Free exercise

Rating: 7/10 ? 1 - Absolute Hot Garbage 2 - Sorta Lukewarm Garbage 3 - Strongly Flawed Design 4 - Some Pros, Lots Of Cons 5 - Acceptably Imperfect 6 - Good Enough to Buy On Sale 7 - Great, But Not Best-In-Class 8 - Fantastic, with Some Footnotes 9 - Shut Up And Take My Money 10 - Absolute Design Nirvana Price: $80 If you’re in the market for fitness wearables, you may have come across Amazon’s Halo View . The affordable band is meant to compete with the likes of FitBit, so we tried one out to see how it measures up. Here's What We Like Simple interface Easy to start using Competitive price point And What We Don't Invasive extra features Subscription-locked functions No GPS The Halo View’s price point is comfortable compared to other fitness trackers , which combined with a generous one-year free trial of Amazon’s Halo subscription, makes for what appears to be a great deal. It sacrifices a few features that … [Read more...] about Amazon Halo View Review: Affordable, But a Little Creepy

Samsung is under fire for a recent ad depicting a woman wearing a Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Buds running alone in the middle of a city at 2AM. Critics have called the ad both “unrealistic” and “tone-deaf” in the wake of the murder of Ashling Murphy , a 23-year-old who was killed while running in January in Dublin, Ireland. The ad is oblivious to the dangers of nighttime running, but that makes sense since many smartwatch makers don’t seem to understand how their limited safety features may fail runners. Samsung has since apologized for the ad, telling BBC Radio 1 that it hadn’t intended to “be insensitive to ongoing conversations around women’s safety” and that “the ‘Night Owls’ campaign was designed with a positive message in mind: to celebrate individuality and freedom to exercise at all hours.” Samsung’s intent is understandable. The ad is meant to highlight how easy it is to use Galaxy devices together and “empower” users to leave their phones at home. For many people … [Read more...] about ‘Tone-deaf’ Samsung ad is a reminder that smartwatch safety still has a ways to go

At midnight ET on Tuesday morning, the American federal government shut down operations as a result of the Congressional budget impasse. Currently there's no immediate end in sight, so a mish-mash of government agencies are open and closed. National parks and museums are off, but mail is still being delivered to American households. On Saturday, Ars took a quick look at which US government agency websites would be going dark during the shutdown. Those included the Federal Trade Commission, the Library of Congress, and the National Park Service sites. They all planned to go dark and have done so. The federal court system is remaining open , as it has a financial reserve that should last around two weeks. Similarly, the United States Patent and Trademark Office could stay open for approximately four weeks. However, we have now conducted a more thorough examination of 50-plus different .gov websites. In the chart below, we have highlighted whether they are up or down, and … [Read more...] about Shutdown of US government websites appears bafflingly arbitrary

Attack code that exploits a critical vulnerability in all supported versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser has been publicly released. Monday's release of a module for the Metasploit exploit framework used by security professionals and hackers could broaden the base of attackers who are capable of targeting the flaw. Until now, the bug has been known to be exploited in only a handful of highly targeted attacks aimed mostly at workers in Japanese government agencies and manufacturers. While the attack code has been available to anyone who knows where to find it, its inclusion in the open-source Metasploit could make it easier for some people to use. Microsoft issued a temporary fix for the browser two weeks ago. The company, which is scheduled to release its next batch of security updates on October 8, hasn't said when it will issue a permanent patch. One of the groups carrying out the attacks is the same one that installed malware on computers belonging to … [Read more...] about Critical Internet Explorer exploit code released in the wild

Are you struggling to play Netflix on a 2Mbps Internet connection? A new cloud-connected router using the same type of multipath technology that Apple put in the iPhone might solve your problem. Launched this week on Indiegogo , the $199-$289 system from Multipath Networks in Ireland combines connections such as DSL, cable, 3G, and 4G into one pipe. Up to four connections can be used at once. The idea of aggregating mobile and wired signals in the home is an old one . But it certainly hasn't become commonplace, and Multipath Networks takes advantage of the new Multipath TCP protocol that's used in the iPhone to let Siri switch between Wi-Fi, 3G, and LTE quickly and seamlessly. "Apple claims to be the first to deploy this, but actually we were; we've been doing this for over a year now," Multipath Networks CEO Justin Collery told Ars today. The company's debut product worked only with mobile networks and was intended for providing more reliable connectivity to … [Read more...] about New router combines your home and mobile networks into one faster pipe

Major news outlets are disclosing a development that, if true, could influence the course of broadband economics for the foreseeable future. The New York Times reports that Google and Verizon are close to a deal that "could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content's creators are willing to pay for the privilege." Furthermore, Google "would agree not to challenge Verizon's ability to manage its broadband Internet network as it pleased." The Wall Street Journal' s dispatch suggests that an agreement may be forthcoming that both companies "hope could be used as a model for legislation aimed at preventing telephone or cable companies from delaying or blocking Internet traffic." From these fragments, it's not hard to speculate on the key elements of a possible deal. Google will accept the priority access concept; Verizon will promise not to block or delay traffic, or at least pledge to adhere to broad principles along those … [Read more...] about A separate peace: Google, Verizon making net neutrality deal?

Greetings, Arsians! Thanks to our partners at TechBargains , we have a host of tempting deals for you today. One of our featured deals drastically cuts the price of a 4K laptop: you can get a Dell Inspiron 15 7000 notebook, complete with 4K IPS display, Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and discrete AMD R7 270 graphics, for only $650. The machine regularly sells for $1,529, making this sale price a fantastic deal and one of the lowest prices we've seen on a 4K notebook. Check out the full list of deals below as well. Featured 4K Resolution Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Intel Core i7-5500u 15.6" 3840x2160 IPS Touch Laptop w/ 16GB RAM & 4GB AMD R7 M270 for $649.99 (use code 50OFF699 - list price $1,529.99). Dell XPS 8900 Intel Core i7-6700 Quad-Core Skylake Desktop w/ 8GB RAM & Windows 10 for $619.99 (use code N?QJ$XPMJPDSX2 - list price $949.99). Today Only - Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) for $39.99 (list price $59.99). Black … [Read more...] about Dealmaster: Get a Dell Inspiron 15 7000 laptop with a 4K IPS display for just $650

GCHQ's director, Robert Hannigan, used a speech he gave yesterday at MIT to try to cosy up to the tech industry in order to promote what he called "a constructive dialogue." That's a dramatic reversal of his position less than 18 months ago, when he wrote in the Financial Times that Internet companies were "command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals," and "in denial" about it. On Monday, Hannigan admitted that his comments in the FT had caused "a bigger stir than I expected, and were widely seen as an attack on the tech industry." Now, he said, "we recognise that we need a new relationship between the tech sector, academia, civil society and Government agencies. We should be bridging the divide, sharing ideas and building a constructive dialogue in a less highly-charged atmosphere." Encryption is the key area where Hannigan believes that dialogue is needed, and he devoted most of his speech to the topic. "The idea that we do not favour strong … [Read more...] about GCHQ uses MIT speech to get chummy with tech industry over crypto backdoors