When it comes to home security, most of us aren't looking to renovate panic rooms or build high-end home monitoring systems. We just want a little extra peace of mind. Turns out, one of the cheapest options for exactly this purpose is a $20 Amazon Echo Dot ($30 at Amazon). Using Alexa Guard -- a recently added, totally free feature for every available Echo device -- your smart speaker will listen using far-field microphones for window-breaks and alarms. In addition, the device can turn any connected smart lights on and off to simulate someone walking around the house, and it can send any notifications to ADT and Ring security services if you use them.
So if you're heading out of the country for a few weeks, or just to the store for a few minutes, your Echo can help monitor the house. Here's how it works:
Step 1: Open the Alexa app and tap the hamburger menu (the three-line icon in the upper left corner).
The Guard screen can be accessed from the Settings menu.
Screenshot by David Priest/CNET
Step 2: Tap Settings, and scroll to the bottom.
Step 3: Tap Guard and follow the prompts to set up. If you want to use the smart lighting feature, you'll need to confirm your zip code.
Step 4: From now on, saying, "Alexa, I'm leaving" will activate Guard Mode.
Note: If Alexa hears glass breaking or an alarm sounding, she will record the sound and send you a snippet. If you want, you may then Drop In on your Echo device to listen for other sounds, such as an intruder moving around the house.
Step 5: To adjust Guard settings, return to the Guard screen from the settings menu.
Step 6: Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen. From here, you may adjust which Guard features you'd like to enable or disable, including connecting to an ADT or Ring security service.
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Except, they aren't going to space. They're just recovering from their last workout and preparing for the next. The suits themselves are complex, but what they actually do is straightforward: They're compressing and decompressing, encouraging blood flow throughout the athlete's bodies.
Here's how this simple but helpful recovery technique works.
What is compression therapy?
Like cryotherapy, compression therapy has been around for decades as a medical treatment. In fact, NormaTec -- one of the biggest compression therapy names in the market -- started as a medical device company to treat a condition called lymphedema (chronic swelling).
Now the company's focus is athletic recovery, but its roots lie in the science of blood flow: Your circulatory system delivers oxygen, nutrients and hormones to every cell in your body. Simultaneously, this complex circuit removes metabolic wastes such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid, effectively flushing your system of toxins.
The idea behind compression therapy is that by increasing blood flow to specific parts of the body -- encouraging your body to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to those areas -- you can speed up recovery, relieve pain and improve athletic performance.
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Benefits of compression therapy
Athletes of all disciplines have been suiting up in puffy, intergalactic-looking contraptions to reap the benefits of compression therapy. Long before these suits existed, athletes have worn (and still wear) compression garments during and after exercise.
The benefits of this recovery method, which are essentially the benefits of improved blood flow, include:
Reducing swelling and inflammation
Speeding up muscle recovery
Preventing delayed-onset muscle soreness
Relieving muscle pain
Improving athletic performance
Increasing flexibility and range of motion
Removing exercise-related wastes, like lactic acid
Decreasing muscle fatigue
Overall, the science backing these claims is conflicting, though NormaTec does offer an impressive list of research studies that look at this particular product's methodology. Now that new products are popping up, it's hard to lump all forms of compression therapy into one group.
For example, wearing a knee sleeve won't produce the same results that NormaTec's "pulsing, distal release, gradient" method will. That's because the knee sleeve simply squeezes your leg above and below your knee, forcing blood and fluid away. When you take the knee sleeve off, blood rushes back to the area, thus inducing the benefits.
A NormaTec suit, on the other hand, squeezes your legs in intervals and by section -- starting at your feet, the suit inflates intermittently to mimic natural blood flow.
Convinced you need to add this technique to your recovery regimen? Here's how to test it out.
Suit up
That's right: Try one of these space suits out yourself. If you're not keen to purchase one of your own, search for gyms, chiropractic offices and recovery lounges (like cryotherapy centers) that offer suits for customer use.
By far the most well-known, NormaTec has partnered with thousands of businesses across the country to provide boots and even full-body suits at a more affordable price. But you can also find other brands, such as Rapid Reboot, Speed Hound, Air Relax and RecoveryPump.
There are several brands that make compression boot and suits, though not all of them use the same pulsing patterns.
Rapid Reboot
Wear compression garments
The evidence for compression garments such as knee sleeves, compression tights and elbow sleeves is largely anecdotal. For some people, wearing compression garments during or after exercise seems to improve physical performance and speed up recovery, but the research isn't quite clear.
There are conflicting studies into compression garments, and it's not clear whether you should wear them during or after exercise, and which types of exercise they positively influence.
But hey, like they say about diets: If it works for you, it works for you.
Another study compared compression therapy, massage, cryotherapy, stretching, electrostimulation, water immersion and more. Its aim was to discover the best modality for reducing delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
The kind-of-unsurprising answer? Massage.
Popular among elite and recreational athletes alike, these compression suits essentially do what compression garments do, but way better.
NormaTec
Worth the hype?
Personally, I think yes. Despite some wishy-washy clinical trials, these products are backed by a valid scientific principle: Compression therapy increases blood flow, which delivers nutrients to your muscles and removes waste like lactic acid. That's why active recovery (like stretching and walking) is so much better than passive recovery (doing nothing).
Obviously, compression boots and suits like those from NormaTec, Rapid Reboot and Speed Hound don't fit everyone's budgets — and that's totally fine. You don't need one of these suits to yourself, but if you're a regular gym-goer, you might consider popping in at a recovery lounge, chiropractic clinic or other establishment that offers one-off sessions.
However, if you can afford it, a high-tech compression suit could theoretically cost less in terms of cost per session. Think about it: A massage costs, on average, $100 to $150 per session. Let's say you get one massage per month. That's anywhere from $1,200 to $1,800 per year.
NormaTec is the most expensive of the products discussed in this article -- if you purchase a complete NormaTec set for $2295, that's about $190 per month over one year. Even at one use per month, it's not outrageously expensive compared to massage.
But if you have your NormaTec at home, on hand for use whenever, the cost per session decreases drastically: If you use your NormaTec just once a week, the cost per session drops to less than $50 per use.
It's a big investment up front, but potentially worth it.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
The iPhone 11 doesn’t currently seem interesting enough to sway me from my perpetual ambivalence to Apple’s smartphones – they all seem like phones that are struggling to keep up with Android competitors, but ship for twice the price – but there might be a device in the works that changes my mind.
If rumors are to be believed, the iPhone 11 release will also bring with it the surprise unveiling of the iPhone 11 Pro; a handset that’s top-end even by iPhone standards, one that will come with an Apple Pencil-style stylus, and presumably a big screen.
This iPhone 11 Pro isn’t confirmed by any means, but there have been enough leaks about the handset for us to take them seriously, and it has us considering the possibility that Apple is going to take its iPhones down the path of the iPads – bringing out several different variants, headed by the powerful iPad Pro.
If real, the iPhone 11 Pro will be a huge departure from previous iPhones – and this fascinates me, since I don’t think most iPhones improve enough between iterations. While I still respect Apple’s products – the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) is my go-to tablet – I’ve always felt the phones are a little disappointing.
However, if the iPhone 11 Pro rumors prove true, it could be the first Apple phone that I’m actually interested in or, dare I say it, excited for. Here’s why.
The iPhone XS
(Image credit: Future)
What makes the iPhone 11 Pro so different?
While we don’t know the processing power, dimensions, camera specs, or special features of the iPhone 11 Pro, what we have heard is that it may come with a smaller Apple Pencil stylus, similar to the S Pen that comes with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.
In the Note 10, the S Pen has a range of useful features. You can take notes, draw, and annotate, as well as use several gestures that trigger functions, like taking pictures. Although they’re similar devices in terms of specs, the Samsung Galaxy S10 presents a completely different phone experience to the Note 10, and that’s because it doesn’t have the stylus.
This distinction will potentially be echoed in the iPhone 11 Pro. Assuming the base iPhone 11 is a small step up from the iPhone XS, the Pro will be the device which brings interesting new changes to the iPhone series, and that’s a step up that’s rare in Apple’s phone range.
What’s so special about a stylus?
A phone stylus isn’t just a replacement for a finger for people who have constantly grubby hands, but a peripheral that adds an extra layer of functionality to your handset.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 with its S Pen
(Image credit: Future)
The reason for this is that it’s just easier to draw with a stylus than with a finger. Styluses are designed for drawing on smartphone screens, and the experience of drawing is smoother because there’s less friction than when you’re using a human finger.
On top of that, us humans are trained to write and draw with a pencil, not with our fingers, so it’s more natural to use a stylus, and a lot more precise too.
Have you ever tried taking quick notes with a smartphone? It’s hard to type efficiently on such a small keyboard, and hand-written notes often look gibberish when using a finger. However, when you use a stylus, it’s easy to quickly write down notes and thoughts on the fly.
You can also draw, and annotate documents, so much more easily with a stylus, and it feels a lot more natural to do all of those things.
Why is this all so exciting?
I like to take notes, sign forms, and annotate documents a lot – I currently use an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil for this, but it can be pretty annoying to have to pull that out of my bag every time I need to do a quick task. A phone with a stylus would be valuable.
Yes, I could buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 10, but I’m a big fan of the iPad Pro, and really respect the way Apple’s ecosystem of devices works together smoothly. However, I haven’t gone down the phone route yet because, honestly, iPhones just seem a little boring, and Android phones are all a lot more exciting at the moment.
Sketch to your heart's content on an iPad Pro with its Apple Pencil
(Image credit: Future)
But if Apple were to bring out an iPhone 11 Pro with a stylus, designed for professionals or creatives, it would leave the other iPhones in its dust, and I’d be able to get so much more mileage out of it.
By writing this opinion piece out, I’ve managed to get myself anticipating a device which isn’t even remotely confirmed by Apple yet, and it’s worth bearing in mind that it’s entirely possible the iPhone 11 Pro isn’t a thing (or that it ends up getting called something totally different). Rumors and leaks sometimes point to real devices, but just as often they’re totally bogus.
Saying that, I’m surely not alone in hoping Apple finds some new way to make the iPhone 11 range a real step up from the iPhone X– the kind of step the iPhone XS wasn’t – and a stylus-toting high-end device would be just that handset.
Visitors look at Samsung QLED 8K TV's during the preview day of the IFA, the leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, in Berlin, Germany, August 30, 2018.
Christian Mang / Reuters
More manufacturers are selling8K TVs or have models going on sale soon, and ahead of the IFA 2019 tradeshow an industry group has released its "performance specification" for consumer TVs. The 8K Association includes members like Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Panasonic, Intel, Hisense and TCL.
They're pushing this spec as a set of display performance for HDR, color performance and more that establishes what customers can expect when they see a TV with its logo, and are working on a compliance test.
Resolution: 7680 x 4320 pixels
Input Frame Rate: 24p, 30p and 60p frames per second
Display Luminance: More than 600 nits peak Luminance
Codec: HEVC
Interface: HDMI 2.1
Those are the publicly listed requirements, while details available to members include "8K Input Parameters (bit depth, frame rate, chroma sub-sampling), Display Performance (resolution, peak brightness, black level, color gamut, white point), and the Interface & Media formats (High Dynamic Range, codec)." We'll need to see more of these TVs in action, but if you need a reason to upgrade that goes further than mere pixel and resolution count, then these specs may be key in pushing the new displays, just like HDR was for 4K sets when they began to appear.
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The Galaxy Note 10 Plus is Samsung’s very sleek, very expensive new Note. It’s the kind of device that does a triple double flip when all you asked for was a couple of cartwheels. It’s also a phone of a thousand niches, meaning that whether or not it’s worth the money depends very much on what you need.
Samsung says this phone is aimed at creators, which means precisely nothing these days. But, for instance, if you are someone who leans more into fun photography or you enjoy the art of handwriting with an S Pen stylus or well, you have quite big hands, then this is the phone for you. If you don’t fit into one of the many (many) niches the Note 10 Plus caters for, though, there’s plenty of 2019 phones that could offer better value than this.
When we first encountered the Note 10 Plus, we noted that it makes the six month old Galaxy S10 series out of date already and if you want the very best Samsung tech – the Note 10 Plus has three mics to enable the well executed Zoom In Mic video feature versus the S10’s two, say – this is now the Galaxy to get. The main differences, though, are what has always been different: the Note 10 Plus is bigger and blockier than the Galaxy S10 and it has the redesigned S Pen as a bonus.
A lot of the work Samsung has been finishing up between the S10 launch and now is focused around the S Pen and the camera features. Let’s start with the S Pen; it’s been retooled as a unibody stylus that’s slightly shorter but still very enjoyable to use to prod the screen. Samsung has used the fact it now includes a Bluetooth antenna to plant the seed of the S Pen as a remote control.
So with ‘Air gestures’ you can press the button and wave the stylus around to scroll through Gallery pictures, remote shutter or play, pause or skip YouTube videos. Samsung has opened up an SDK for developers to come up with ideas on how to use these but in use, it didn’t really come together. The button presses are fine but the gestures don’t register every time and this is coupled with the fact that if you’re using S Pen gestures, this means you’re holding the (big) phone with one hand without the stability of the S Pen hand leaning on it to scribble.
We actually found that after some time away from the Note, the basics of handwriting – which is still a bit fiddly to get just right but exports as Microsoft Word files now – and prodding the screen as a finger replacement are still what works best here. The ability to write on the calendar is neat, as is the magnify feature. We even played Monument Valley 2 with the stylus; it quickly gets addictive. The battery is good for ten hours, making it a non-issue.
As for the cameras, it’s an almost identical setup to the Galaxy S10s with a 12MP main camera, 16MP wide-angle and 12MP telephoto lens; there’s now a F2.1 aperture on the 2x zoom lens, and the addition of a time-of-flight depth sensor which we previously saw only on the Galaxy S10 5G. The Note 10 Plus offers a very fast and capable phone camera with the wide-angle in particular a great option to have in your digital camera bag.
It’s not quite as versatile and reliable in low light as the ones to beat, the Huawei P30 Pro and Pixel series. Where the Note shines is video with the same dual optical image stabilisation as the S10 with further recent improvements to its Super Steady video feature; the results are impressively smooth and stable.
Elsewhere, one of the things the depth sensor is being used for is the ad-friendly AR Doodle feature, which allows you to scribble (with the S Pen) onto faces and objects including in-video as you record. In use, the placement in 3D space is just accurate enough to work and it might work for fun Instagram Stories. The selection of blurred backgrounds you get with Live Focus – some are more subtle than others – will be popular with the same set. (The bokehs are achieved thanks to the depth sensor on the rear camera, software round the front for selfies).
It almost goes without saying that this 6.8-inch phone is large and feels large, despite the fact that the screen to body ratio is a super impressive 94.3 per cent. The iridescent ‘Aura Glow’ finish on the handset we reviewed is very eye catching, reminiscent of gleaming chrome on retro cars. It shows the influence Huawei has had recently on tech aesthetics and you’ll end up purposely laying it screen down to show it off; there’s also a ‘high shine Aura Black’ model available.
It can be slightly unwieldy, though, so we strongly recommend that you try out both the Note 10 and Note 10 Plus before you decide. A small thing – the decision to turn the Bixby button into the power button/programmable ‘side key’ is irritating for anyone who has used Samsung phones – OK, any phones – for a long time, and will take some getting used to.
The punch hole in the display, for the superb, wide-angle forward facing 10MP camera, is smaller and centred now, as compared to the very similar Galaxy S10 series. To be honest, though, we quite preferred it in the corner. On first glance, you might also notice that there’s no headphone jack here – just a cartwheel, please – a decision Samsung made as it now feels enough of its customers have made the switch to wireless earbuds – another slight miss, there’s no USB-C dongle bunded in the box.
The 6.8-inch 3040 x 1440 AMOLED display is HDR10+ and best-in-class in our book. My word, this screen is lovely, by which we mean rich and accurate colours, pure whites and deep blacks, top notch viewing angles, whether you’re looking through your own wide-angle Bank Holiday beach snaps or crisp Netflix downloads. If you want to make the most of it, and you don’t mind the battery taking a hit as a result (more on that shortly), make sure to head into settings to switch from Full HD – the default – to Quad HD.
The one screen spec Samsung could be accused of not bringing to the Note is a 144Hz refresh rate, as seen on the OnePlus 7 Pro, which does beg the question of whether the Note 10 Plus is for serious mobile gamers who get excited about such tech. The Game Booster optimisation of processing and battery offered, and the idiot-proof screen recorder function, which lets you put a feed of your face on a screen recording of what you’re playing, seems to indicate Samsung would like it to be.
The in-display fingerprint scanner also makes a reappearance and now it’s faster and much more hit than miss than we found on the Galaxy S10.
Performance is flawless and One UI, Samsung’s Android skin, is now one of the cleanest and easiest to get on with despite Samsung’s efforts to stuff in extra features; it’s certainly preferable to Huawei’s EMUI. (Huawei is, of course, still Samsung’s closest rival for Android hardware though speaking of getting the basics right, its ability to release phones, like the upcoming Huawei Mate 30, with official Google Play Store access is very much up in the air, giving new Samsung products like this something of an advantage.)
There’s Dolby Atmos onboard and the stereo speakers – one which now sits at the top of the device – play loud with sound quality better than most flagship phones and decent enough for when headphones won’t do.
This is a phone you will want to power use then and so it is a shame that in this respect, Huawei trounces Samsung on battery life. Whereas the Huawei P30 Pro will easily go for a day and a half or two, the Note 10 Plus, and its 4,300mAh battery and giant screen, is a charge every night phone.
There is a 25W fast charger bundled in the box though – we’re talking 90 mins from dead to full – and it technically supports 45W fast charging. That’s as well as the gimmicky, but also rather impressive, reverse wireless charging for earbuds and accessories, a feature that’s soon to be copied on the iPhone 11S and 11R (if the rumours are to be believed) but makes more sense for devices where you’re not concerned about your phone’s battery.
If you’re tempted by what Samsung is selling with the Note 10 series – there’s also a 5G variant of the Note 10 Plus – we can say you won’t be disappointed by this device. But is it the best way to blow £1000 right now? There are some exciting launches on the horizon – the new iPhones, the Google Pixel 4, the Huawei Mate 30 - all big phones in all senses of the word.
The innovation that Samsung is pushing on this device is interesting but, at least for now, limited in appeal and scope. For certain people, this will be the plush, feature-stuffed phone of your dreams. For everyone else, a lot of this could well be overkill.
Gearbox Publishing and Blackbird Interactive have announced Homeworld
3, a true sequel to 2003's space-faring RTS Homeworld 2.Homeworld 3 is currently a few months into pre-production and is currently on Fig.com, which allows fans to pledge/invest in the development of this new title. As of this writing, Homeworld 3's money raised is at $137,380 with 30 days to go.
This move allows backers to "snag a backstage pass to impact the game's development and prove that the fanbase still craves Homeworld 3." From features to priorities to what's in the collector's edition, backers will have their voice heard.
Homeworld 3 is coming! Join us on Fig to get an inside look as it's created and have a meaningful impact on the game development.
Fans can even invest at $500/share and "reserve an investment in a security of Fig Publishing, Inc. that will generate returns based on revenues received by Fig Publishing for the sales of Homeworld 3, if and when the game is developed and commercially released."
Homeworld 3 developer Blackbird Interactive was founded by original Homeworld art director Rob Cunningham, and Gearbox Publishing will also be supporting, which seems like a good fit as both companies previously worked on 2015's Homeworld Remastered Collection and 2016's Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak.
Homeworld 3 will pick up just after the end of Homeworld 2, will deliver "best-in-class fleet combat in fully-3D space," and will feature multiplayer options as well.
While not much else is known, Blackbird Interactive has teased that "The Hyperspace gates have opened, and with them, a new era of space travel has begun. The rest is yet to come..."
Homeworld 3 is scheduled to be released in Q4 2022 on at least PC.Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who loves space. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst.
Minecraft Earth’s closed beta has launched on Android in Seattle, London, Tokyo, Stockholm, and Mexico City, its developer Mojang announced today. If you’re lucky enough to have a beta invite and live in one of the launch cities, then you can start playing the augmented reality mobile game right now. You’ll need an AR-compatible device running Android 7 or above to play.
Today’s launch means that Minecraft Earth’s Android release is proceeding a little more slowly than it is on iOS since the beta launched on Apple’s operating system last month. However, Android users will get access to the game’s “Rubies” in-game currency before it launches on iOS. In a blog post announcing the start of the Android beta, the game’s developer says that the currency can either be earned through playing the game or bought directly, and any Rubies purchased will be attached to a user’s Xbox Live account and will carry through to the full release.
First announced back in MayMinecraft Earth is an augmented reality version of Mojang’s open-world crafting game. Mojang’s eventual aim with the game is to cover the entire planet in Minecraft blocks, allowing you to craft with them and then explore your structures with other players. Check out Mojang’s Minecraft Earth FAQ for more information, or sign up for access to the beta here.
Microsoft has always had a tablet mode for 2-in-1 Windows 10 PCs -- including its own Surface products -- but that could be changing. In the latest Insider 18970 beta release, Windows 10 no longer automatically offers to enter tablet mode when you remove a keyboard. While the finger-friendly square tile interface is still available, you need to manually activate it by going into the Action Center pull-out on the taskbar.
That's not to say that the interface doesn't change at all when you enter into a "tablet posture," but it's more subtle. The new build increases spacing between taskbar icons, collapses the taskbar search bar into a single icon, opens the touch keyboard automatically for text fields and switches File Explorer to a touch optimized layout.
To be clear re: Build 18970 and the updated tablet experience... Tablet Mode hasn't changed and is still there and does exactly what it did before. The change in 18970 is regarding switching into the tablet posture.
The idea is to provide a similar experience in either mode, possibly so that 2-in-1 or convertible buyers don't get confused by the much different-looking tablet interface. "This new experience allows users entering tablet posture to stay in the familiar desktop experience without interruption," Microsoft wrote in the Windows blog.
Users who know and love the existing tablet mode -- a holdover from the Windows 8 era -- will still be able to use it, but that might change down the road. The fact that it's no longer offered automatically means that Microsoft might phase it out in favor of the more desktop-like 2-in-1 and convertible mode.
It could also have something to do with Microsoft's upcoming October 2nd Surface-focused event. The software giant will reportedly launch Core OS, a stripped down Windows 10 OS designed for touch-centric devices and wearables.
It could be that Windows 10 as it exists now will be reserved for business and power users, hence the more desktop-like interface in the latest Insider build. Meanwhile, Core OS would have a more visual, touch-oriented interface like the existing tablet mode. That would become the operating system of choice for the next generation of consumer-oriented devices, including a rumored dual-screen PC that might be revealed at the Surface event.
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