Thursday, January 30, 2020

Apple : Price drop! Bose cut 40% off the QuietComfort 35 II

Apple : Price drop! Bose cut 40% off the QuietComfort 35 II

Price drop! Bose cut 40% off the QuietComfort 35 II

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 02:27 PM PST

If you’re in the market to replace an old pair of headphones, or get a present for your special someone this valentine's day, Bose has slashed the price on its second generation QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones by a massive AU$200.

The QuietComfort 35 II is among the best noise-cancelling headphones around. This stylish and comfortable set of headphones also incorporates Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, allowing you to hear your messages without having to dig through your pocket or bag.

You won’t be running out of battery anytime soon with the QC35 II as they have an impressive 20-hour battery life with noise cancellation turned on and listeningat medium sound level. 

Currently on sale until 13 February, 2020 through Bose’s Official website for AU$299.95, you’ll save an enormous AU$200. This is one of the best deals we have seen from Bose on one of its flagship products. 

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Best phones for kids: the top 10 phones designed for children

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 02:10 PM PST

Our list of the best phone for kids in 2020 has only increased in importance, as more parents are buying them as a source of safeguarding their children, and kids want them to call and text their friends – if parental controls allow it. 

To that end, phone makers are designing kids phones in all shapes and sizes. That's why we have more than one top pick, from one-button touch-to-call safety devices, to battle-tested Samsung phones with drop protection, to the cheapest iPhone if you want them on your iCloud family storage plan.

Problem: that leads to a lot of options for the littlest person in your life. We’re here to help you find a phone for your child, pre-teen, or teen – any age, really. We're experts on picking phones for kids, just as much as we can aptly chose the best phones in the US and best phones in the UK for adults.

We’ve factored in important aspects, such as parental controls, durability, function restrictions, GPS tracking, and cost.

The best phones for kids are going to be simple devices primarily meant to open a line of communication with parents. For teens, we went ahead and aimed for low-cost simple phones that enable calling and texting without too many features for your kids to get caught up in. 

For high-school students, we included affordable smartphones that offer a good balance of value and function while retaining solid parental controls. 

Since newer iPhones with iOS 13 and Android phones with Android 10 have ample parental controls built in, parents should feel comfortable picking out these phones for teens and pre-teens at their discretion.

Best phone for young children

The Relay, by Republic Wireless, is an incredibly simple communication device meant just for kids. It functions much like a walkie-talkie, so your child won’t have to navigate any complex menus to get ahold of you. 

The Relay connects over 4G LTE and Wi-Fi, and it includes build-in GPS, so you can pinpoint your child’s location  through the companion app on your own phone. The Relay’s design is sturdy and water resistant, so it can handle a day of play with your child.

The Relay is still in early stages, so new features like music and a voice assistant aren’t here yet, and shipping takes a while. Mobile network connectivity is also limited to the US, but Wi-Fi will work internationally.

For $149, the Relay comes in a bundle. It’s also available individually for $99 or in a pack of three for $199.

See the Relay here

Verizon users in the US have an enticing option for their kids in the LG GizmoPal 2. This is a wrist communicator that your kids can get into. It has a colorful design, simple controls, and handy water resistance. It also offers GPS tracking, so you can check in on your child’s location or find the watch if lost.

Parents can set up four authorized telephone numbers to call the GizmoPal 2, and the screen will display who’s calling. Parent’s can also set the GizmoPal 2 to automatically answer their calls, which can be handy in cases where their child might be playing and not notice the call.

The GizmoPal 2 is compatible with iOS and Android, and costs $79. For a newer model, Verizon also sells the LG Gizmo Gadget for $149.

See the LG GizmoPal 2 here

Best phone for pre-teens

Nokia’s iconic 3310 is back, and with its combination of very long battery life, simple features, and durability, it’ll make a great pick for your pre-teens. The Nokia 3310 3G is made of plastic, so your kid doesn’t have to be too careful about dropping it. They also won’t need to remember to charge it every day, as the battery can last close to a month on standby.

The Nokia 3310 3G has everything your child needs to stay in touch, with calling and texting available. You won’t have to worry about them surfing the web on this one. Plus, they can take pictures to show you what they’re up to in school or with their friends.

The Nokia 3310 3G costs $59 in the US. A non-3G Nokia 3310 is also available in the UK for £49.99.

See the Nokia 3310 3G here
See the Nokia 3310 here

If your kid wants a phone that doesn’t look too childish, the BLU Tank Xtreme 2.4 is a good option. It’s incredibly affordable, and built rugged, so your pre-teen can stand to be a little careless with it. The plastic and rubber frame should be able to handle the occasional drop, and an IP65 rating means it can shrug off a splash of water now and then.

The BLU Tank Xtreme 2.4 has the basic talk and text your kid needs to stay in touch, and it has a long-lasting battery, so you won’t need to remind them to charge it all the time. Availability is limited to the US, though UK users may be able to use this phone on the 900 and 1800 GSM bands.

See the Blu Tank Xtreme 2.4 here

The same qualities that make the Jitterbug Flip a good choice for seniors make it a good pick for your kids. It is incredibly simple to use, with basic calling and texting functions as well as a simple camera. The user interface sticks to large, easy-to-read text, and the buttons are easy to press. The battery is long-lasting as well. 

The Jitterbug Flip is only available in the US, and service is sold by GreatCall. At $74, the Jitterbug Flip is a bit more expensive than the others, but you can rest assured that it will be a simple phone for your child to get used to.

See the Jitterbug Flip here

Best phone for teens

The Moto E6 Plus isn't a smartphone for everyone because it combines fairly basic specs and performance next to something like the Moto G7. But it's incredibly cheap and durable. It also has a speedy fingerprint sensor and and an all-screen design.

Yes, you can be a kid and have an all-screen smartphone without breaking the bank. Being a teen or pre-teen doesn't necessarily mean thick bezels. You may find varying Moto E6 smartphones on sale too, region dependant, as the Moto E6 is also available at a smaller size and a slightly cheaper price. But the big Plus-sized screen is ideal.

See the Moto E6 Plus here

There's no Samsung Galaxy S9 Active or Galaxy S10 Active, so if you want a durable, but still highly capable Samsung smartphone your teens might not destroy, look to the Galaxy S8 Active. It has all of the performance a two-year-old flagship Android phone, but it’s built tough.

The Galaxy S8 Active screen is sharp, the camera is great, and the battery is forgiving if your teen forgets to charge it one night. All of that is packed into a chassis with an IP68 and MIL-STD-810G rating. In other words, it can handle a lot of carelessness. We dropped one screen-first onto a stone floor from five feet up, and the screen was fine.

Face it, your kid wants an iPhone. Finding a cheap iPhone SE outside of Apple's store is still possible, and it can be upgraded to iOS 13. Despite its age, it still performs admirably with Apple’s A9 processor, and it will offer your child all the smartphone functionality they could need. The perk of its age is that it comes at a very low price for an Apple device. 

One of the main drawbacks about giving your teen an iPhone SE is that it’s not built to be incredibly durable. Fortunately, this is an issue that can easily be fixed with an affordable iPhone SE case.

See the iPhone SE here

If price isn’t a big concern and you plan to buy a case (or your teen has proven themselves to not be reckless), the iPhone 7 or iPhone 8 make for great options. Your teen shouldn’t feel held back by any lack of capabilities (or style) on these newer devices, while you can rest assured that the parental controls on iOS will be enough to keep an eye on your teen’s use.

Though the upfront price will be higher, software support for these newer iPhones should last longer, so you won’t have to worry about upgrading any time soon. As an added bonus, the iPhone cameras are great, so you’ll get to see a lot of beautiful shots of what your teen is doing.

See the iPhone 7 here
See the iPhone 8 here

The Moto Z3 Play is out and we reviewed it, but the Moto Z2 Play still fits nicely in the middle as a pick for teens given its cheaper price. It features mid-range hardware at a mid-range price. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass, and the internals are safe from splashed water with a water repellent nano-coating. 

A 3,000mAh battery and quick charging will help ensure your teen’s phone has power when they need it. Moto Mods will also give your teen options for enhancing the features or their phone, such as adding a more advanced camera or doubling the size of the battery. 

See the Moto Z2 Play here

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A Surface Book 3 may have finally leaked after far too long a wait

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 01:44 PM PST

We've all been kept waiting for a Surface Book 3, as Microsoft hasn't updated the product in over two years and neglected it when it launched new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models. 

A new leak seems to suggest that new Surface Book 3 could be in the works, if we are to believe benchmarks posted by leaker @_rogame and shared by Notebookcheck.


The leaked benchmarks show multiple configurations for the Surface Book 3. In one benchmark, it is configured with an Intel Core i7-1065G7 with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q, while another benchmark shows it running the same processor with a GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q. 

In those two cases, the processor is an Intel Ice Lake chip. But, @_rogame suggests that Ice Lake may not be the only chip powering the Surface Book 3.  Another benchmark shows an unspecified processor that could be a higher-performance Ice Lake chip or even a Tiger Lake chip.

Reasonable expectations

The Microsoft Surface Book 2 packs 8th-Gen Intel Core processors, so it would be fair to expect an upgrade to the latest, high-end chips from Intel with the next update. Given battery life and heat concerns that would arise from from a high-performance chip in the tablet form factor, that would likely rule out Comet Lake, leaving only Ice Lake or Tiger Lake as options. The inclusion of Nvidia 16-series graphics also seems like a likely upgrade to the current hardware options.

While these leaks provide helpful insights into the potential specs of a Surface Book 3, there are still more questions to answer.

We still have no timeline for a release, though we'd hope sometime this year. There are also few clues about other upgrades beyond a potential redesign for the keyboard to include a writing surface on the bottom.

A pairing between Ryzen 4000 and the Surface Book 3 may not be a stretch, even if these leaked benchmarks don't suggest it. Microsoft showed AMD some love with the recent Surface Laptop 3, and the new Ryzen 4000-series mobile processors are expected to show up this year with desktop-class performance. Given the Surface Laptop 3 launched with both Intel and AMD options, Microsoft could pull a repeat of that maneuver with the Surface Book 3 to give it a big performance boost.

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Avast shuts down Jumpshot after data-selling controversy

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 01:25 PM PST

Following the reveal of its recent data-selling controversy, Avast has announced that it will wind down its marketing technology subsidiary Jumpshot.

Jumpshot had previously collected data from across the web, analyzed it and then sold that data to third-party customers including tech giants such as Microsoft and Google as well as big brands such as Pepsi and Home Depot. However, the controversy stems from the fact that Avast's subsidiary sold user data to other companies without first informing users.

In a blog post, Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek explained to its customers and investors why the company created Jumpshot in the first place, saying:

“We started Jumpshot in 2015 with the idea of extending our data analytics capabilities beyond core security. This was during a period where it was becoming increasingly apparent that cybersecurity was going to be about big data. We thought we could leverage our tools and resources to do this more securely than the countless other companies that were collecting data.”

Collecting user data

Avast first found itself in trouble back in December when Mozilla removed its extensions from Firefox after reports revealed that they were collecting user data and browsing histories. However, a follow up investigation by Motherboard shed new light on these practices and showed how the antivirus maker supplied Jumpshot with user data.

Avast provided further details on Jumpshot's future in a press release in which the company explained that its subsidiary will no longer provide data to third-party companies, saying:

“Jumpshot intends to continue paying its vendors and suppliers in full as necessary and in the ordinary course for products and services provided to Jumpshot during its wind down process. Jumpshot will be promptly notifying its customers in due course about the termination of its data services.”

While Jumpshot's days are numbered, it will still take Avast time to regain customer trust and the security company could potentially face investigations regarding the collection and sale of user data despite the fact that its CEO said that both companies “acted fully within legal bounds” in regard to GDPR compliance.

  • Also check out our complete list of the best VPN services

Via TechCrunch

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The Samsung Galaxy S20 is probably coming out on March 6

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 01:01 PM PST

While we’re eagerly awaiting the Samsung Galaxy S20’s launch at the Unpacked event on February 11, we might know the release date for the flagship smartphone thanks to Samsung itself. 

Right now, you can go on the Samsung website and reserve one of the new flagship smartphones - and if you do, it tells you to watch for an email to complete the preorder for a March 6 delivery, as SamMobile first spotted.

Here, see for yourself:

Yes, that’s the date in bold. Heck, it’s even in another place on the same reservation confirmation page. 

And it only makes sense that the shipping and delivery date is the same as the proper release date, to ensure everyone gets their hands on the flagship phone at the same time. It also matches a leak earlier today that noted the S20 line would "likely be available first Friday of March," which is March 6

  • The Samsung Galaxy S20 will almost surely be a top contender on our best phones list
  • The new phone's cameras look like they'll be something - and hit our best cameraphones ranking
  • If nothing else, they're sure to helm our best Android phones breakdown

Not much to say, is there?

This isn’t a big surprise, given the Samsung Galaxy S10 line’s release and ship dates were on March 8, 2019. It’s a tried-and-true interval for Samsung to drum up interest and preorders to ensure a simultaneous launch.

If anything, this tells us the S20’s release is proceeding apace, and is more evidence that there aren’t too many surprises in store. Sadly, this page doesn’t even hint at which phones could be in the lineup.

The only hiccup might be in the fine print: in a footnote (click “Read More” after the asterisk below your reservation) to see a couple caveats. Most importantly, “Not all Galaxy devices are eligible for this offer” - which could mean that not all of the S20 devices are releasing on the same day. If any of the phones were delayed, we’d expect the S20 Ultra, since its seeming predecessor Samsung Galaxy S10 5G came out months after the rest of its siblings in June 28.

The other caveat, of course: Samsung could change the release date at any time.

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Europe wants to challenge US tech giants' dominance with single data market

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:16 PM PST

According to a new European Commission proposal, the European Union wants to create a single market in data with the aim of challenging the dominance of US tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.

The proposal shows how the EU wants to break free from tech giants control of large amounts of data while also positioning the bloc to better compete with Chinese rivals. It also suggests reining in big online platforms though the proposal could be changed ahead of its presentation scheduled for mid February.

A paper laying out the proposal, seen by Reuters, highlights the fact that big tech firms controlling most of the world's data hurts competition on a global scale, saying:

“Currently a small number of big tech firms hold a large part of the world’s data. This is a major weakness for data-driven businesses to emerge, grow and innovate today, including in Europe, but huge opportunities lie ahead.”

Single data market

The 25-page document outlining the upcoming proposal also suggests that urgency is needed to deal with this situation, saying:

“Competitors such as China and the U.S. are already innovating quickly and projecting their concepts of data access and use across the globe. The winners of today will not necessarily be the winners of tomorrow.”

The objective of the European Commission's proposal is “to create a single European data space, a genuine single market for data”. To achieve this goal, the EU plans to introduce a slew of new rules that cover cross-border data use, data interoperability and standards related to manufacturing, climate change, the auto industry, healthcare, financial services agriculture and energy.

The document also proposes the idea of scraping competition rules that hinder data sharing as well as possibly introducing new rules in order to prevent large online platforms from imposing conditions for access and use of data which allow them to benefit in a disproportionate manner.

We'll likely find out more on the proposal and how the EU wants to create a single data market next month ahead of its presentation.

  • We've also highlighted the best VPN services

Via Reuters

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Sony Xperia 1.1 could pack a 64MP camera and periscope zoom

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 11:58 AM PST

 A cluster of new leaks allegedly show off the Xperia 1.1 (also hinted to be named the Xperia 1.1) flagship smartphone’s camera specs, revealing what could be a powerful successor to the Xperia 5.

The upcoming Xperia 1.1 will supposedly pack a camera array that includes a 64MP lens with 1/1.7-inch sensor, a 12MP lens with 1/1.5-inch sensor, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP time of flight depth sensor above a periscope/OIS lens of uncertain resolution. 

That info comes from a Weibo post by user Caybule that was first seen by Japanese site AndroidNext. That info also appeared in an image that diagrammed the lens list against an alleged render of the phone. 

This image, though much closer-in, looks identical to our first look at alleged renders of the Xperia 1.1 that we saw in a leak earlier in January. They’re similar enough to suggest the new one might have been cropped out of the old; if not, they’re similar enough that this might be how the phone ends up looking.

Phones in 2020: big megapixels, periscope lenses

While the best phones last year added ultrawide cameras, 2020 seems to be the year everyone’s back on the massive megapixel train - for instance, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is rumored to feature a whopping 108MP main lens. It’s no surprise that the Xperia 1.1 might be bumping up its own shooters.

Likewise, it wouldn’t shock us to see a periscope lens in the new Sony phone, as we first saw them appear in the Huawei P30 Pro and slated to appear in the Galaxy S20. If the Xperia 1.1 includes just such a lens, we can logically expect it’ll manage at least a 5x optical zoom, which previous periscopes have achieved.

At the least, this slate of lenses looks better than that on either of last year's Xperia 1 or Xperia 5 phones. 

Via GSM Arena

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iPhone deal at Best Buy: save up to $350 on the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 11:11 AM PST

If you're looking to score a deal on the all-new iPhone 11, then you've come to the right place. For a limited time, Best Buy is offering up to $350 off the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max with qualified activation and in-store trade-in.

The iPhone 11 was released this past September with updated camera hardware, and an A13 Bionic chipset which Apple claims is the fastest processor ever in a smartphone. The newest iPhone includes a multi-camera system that allows you to capture ultra-wide photos and videos, and even "zoom-out" after a photo is taken to see more of the captured image. The battery also received an upgrade with all three iPhone models providing a longer battery life than its predecessor.

To receive this limited-time offer, you must activate your phone with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint, and you can save even more when you have a qualifying phone to trade-in. Best Buy is also offering four free months of Apple Music for new subscribers.

iPhone deals at Best Buy:

Shop more iPhone offers with our roundup of the best iPhone 11 and 11 Pro deals.

Learn more about the newest iPhone with our hands-on iPhone 11 review, iPhone 11 Pro review, and iPhone 11 Pro Max review.

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Samsung is pushing for the Xbox Series X to support ultrawide monitors

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 10:38 AM PST

One of the most exciting things about PC gaming in 2020 is the wide swath of choices in the way you play your games, and it sounds like Samsung is pushing Microsoft to bring at least one aspect of that over to the Xbox Series X. 

Samsung recently talked to the folks over at PCGamesN and told them that it's talking with Microsoft and pushing the gaming behemoth to adopt ultrawide support for the Xbox Series X.

Obviously, current-generation consoles don't currently have this compatibility as both the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro are limited to 16:9 resolutions, peaking at 4K. That sounds pretty rad, but there's a whole world of fancy displays that these consoles just can't handle. 

Now, folks can still technically play Xbox One or PS4 games on one of the best ultrawide monitors - nothing is stopping them from doing so today. But because both consoles output a 16:9 signal, you simply get these ugly black bars on either side of the display. If Samsung is able to push Microsoft to adopt compatibility for more unconventional aspect ratios, we could see console games with the option to render in a more immersive resolution.

It's unlikely that this will actually happen, of course, but if it did it would be great news for folks that already have one of these monitors. At the end of the day, though, we know very little about what the next generation consoles will be able to do. 


We're going to speculate anyway

No matter how awesome it would be if ultrawide resolutions were supported on the Xbox Series X, we're definitely skeptical. Consoles are notoriously inflexible when it comes to how they output video, typically only supporting one or two resolutions. 

If ultrawide support were to be enacted on the Xbox Series X, game developers would have to - brace yourself - add resolution options for their games. The ability to tinker with display options is something that has been nearly exclusive to the PC for years. 

But all hope's not lost. One of the most exciting things about the mid-generation refresh a lá the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, was that we started to see some graphics options in a wide variety of popular games - even if they were extremely limited. 

Because Microsoft seems to be approaching its gaming division by creating an "ecosystem" that involves Xbox consoles and the best gaming PCs, graphics options could start making their way into console versions of Xbox games. If you take a look at games like Gears 5 and the Halo: the Master Chief Collection on PC, ultrawide support is already there. Theoretically it wouldn't be very difficult to make ultrawide available on the console side, especially if the same game supports it elsewhere. 

We won't know if this compatibility will make it into the next generation of consoles, or even whether games will take advantage of it if it does, but we're still excited about the possibility. We're sure we'll hear more about what the Xbox Series X can do in the near future, so we'll eagerly await Microsoft's word. 

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Google paid out millions in bug bounties last year

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 10:01 AM PST

Finding bugs in Google's products was quite a lucrative business last year as the search giant has revealed that it paid out $6.5m to 461 different security researchers.

Last year's payout was almost double the $3.4m the company paid out in 2018 and since starting its bug bounty program in 2010, Google has paid out over $21m to those who discovered flaws in its software.

More and more companies have instituted their own bug bounty programs as it is much cheaper to pay security researchers and white hackers to find flaws than it is to deal with a major data or security breach later on. 

These programs also encourage individuals who do discover flaws to disclose them properly as opposed to using them maliciously or selling them to others that will.

Bug bounty program

Of the $6.5m Google paid out in bug bounties last year, $800k went to Google Play, $1m went to Chrome, $1.9m went to Android and $2.1m went to the company's other products.

Security researchers who received payment for finding flaws in the company's products also donated an all-time-high of $507k to charity last year which is five times the amount ever previously donated in a single year.

Since Google started its bug bounty program, it has continued to grow though the past few years have all seen payouts of around $3m. The fact that the amount paid out almost doubled this year shows that the program has been quite successful at helping the company fix flaws in its software.

Google's security team continued to expand the program last year and the company even raised the top reward for finding flaws in Android to $1m.

Via VentureBeat

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What is AWS Cognito?

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 09:43 AM PST

For a small company, keeping track of user accounts for a mobile or web app is not terribly difficult. It might be a simple database you deploy and manage manually. The problem arises when you suddenly start managing hundreds, thousands, or millions of user accounts. At that point, the task is much more complicated and can involve security and authentication, access control, social media identity providers like Facebook, and other factors. What started as a fairly simple process becomes a full-time job for someone on your staff.

AWS Cognito is a user account control service that runs in the cloud. It’s designed to relieve many of the headaches related to user account control for mobile and web apps. By using AWS Cognito, you can take full control of the account management and then scale accordingly using cloud services.

AWS Cognito consists of several features for managing users for sign-up (registration), sign-in, and account management. To understand how it all works, here are the main features.

For starters, the Cognito User Pools feature helps you manage user accounts. It’s a secure user directory that can scale up as your needs evolve. With other user account control systems, you have to run a server and manage the IT infrastructure, but you can start using Cognito User Pools without having to configure any of the back-end systems.

Cognito supports “account federation” in that you can use third-party identity management providers for the login. This includes social media platforms like Facebook, well-known providers like Google and Amazon, and also enterprise-class identity providers such as Microsoft Active Directory (using SAML, the Security Assertion Markup Language). The advantage here is simplicity for the user. In a mobile app, for example, they can click a Facebook icon to sign-in quickly.

AWS Cognito uses well-known and well-established security providers, including Oauth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and OpenID Connect. These are open-source providers that use standards-based authentication and access management services. Cognito doesn’t rely on any proprietary security methods that lock you into that authentication method.

Not only is Cognito geared for helping you scale and manage your user management, but it’s also a good match for companies that need to adhere to compliance regulations. The most common is HIPAA, which regulates the health and medical field, such as for storing electronic health records. Amazon Cognito is also compliant with PCI DSS, SOC, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, and ISO 9001.

Benefits and AWS Cognito

There’s no question the biggest benefit to using this service is that you can scale up as your apps grow and expand to reach a wider audience. One of the “gotchas” of any new web or mobile app is when it really catches on with users. Companies often celebrate when they see users engaging with their app, but then there’s the eventual realization that it can be extremely hard to keep up with demand if your infrastructure for user management is not ready. Because Cognito scales automatically with user demand, you don’t have to worry about the infrastructure requirements or building out and maintaining servers.

Related to this is the cost structure. Your costs are related to the user accounts you need to manage, so the costs can scale as well. This takes some of the surprises out of a fast-growing app as well, not only in how you pay for Cognito as a management tool but also in the fact that you don’t have to build out more servers or expand your infrastructure.

What this means is that you pay only to manage the monthly active users (or MAUs). A user is counted as active if they change a password, refresh their account info, or sign-up for the service within the month. This is a major advantage to companies that have legacy business apps that are still viable but also have been around for many years. They may have a large portion of users who are no longer actively using the app on a regular basis.

Perhaps one unheralded feature that is beneficial to companies developing apps is that Cognito integrates into your application framework. When you are building the front-end of your app, you can use the same branding and logo that matches the rest of your user interface.

One last benefit is that the entire service is easy to use and deploy. Amazon makes a point to demonstrate how this works by including a portion of the code you insert into your app, running only a few dozen lines long but providing everything you need to get started. Because of the ease of deployment, companies can develop multiple apps, experiment with new ones, and manage existing apps without the typical complexities and management overhead.

In the end, AWS Cognito fits right into the development cycles of most companies, especially with how easy it is to use the code, the cost structure, and the easy integration.

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When will Rick and Morty season 4 return in 2020?

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 09:27 AM PST

Rick and Morty season 4 ended a five-episode run on Adult Swim in 2019, and five more will air in 2020, with season 4, episode 6 coming next. Annoyingly, there's still no release date for the second half of the season, but one of the cast has provided a suggestion that's it coming sooner rather than later. As February rolls around, though, there's still no sign of new Rick and Morty episodes.

Below, we'll explain more on when you can expect to see episode 6 of Rick and Morty season 4. Our best guess is that the show will return in the first half of this year, but this is a show famous for taking its time: over two years passed between seasons 3 and 4. 

We'll also discuss the new Rick and Morty Super Bowl commercial, which might be the only new Rick and Morty animation you see for a little while...

Rick and Morty season 4 episode 6 will release "sooner than later"

The exact timing is unclear for the second half of Rick and Morty season 4, but the bulk of the voice acting has already been recorded for the last five episodes. Collider (thanks, GamesRadar) interviewed the voice of Summer, Spencer Grammer, who revealed she's finished recording the script for season 4 episode 10, though she has additional work to do after the fact. 

"And then we have another five coming out eventually, sooner than later. And then we also have, I know they’re working on season five," she says, noting there are some interesting Summer-themed episodes coming up. 

"I just recorded 4.10 when I was in LA a few weeks ago but, those change a lot. I'll be going back to do pick-ups probably for some of them. They’re revising and then re-writing certain things. So, we’re not finished yet but yes, I recorded all of them so far." 

It's hard to tell just how that translates to when we'll see more of season 4, but "sooner than later" would indicate that it's unlikely to be a whole year away. That said, this is an animated show, which requires more lead time than a live-action show usually does. 

We already knew there'd be a Rick and Morty season 5, as the show was renewed for 70 episodes after season 3 ended. In case you need reassuring that the show is definitely returning in 2020, the official Rick and Morty account tweeted the below:

How many episodes of Rick and Morty season 4 are left?

Five episodes. Rick and Morty season 4 is ten episodes long. Five were always going to air in 2019, while the other half was pegged for a no-more-specific date than 2020. 

Is Rick and Morty season 4 on Hulu?

You can't stream season 4 of Rick and Morty on-demand with regular Hulu subscriptions right now - Hulu has been fielding requests for this on Twitter (see above). But you can watch the episodes as they air with the more expensive Hulu + Live TV package. 

Otherwise, you'll have to wait for Rick and Morty season 4 to be added to Hulu a few months after the whole season has completed airing, which will be 2020 at the earliest. You can watch the first two episodes on Adult Swim's website, though, and unlock the others if you have a cable subscription. 

Rick and Morty do feature in a Super Bowl commercial, at least

Hey, it's not Rick and Morty season 4, but it is one minute of new animation about...Pringles. This commercial was created as part of a Super Bowl partnership, but we wouldn't have minded if they revealed the release date for episode 6 at the same time. 

When is the next episode of Rick and Morty in the UK?

Rick and Morty will return on E4 or Channel 4 sometime in 2020. The first five episodes are available to watch now on streaming service All4. 

This Pringles commercial features Rick and Morty

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Today's Amazon sales: Apple Watch, fitness tracker, Xbox One and Surface Pro laptop deals available now

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 09:01 AM PST

These Amazon sales can save you big money on a brand new Xbox One or PS4 console, a gorgeous OLED or 4K TV, and a set of fancy headphones priced far below their usual cost. We're seeing fantastic AirPods deals sticking around as well as a brand new price drop on the Apple Watch Series 3 guaranteed to make you smile. 

Meanwhile, the impressive Sony WH1000XM3 headphones are available for as little as $219 renewed right now amongst some amazing headphone deals. Plus, there's all the usual smart home sales and cheap fitness trackers you'd expect from January payday. 

We've rounded up our favorites below, but you can also check out all our picks further down the page.  

Amazon Daily Deals: Today's Top Picks

Massive Garmin fitness tracker deals and new low Apple Watch price

Beats and AirPods sales coming in hot

Cheap Samsung Galaxy tablets incoming

PS4, Xbox One, and PC gaming peripheral deals storm ahead

Cheap Echo speakers and displays

4K and smart TVs on sale

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The Nintendo Switch is back in stock across the UK: here's where to get the best bundle deals

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 08:54 AM PST

If you've been refreshing that Nintendo Switch product page over the last month, you're not the only one. The UK has been in a Nintendo Switch deals hole over the last few weeks, ever since Christmas sales wiped the console clean off the shelves. That all changes this week, however, with Currys, Box, Very and Argos all receiving fresh stock of the hybrid console. 

With the return of Nintendo's incredibly popular handheld-turn-home-console gaming machine also comes the return of Nintendo Switch bundle deals. That means not only can you pick up a console for the first time this year, but you can also score some excellent deals on games to get stuck in with. 

Our particular favourite is this £299 Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Nintendo Switch bundle deal from Currys. With the usual price of the console by itself sitting firmly at £279, picking up the £40 game for just £20 extra is a steal, and it's the lowest price you'll pay for a Switch and game combo right now. If you're looking at more of Nintendo's flagship lineup, you'll find bundle deals available for just a hair over £300. They include savings on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart 8.

You'll have to move fast though. We've already seen AO and John Lewis run out of stock of their Nintendo Switch deals and some of these retailers are running low as we speak. It seems the appetite for some Ninty goodness is never quite dispelled, so you'll have to get into the fight as soon as possible to grab your console. 

Not in the UK? Scroll down for more Nintendo Switch deals where you are - or if you're just looking for a console by itself, you'll find the latest prices further down. 

Today's best Nintendo Switch bundle deals

Need more? We're counting down all the best Nintendo Switch sales right here on TechRadar. If you're just after the handheld experience, you might want to take a look at our best Nintendo Switch Lite deals. If you're struggling to hold onto your January resolutions, why not check out our top Ring Fit Adventure deals as well. 

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The Witcher animated movie on Netflix won't be about Geralt

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 08:49 AM PST

Last week, Netflix confirmed that an animated Witcher movie was in the works, which rumors have suggested will be released ahead of The Witcher season 2. This week, an official synopsis has been revealed on the streaming service, which explains that the movie will focus on Geralt's mentor, Vesemir.

Here's the official synopsis: "Long before mentoring Geralt, Vesemir begins his own journey as a witcher after the mysterious Delgan claims him through the Law of Surprise." 

A Witcher news outlet on Twitter broke the story, and posted official art of Vesemir as he appears in the game The Witcher 3, which makes his head look extremely tiny relative to the rest of his body: 

The Netflix listing doesn't provide many other details, other than a line that says 'This film is: Exciting'. Sounds good! The film is also tagged under several anime categories – last week it was revealed that The Legend of Korra animators at Studio Mir is making the film. Beau DeMayo, screenwriter for the series, wrote the script. 

Who should play Vesemir?

Some fans have been pushing for the casting of Mark Hamill as Vesemir, who acts as a teacher for Geralt and other witchers. The showrunner of The Witcher, Lauren Hissrich, acknowledged this in a tweet on Christmas Day 2019.

It doesn't make it any more likely, but Hamill's credibility as a voice actor would make him a good fit for this animated movie, as well as season 2 of the show. You probably already know he was the voice of The Joker in the Batman animated series from the '90s, as well as the Arkham Asylum games.

Let's hope Witcher fans get their wish. 

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Windows 10X could jazz up your foldable desktop with dynamic wallpaper

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 08:36 AM PST

Windows 10X is set to introduce some extra visual oomph to the desktop, allowing for the use of dynamic wallpapers.

In other words, these will be desktop backgrounds which change to reflect the current time of day (or indeed night) going by your device’s clock.

This development was spotted by Windows Central, and highlighted a mountain landscape which cycles through morning, afternoon, evening and night-time, synced with the passage of time in the real world. Dynamic clouds are another element which can appear, potentially linked to the weather, perhaps (although whether or not that might be the case isn’t mentioned).

While this isn’t confirmed, the tech site says it ‘understands’ these wallpapers are coming with Windows 10X, although it isn’t certain how many there will be.

The complexity of these wallpapers could be limited by CPU usage, given that Windows 10X is targeted at dual-screen (or foldable) portable devices, where battery life will doubtless be a primary consideration.

Still, it would be a pretty nifty addition for those who want a bit of visual sparkle with their desktop experience, no doubt – assuming it does actually come to fruition, of course.

Mac first

Dynamic wallpapers are something that Mac users have been able to enjoy since macOS Mojave was released, although there are third-party apps out for Windows 10 which are simple workarounds to get these dynamic backgrounds on a Microsoft machine.

It’s certainly a feature that some users enjoy, so it’s good to hear that official support is (hopefully) in the pipeline for 10X – although whether the ability will subsequently come to Windows 10 itself is another question. Presumably there’s no reason why it shouldn’t, eventually.

Via Wccftech

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Plugin flaw puts over 200,000 WordPress sites at risk of attack

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 08:12 AM PST

Over 200,000 WordPress sites have been warned they may have been exposed to a bug that allows hackers to take over the website easily.

The affected sites were all found to be running an unpatched open-source plugin that puts them at risk of attack.

This high severity cross-site request forgery (CSRF) bug has impacted a plugin called Code Snippets which is used to run PHP code snippets offering a graphical user interface that looks similar to the plugins menu.

Attacked

The bug, first tracked by security firm Wordfence, allowed attackers to inject a PHP code on behalf of the administrator and execute malicious codes remotely. It also allowed hackers to create new administrator accounts, extract sensitive data, and even infect site users.

Wordfence researchers pointed out that though the developers had followed all the security measures however, the import function in the plugin had a flaw that could be easily compromised. 

The vulnerability has been fixed on 25th January, a couple of days later it was reported, with the latest release of the Code Snippet plugin now version 2.14.0. Any admins running an older version of the plugin have been told they must update to the patched version.

As per a WordPress plugin download data of the latest update, approximately 58,000 users have downloaded the updated plugin while over 140,000 users are still on the older version and are vulnerable to hack.

Via BleepingComputer

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Best CDN providers of 2020 to speed up any website

Posted: 30 Jan 2020 08:08 AM PST

A content delivery network (CDN) works to accelerate almost any website by caching its files in servers around the world. Whether your visitors come from Europe, North America, Asia or anywhere else, content is automatically served from the nearest location for the fastest possible speeds.

If you're new to the technology then it might seem intimidating, and there's no doubt that prices can be high, but don't let that put you off. A CDN is not just for massive corporations. You can set up the simplest services in less than five minutes, and if you choose your plan wisely, it might not cost you anything at all.

Whatever your website, from a simple blog to a sprawling site for a big business, we've picked out some of the best services around to help point you in the right direction. If you find anything that looks interesting, give it a try – you can explore many of these CDNs for free, without handing over payment details or signing up for any contract.

Cloudflare is a hugely popular American content delivery service that combines novice-friendly ease of use with expert-level features and functionality.

Setup is simple, with no need to edit your code. Just update your DNS nameservers to use Cloudflare and the service kicks in automatically, caching content and serving it to visitors from their nearest location.

But there's much, much more. Web filtering can block bots, limit content spam, keep you safe from hackers or detect and mitigate DDoS attacks. Smart image optimizations can reduce image file sizes by up to 35%, further improving speeds. There's wide support for standards like IPv6, HTTP/2 and SPDY, clever page rules to help you manipulate traffic, and a REST API allows developers to take full control of what the service is doing. Also, Flan Scan, a lightweight network vulnerability scanner is thrown in the mix too.

Cloudflare's free plan allows you to see what the service can do, without making any commitments. It's very usable, with unlimited bandwidth and no annoying restrictions to try and force you to upgrade.

Upgrading to the Pro plan costs a reasonable $20 (£16) a month, and adds the image optimization rules, extra configurability and improved support.

Whatever you choose, Cloudflare delivers great performance. As we write, the benchmarking site CDNPerf ranks Cloudflare at ninth place for worldwide HTTP request response times out of a field of 20 top CDNs.

Fastly provides CDN tricks for some really big organizations, including the likes of Spotify and Reddit, and the firm lives up to its name, delivering impressively fast performance levels. Going by the rough guideline of CDNPerf’s rankings, it’s the second fastest CDN for the UK, and worldwide speeds are mostly good, too.

Perhaps Fastly’s strongest point, however, is just how configurable the service is. For example, there’s diverse support for different types of video caching, and tons of low-level controls for those who want to get stuck into the likes of manipulating HTTP headers to customize how content is served.

Of course, some know-how is required to set up everything, and novices to the CDN world will doubtless be confused by all the options on offer. But for those who need this level of flexibility and configurability, it’s priceless to have.

Speaking of the price, Fastly operates a pay-as-you-go model with a minimum charge of $50 (£37) per month. In addition, you can test up to $50 of traffic for free.

KeyCDN is an easy-to-use budget CDN that might be a good pick for first-time users.

Getting started couldn't be much simpler. Sign up with your email address and you get an immediate 25GB to play with, no payment details required. A well-designed web dashboard enables creating your first zone with the minimum of clicks, and there are guides to help you integrate the service with WordPress and other apps. 

Worth mentioning is that as of late November 2018, KeyCDN fully supports IPv6.

More experienced users will appreciate options like Origin Shield – this allows you to specify a KeyCDN server to be the source for updates rather than the origin, reducing your server load. You're able to manipulate headers, cache or strip cookies, or set up a custom robots.txt. Once the service is running, a capable set of reporting tools enable watching CDN performance in near real-time. Also, all customers have access to Image Processing feature, which is great for image optimization.

KeyCDN's standout feature has to be its low prices. Bandwidth charges start at $0.04 (£0.032) per GB, less than half the price you'll pay with some of the high-end competition. The minimum usage is a tiny $4 (£3.2) per month and the minimum payment is $29 (£23.3). The company doesn't even try to cash in on the extras, for example offering shared SSL and custom Let's encrypt SSL certificates for free.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, these low prices don't get you leading-edge performance, but there's still plenty of power here and you do get a lot for your money.

MetaCDN is an Australian company which combines the CDNs of Amazon Cloudfront, Fastly and Verizon's EdgeCast into a single speedy service.

Why? It's all about performance. When a visitor accesses your site, MetaCDN has three networks and more than 120 locations to choose from – way more than anyone else. In other words, there’s a much greater chance any visitor will have a server near them.

This matters because every CDN delivers its best performance in different areas. EdgeCast scores highly in North America, for instance, but Fastly is quicker in the UK. MetaCDN automatically chooses the best network for every visitor's location, giving you the best of all worlds.

This approach does have a catch. When you sign up with a single CDN, you can get access to all its individual settings and options, but combining three means you only get settings which apply to all of them (for obvious reasons). Which essentially means MetaCDN has barely any configuration options at all. (Check the Support site to get a rough feel for how the system works.)

Still, MetaCDN is nicely user-friendly and it could be a good pick if speed is your top priority. Pricing is complicated (although not bad for access to enterprise-level CDNs) and there are three plans, Basic, Lite and Pro. The most popular one, Lite, is $50 on a monthly basis (you can also choose a yearly rate, for a $39 a month).

This CDN provider focuses mainly on the West, with 14 points of presence (PoPs) in North America, and nine in Europe. There are only five PoPs in Asia, and two in Australia and South America (Brazil).

StackPath is user-friendly, complete with a straightforward web console to manage your settings, and if you do get stuck, there’s extremely efficient technical support available via either live chat or phone.

Performance seems good in the US and UK, and indeed Europe, but further afield you may see things tail off a bit, which is hardly a surprise given StackPath’s aforementioned focus on Western nations.

Another strength here comes on the security front, with this CDN giving users free shared SSL (or the option to use your own SSL certificate, if you prefer). There’s also anti-DDoS technology and a capable Web Application Firewall.

All in all, this is a tempting offering with a baseline plan that charges $20 (£15.5) for up to 1TB of bandwidth per month. The first month is also free.

Update: The service has been integrated with StackPath - "Everything you love about MaxCDN is being integrated into the new StackPath CDN service."  

MaxCDN is actually owned by StackPath now (the previously mentioned CDN), but provides a standalone service of its own which is well-suited for novices. You get 24/7 tech support with speedy responses promised (and indeed these claims stood up to our testing), and it’s easy enough to set up, and indeed use going forward.

You don’t get as many settings to play with as some of the more advanced services, but that’s hardly surprising when trying to keep things more user-friendly.

Another definite benefit is a range of useful reports, and a solid core network. MaxCDN offers eight edge locations in the US, five in Europe – and you can add additional locations in Asia (and Australia), but you have to pay extra for those.

Overall, though, pricing is a strong point, starting from $9 (£6.75) a month for a 100GB account, with a clean pricing structure which isn’t confusing in the slightest (often not the case with CDN offerings). Performance is, generally speaking, solid enough, and this CDN does pretty well for speeds in the UK and US.

Amazon CloudFront is the CDN facet of AWS (Amazon Web Services), so it’s certainly part of a heavyweight operation. And indeed CloudFront offers a raft of advanced features as you might expect, and you can customize all manner of things such as enabling automatic GZip compression for better speeds.

Another strength here is the in-depth analytics on tap, showing you details of your visitors’ device type, OS and so forth. There’s also the handy ability to set up alerts, meaning you can be warned when data transfer usage goes above a certain level.

The downside to all the options on offer is that relative novices to the CDN world may find CloudFront’s control panel a little intimidating, at least initially.

The other slight sticking points are that calculating pricing can be a rather tricky matter, and if you aren’t an experienced user familiar with CDN basics, tech support isn’t free – if you need help, you’ll have to fork out for it. Prices vary depending on region, but the good news is there’s a free tier (which gives you 50GB of data per month for one year).

Performance levels are fairly average, too, but there’s no denying the power and configurability that Amazon offers to the slightly more tech-savvy user.

As you’re doubtless aware, Microsoft Azure is a big old stack of integrated cloud tools for building and managing applications and services, with a wide range of coverage including a CDN offering, which is what we’re focusing on here, naturally. Note that this doesn’t use Microsoft’s own edge servers, but rather three plans that use other CDN networks: Standard Akamai, Standard Verizon, and Premium Verizon.

We fully discuss these various plans in our review of Microsoft’s CDN service, linked below, but suffice it to say that in terms of pricing – which can be somewhat confusing to work out – this isn’t the cheapest offering around. Still, those who want integration with other Microsoft technologies and services may well find the price worth paying.

You get a web dashboard which is absolutely crammed with features, although as ever, this means it’s not particularly easy to use for beginners (and the setup process is pretty involved, too). Performance levels are impressive, and at the time of writing, according to CDNPerf, Azure CDN is the third fastest content delivery network in the US and fourth worldwide.

This has to be a tempting prospect if you’re using other Azure services, or if you’re a developer who will appreciate the likes of .NET or PowerShell management features. You can create a free account and get started with 12 months of free services.

CDN77 is a big-name player in the content delivery game, with some heavyweight clients signed up including the European Space Agency. It has an expansive CDN network with over 30 data centers across the globe, with many of those in Europe and the US, but there are also locations in South America, Asia and one in Australia.

The web console interface is very streamlined and keeps any jargon to a minimum, making it suitably user-friendly for novices to the CDN world. The flipside of this is that there aren’t a huge amount of options, although you can do some tweaking of various settings.

In terms of performance, CDN77 is solid enough, and it ranks as a lower-to-mid pack player that’s unlikely to disappoint, but certainly isn’t the fastest CDN network we found when reviewing these various services.

You get a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate, and CDN77 is pretty good value for money overall in terms of its per-GB pricing, although it’s not the cheapest outfit we’ve highlighted here. Pricing starts at $0.049 per GB of data for US and European locations, with Asia and Latin America being more expensive. If you want to test the waters, there’s a 14-day risk-free trial, and you don’t need to supply any payment details for this.

If you need a powerful CDN, look no further than Leaseweb, an enterprise-level operation which is still suitable for regular business users – just about, although we should say upfront that it isn’t cheap, as you might imagine.

Pricing starts at $113 (£88, €99) per month for an entry-level plan with a 2TB data allowance, the good news being that even with this ‘basic’ subscription, you get all the same security and CDN features as the heavyweight enterprise plans. That being said, you might need to contact them for exact price due to recent website changes they made.

That includes a smartly designed console for overseeing your CDN needs, complete with an extensive raft of potential settings and tweaks, featuring many options you don’t get with your average service (like the ability to set the cache-control header, or determine how long to cache 404 responses).

There’s also an in-depth statistics section which displays graphs and charts showing many interesting stats, such as visitor and traffic breakdowns, cache performance and the top file types which are seeing action.

The one somewhat bleak spot is Leaseweb’s performance, which seems somewhat off the pace going by CDNPerf’s findings, although it’s difficult to gauge exactly what results you’ll get in practice. Users who want a powerful range of features in their CDN could give the 30-day trial a go to find out.

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