growth depends on investing in scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs and engineers,” he highlights, explaining that “belittling the scientific community or cutting basic research will only cede our global leadership to nations that are determined to create the products and ideas of the future.”
Wary of the infiltration of industry-backed climate deniers into the federal government, Tonko recently introduced the Scientific Integrity Act, a bill that would “put a firewall” between state-funded science “and the lobbyists and industries that work tirelessly to influence or distort the scientific findings from that work.”
Citing the EPA under Scott Pruitt, the massive proposed cuts to federal science, and the withdrawal from the Paris accords, neuroscientistDr Hans Keirstead tells IFLScience: “At every turn it has become more and more apparent that the worst-case scenario for science is unfolding before our eyes at the hands of the President.”
“It's clear the Trump Administration has no respect for the opinions of scientists,” he notes, adding that he’s running for office and sacrificing much of his scientific career so that he can “give science a voice in the halls of power, and to push back on the attacks on science.”
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This world-renowned stem cell researcher is running for Congress, and is seeking to displace Dana Rohrabacher, a high-ranking Republican member of the House Science Committee. Rohrabacher is a long-time climate change denier, and recently asked NASA if there were ever alien civilizations on Mars in the last few thousand years.
“American science has always been ‘great’ – it just hasn't had a voice in Congress lately to support or defend it,” Keirstead surmises.
Scott Pruitt, the head of the EPA, is arguably one of the most dangerous operators in the US government. Rena Schild/Shutterstock
A Democratic congresswoman with an education in computer science, Representative Jacky Rosen (NV-3) has spent much of her career at the Capitol fighting for STEM education rights for girls. She’s now running for Senate against Dean Heller, the senior Republican Senator from Nevada.
“From withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accords to rolling back the Clean Power Plan, this administration is no ally to the scientific community,” she tells IFLScience.
Describing the White House’s plan to pull out of the Paris accords as an “abdication of American leadership,” Rosen says that the country “needs lawmakers in office who will fight for evidence-based policy solutions that address our country's most urgent challenges.”
Referencing her background, she suggests that Congress “should be encouraging individuals, especially young students, to become well-versed in STEM education and do more to highlight the many possibilities that a STEM education can provide.”
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Proving that she’s happy to put her words into actions, Rosen has recently introduced two bipartisan bills to the House that fund STEM education for both young boys and girls.
“It's gone from a war on science to a war on facts,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, a chemical scientist and 314’s founder.
“The president is instructing Federal Agencies to ignore the science behind climate change,” she adds. “This is not only a threat to environmental and social issues but also a threat to our national security.”
Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist running for Congress, has always had strong words for the federal government, and this time round was no exception.
“Using our brains is the reason for much of America’s success. If you hobble someone’s intellect – if you tell them to not use their brains – you are making people slaves to an ideology. In this case, the ideology is profit, profit, profit,” she tells us.
“We believe what we’re fighting for. We have the courage of our conviction. All the people on the other side? All they have is profit.”
Referencing the EPA, she explains that the government is systematically dismantling it. “There will be some irreparable and irreversible damage. It’ll be on their heads, but they’ll be rich enough – or they’ll be dead – so that it won’t hurt them. But it’ll hurt our kids.”
“The current EPA under Pruitt and Trump is a perversion of the organization’s fundamental mission,” she concludes.
Another Congressional candidate, Matt Longjohn – an MD who served as National Health Director for the YMCA – feels much the same way. He strongly feels that an antidote to the Trump administration’s disparaging of science is to “prioritize investment in early childhood STEM education programs,” and to “champion the success of fact-based policies.”
“America has the best universities and the brightest minds in the world; to willingly cast aside their expertise is downright irresponsible,” Congressional candidateRoger Dean Huffstetler, chemist and tech startup CEO, tells IFLScience.
Explaining that there is a huge deficit in STEM educators in American schools, he suggests that the country needs “to do a better job educating the next generation of scientists and engineers if we are to ensure that America remains the most innovative country in the world.”
Congressional hopefulChrissy Houlahan, an engineer and Air Force Veteran, laments that “tragically, the Trump Administration has made science a partisan issue.”
“Science is, was, and always will be great. What we need to do, as a government, is support science and leave it to the scientists and science professionals.”
The goal. f11photo/Shutterstock
It cannot be overstated that these scientists are essentially giving up their life's work in order to fundamentally alter the way the US government works. Will their rebellion prove to be successful during the 2018 midterms? That, of course, depends on what kind of America you're hoping to see: one of facts or alternative facts.
