Minggu, 19 Mei 2019

Opera Reborn 3: No modern browser is perfect, but this may be as close as it gets - Ars Technica

When Opera Software unveiled a new look and feel for its browser earlier this year, the company made a big deal of the impending changes. "We put Web content at center stage," the Opera team declared on its blog. And early previews of the design appeared to be quite pared down, allowing users to browse "unhindered by unnecessary distractions" as the Opera team put it.

Well Opera recently released what the company refers to as Reborn 3, the latest version of its flagship desktop browser, and it's tempting to dismiss the name as little more than marketing hype. But given the relentless and utterly unspectacular updates that the Chromium project releases every six weeks, it can also be hard to denote actual big releases of browsers based on Chromium—hence the "Reborn" moniker. After spending some time with Reborn 3, however, the name seems accurate. For Opera, this is a significant update that goes far beyond what arrived with the move to Chromium 60.

Opera Reborn 3—or Opera 60 if you want to stick with version numbers—transitions a slew of features that recently debuted in Opera's mobile browsers to the desktop. The big three in this release are support for blockchain-secured transactions, a crypto wallet to go with the mobile version, and a new overall look with light and dark themes available. So if you haven't checked out Opera lately, it's worth revisiting, especially for those older Opera fans still smarting about the switch from Opera's Presto rendering engine to Google's Blink rendering engine.

Opera once filed a complaint with the EU saying that Internet Explorer was holding back the Web "by not following accepted Web standards." The founders of Opera (who have since moved on to other things) probably never imagined their browser would one day share a rendering engine with Internet Explorer, but it does now. And it's true, this is not the Opera of old—there's no mail client, no IRC support to name a few things—but it does presently offer features that make it much more useful than Chrome or Chromium.

That said, Opera's user base (like that of every other Web browser) pales next to Google Chrome. But Opera was the originator of many things we all take for granted that have become part of any Web browser these days. Tabbed browsing, mouse gestures, and the "speed dial" of page thumbnails on new tabs are just a few of the things that started life in Opera. The company's innovation track record is impressive, and it bears paying attention to what Opera is doing.

Firefox, Chrome, and the rest have long since copied all those features listed above, but for quite some time if you wanted to know what the future of the Web browser looked like, you checked in with what Opera was doing. So while Opera may have opted for aspects of the current en vogue playbook by taking a Web-centric approach to Reborn 3, what makes this latest release interesting is that it does offer quite a few new things that still feel well afield of what the rest of the market is doing.

If you've been tinkering with Opera's innovative mobile browsers like Touch—a browser designed for one-handed use—you might recognize a few additions to Reborn 3.
Enlarge / If you've been tinkering with Opera's innovative mobile browsers like Touch—a browser designed for one-handed use—you might recognize a few additions to Reborn 3.
Opera

Reborn 3

The first thing that jumps out about Opera 60 is that most of the new features arrived in the mobile version first and came to the desktop afterward. This makes sense given that much of Opera's user base today is on mobile. In fact, mobile is one area where Opera still leads the browser field with considerable innovation.

For instance, Opera Touch has managed to do something no other mobile browser has yet pulled off—making it easy to browse with one hand even on larger devices. Touch also has some thoughtful features like a built-in cookie dialog blocker that's actually pretty effective at hiding those annoying legal-compliance cookie notices.

I've also long been a fan of Opera Mini, which is a perfect mobile browser for bandwidth constrained situations. Opera Mini pipes all traffic through Opera's servers to first compress pages, after which they are sent on to your phone in much smaller form. This saves considerable bandwidth. I wouldn't use it for mobile banking, but it's great for casual Web surfing on sketchy 2G/3G connections.

Admittedly, Opera's desktop offering with Reborn 3 is considerably less innovative in comparison to those two. But this newest release still offers plenty of features you won't find in Chrome or Firefox, including the new blockchain support and crypto wallet. What will be most obvious to Opera users in this update, though, is the new look.

Any visual redesign is likely to anger at least some existing users and Opera 60 is no exception, judging by the Opera forums. That said, to my eye the new look is really nice. It's clean, well-thought-out in terms of feature placement, and does a good job of staying out of the way of the actual webpage.

The new look follows the general trend that's enchanted browser makers for years now—reducing the user interface in the name of better displaying the webpage. Opera doesn't carry this trend as far as some competitors, however. The browser, for example, still retains its very useful sidebar.

You can hide the sidebar if you don't use it, but personally I don't worry about the browser using horizontal screen real estate. Even my tiny 12-inch, 1080p screen is wider than most websites. What I do dislike is losing vertical real estate to the UI and here Opera has gone full minimalist, taking up fewer vertical pixels than even my other favorite browser in this regard, Vivaldi.

In fact, the Opera 60 redesign bears more than a passing resemblance to Vivaldi, a browser once heralded as the spiritual successor to the beloved Opera of old. Reborn 3 has a similar looking sidebar, square tabs, and generally minimalist feel. Perhaps Opera has been still paying attention to recent efforts from its co-founder, Jon von Tetzchner, who now serves as CEO of Vivaldi.

While I like Opera's new look, it's not without some shortcomings. Like Firefox, if you open more tabs than will fit on screen, it scrolls them off screen. While I realize many people like this (judging by Opera's user forums), it drives me crazy—just keep making the tabs smaller.

On the plus side, Opera's tab menu in the toolbar, complete with large preview images of the currently hovered tab, is amazing for quickly finding that tab needle in a haystack. What would be even better is if it could be activated and navigated with the keyboard.

The other two standout improvements in the Opera 60 redesign are two new buttons in the menubar, one for the "easy setup" menu and another for the snapshot tool. The easy setup menu previously lived on the startup page. Moving it to the toolbar means that most things you'd regularly want to change—theme, clearing browser data, enabling/disabling the sidebar, and more—are just a click away. This is helpful because Opera's settings page, while not as labyrinthine as Vivaldi's, remains extensive. Finding what you want can take a minute.

The snapshot tool is a another nice one to have easy access, too, though for those who don't do massive amounts of Web-based research it might be somewhat less useful.

Listing image by Opera

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https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/05/review-opera-once-led-web-browser-innovation-it-has-new-ideas-again-with-reborn-3/

2019-05-19 12:30:00Z
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Bluetooth's Complexity Has Become a Security Risk - WIRED

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Bluetooth's Complexity Has Become a Security Risk  WIRED

Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy are incredibly convenient—but increasingly at the center of a lot of security lapses.


https://www.wired.com/story/bluetooth-complex-security-risk/

2019-05-19 11:00:00Z
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Samsung could be upsetting the applecart with radical camera setup changes for the Galaxy Note 10 - Notebookcheck.net

It looks like the Galaxy Note 10 might be in for a design change. (Image source: PricePony)
It looks like the Galaxy Note 10 might be in for a design change. (Image source: PricePony)

Leaked information about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 has offered a surprise in regard to the upcoming device’s camera setups. Although the actual details that have been shared are somewhat vague and even ambiguous, it hasn’t stopped commentators speculating on what the South Korean manufacturer is preparing for its flagship phablet.

by Daniel R Deakin, 2019/05/19

Now we know 64 MP is off the table for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, there might not be as much excitement about the device’s camera setups now. For those that were feeling somewhat deflated about the news of the phablet possibly “only” using a 48 MP sensor, the latest leaked information could be even more crushing.

Tipster Ice universe has offered these sage words this time around: “Da Vinci’s two biggest changes: 1. Change the front camera position. 2. Change the rear camera position.” Da Vinci is of course the codename for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Changing the front camera position would likely clarify that the next series of high-end phablets will indeed come with the centered punch-hole selfie camera that is already expected. In contrast, the Note 9 had its front-facing camera hidden in the top bezel just to the right of center.

It’s the leaker’s news about the changing of the rear camera position that has the most commentators in a fluster. The Note 9 had a horizontal alignment for its rear camera system and this was expected to continue with the successor series, but Ice universe has seemingly confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will have a vertically aligned camera arrangement. This setup could go down one of the sides, or more likely if the phablet wants to maintain its oft-mentioned “symmetry” then the alignment would have to run down the middle of the rear, akin to the OnePlus 7.

Perhaps surprisingly, being the champion of Samsung Galaxy Note 10-related leaks, when asked if he liked the changes being made Ice universe answered with a simple “no”. He also mentioned that the camera hardware would remain the same, which would mean the 2019 flagship phablet series would feature 12 MP sensors.

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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Samsung-could-be-upsetting-the-applecart-with-radical-camera-setup-changes-for-the-Galaxy-Note-10.420877.0.html

2019-05-19 07:23:24Z
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Google rolls out a refreshed, more personal Smart Display interface - Engadget

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Cherlynn Low/Engadget

Google introduced an updated Smart Display interface alongside the Nest Hub Max, and now you don't need that new hardware to see what the fuss is about. The 9to5Google team has discovered that Google is rolling out the refreshed interface to the Nest Hub (formerly the Home Hub) and, presumably, third-party devices. The new home screen ditches the all-white Material Design appearance in favor of a more personal carousel of cards that keeps your wallpaper in the background. You won't see as much of the weather forecast, but you should have more overall info at a glance.

The change isn't just a fresh coat of paint. Google is partly prepping for the Nest Hub Max, which uses face detection to show Duo messages and reminders on the home screen when you gaze at the camera. In that light, this is as much about setting a new direction for Smart Displays as it is ensuring harmony in the smart home.

Source: 9to5Google
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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https://www.engadget.com/2019/05/18/google-smart-display-interface-rollout/

2019-05-19 03:36:00Z
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Sabtu, 18 Mei 2019

Respawn reveal upcoming fix for broken hit registration in Apex Legends - Dexerto

Respawn Entertainment has revealed how they are finally going to fix the long-standing hit registration issues in Apex Legends with their next update.

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Apex Legends released back on February 4 to much fanfare as Respawn made their first foray into the crowded battle royale market. While success was instant, some players have slowly moved away from the game, returning to Fortnite Battle Royale and PUBG.

Those loyal players that have remained are gearing up for the release of content in the form of season two - which is expected to drop sometime in June - yet, issues still remain in the current build of the game, including hit registration, audio, and general performance errors.

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Respawn Entertainment

Respawn have been hard at work to rectify the problems that are still rearing their heads. On May 17, they announced just what players can expect in the next update - including a resolution for the long-standing hit reg issues.

Players will now see network problem indicator icons in the upper right of the screen “more frequently” than they currently do. The developers explained that these icons are now “pickier about your connection quality”

While this may not be the almighty fix that some players may have been hoping for, Respawn added that the changes in network detection will be “useful” in helping them “narrowing down the cause of any bugs that we continue to see.”

Screengrab via Reddit

The full explanation from Respawn on the Hit Reg issues.

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The developers are still urging players to share any videos and report the remaining errors that appear when it comes to hit registration in-game. The update is set to drop “early next week,” which could indicate either May 20 or May 21 but Respawn did not reveal a specific date as to when it will go live.

However, for one reason or another, things could change and the patch could be delayed. It remains to be seen as to when exactly the game will receive an update.

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https://www.dexerto.com/apex-legends/respawn-reveal-fix-apex-legends-hit-registration-issues-637245

2019-05-18 14:34:00Z
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New iPhone 11R leaks show fresh colors and larger camera bump - CNET

In this week's Apple Core roundup we're breaking down the latest rumors about the iPhone XR sequel, along with production updates regarding the rest of Apple's 2019 iPhone lineup. This week Apple also released the last major software updates to iOS, MacOS, WatchOS and TVOS before WWDC. Find out what new features to expect on your iPhone and other Apple devices once you upgrade.

Apple begins production of a key iPhone 11 part

We are less than four months away from meeting the next batch of iPhones, which means mass production of these devices is inching closer and closer. According to a recent Bloomberg report, Apple is about to start mass producing its A13 chips, the next-generation processors that are expected to power their new batch phones. The report also mentions the 2019 iPhones are expected to have reverse wireless charging, like Samsung's Galaxy S10, and a three-camera array on the back.

Now playing: Watch this: New leaks show iPhone 11R color options and camera bump

7:06

The iPhone XR may look different this year

The internet has been flooded with concept photos and videos detailing what the new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max will look like with a three-camera array on the back. Most of the leaks at this point seem to have settled on a the same design: three lenses on the back of the phone enclosed in a large, protruding square. The design hasn't had a very positive reception among Apple fans, and now it looks like the 11R may share the same design fate.

This week Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman tweeted an image showing a 3D render of the iPhone 11R along with the rest of the lineup, showing it has the same large, square bump on its back despite the fact that it only has two lenses. The iPhone 11R is rumored to be adding a telephoto lens this year, while the other, more expensive models will get a super-wide-angle lens.

But at least some flashy new colors may help distract from the bump. According to supply-chain blog Macotakara cited in 9to5Mac, the iPhone 11R will add lavender and green to its color palette, adding to last year's white, black, yellow and red options. (Last year's coral and blue hues are being phased out.) 

Software updates for your iPhones, Macs, and Apple Watches

Apple just released its last major software updates for iOS, MacOS, WatchOS and TVOS, before the company reveals the next generation of its operating systems at WWDC 2019 on June 3.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can expect some bug fixes with iOS 12.3 and improvements for Apple's News+ service, Apple Music, the Apple TV Remote and CarPlay as well as AirPlay 2 support for compatible smart TVs so you can watch content on the biggest screen in your house.

What's new in the TV app?

But one of the biggest changes to come with iOS 12.3 is for the Apple TV app (not to be confused with Apple TV, the company's physical streaming box, or Apple TV Plus, the new Netflix style subscription service Apple announced in March). This is the app that comes preloaded on most iPhones and iPads, which until now might have been ignored by a lot of users.

That may change with the latest iOS update. Whereas in the past, the app pretty much displayed all your video content in one place, it now has a refreshed look and does a better job at curating your content, floating things you may be interested in to the top of your feed. It also has a new dedicated kids section that you can sort by age.

You can also watch the video directly on the TV app now instead of getting kicked back to the original source to watch shows. However that only works if you've subscribed through the TV app.

The new Channels section actually lets you subscribe without leaving the TV app and offers some pretty big incentives to do so, aside from just being able to watch it all in one place. The biggest one: you can view content offline, even shows that didn't have this option in their own app, such as HBO. So download the entire season of Game of Thrones to binge watch on the plane.

The other benefit is your content is streamed directly from Apple's servers. In theory, this should mean you have a faster, more stable connection.

Each service comes with a 7-day trial and similar monthly subscription prices as what you'd find outside the app. Netflix is notably absent from the list of options.

Apple's Macs apparently won't be getting the Apple TV app until later in 2019 with the release of MacOS 10.15. 

More Apple news from this week

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Apple iPhone XS

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https://www.cnet.com/news/new-iphone-11r-leaks-show-fresh-colors-larger-camera-bump/

2019-05-18 13:36:18Z
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Remember Google keeps a list of everything you buy – and here's how to find it - TechRadar

In news that will come as no surprise to anyone who's been paying attention, CNBC reports on a list of your purchases managed by Google, pulled from email receipt data in your Gmail account.

This has long been a feature of Gmail – it's how Google Assistant can alert you to package deliveries, for example – and you can see the list here or by typing "my purchases" into Google search (if you're signed in).

Google mines plenty of other information about you through your Gmail account: try typing "my flights" or "my trips" into Google search (while signed in) to see some of it.

The aim is to give you pertinent information (like flight delay alerts) when you need it – Google says only you can view this data and that it isn't sold on to third parties or used to serve up advertising.

Private destination

As CNBC notes, the purchases list includes everything you've bought that there's a receipt for in Gmail, whether you got it from Google or not. It's also difficult to scrub this list without deleting the receipt.

"To help you easily view and keep track of your purchases, bookings and subscriptions in one place, we’ve created a private destination that can only be seen by you," Google told CNBC in a statement.

While Google has been collecting data from your Gmail account for some time, the new report is a reminder that using Google's apps and services comes with a trade-off in terms of privacy and data collection.

At the recent Google IO 2019 developer conference, Google reiterated its commitment to keeping user data protected and safe – the company promises it can be trusted with info like your history of purchases, but it's always worth remembering just how much Google knows about you.

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https://www.techradar.com/news/remember-google-keeps-a-list-of-everything-you-buy-and-heres-how-to-find-it

2019-05-18 13:30:00Z
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