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Roku’s new $50 stick fits a quad-core CPU in a smaller frame

Roku’s last Streaming Stick was plenty of things: Compact, inexpensive and perfect for bringing on vacation. But you wouldn’t call it fast, per se. That’s something Roku aimed to fix with the latest version of the Streaming Stick, which packs in a quad-core CPU to deliver eight times the processing power of its predecessor. Even more impressive, this new Stick is almost as small as a USB flash drive and it’s still $50. While the company won’t speak about any RAM or storage improvements, reps say they’ve tweaked the device’s antennas for better reception. It doesn’t support 802.11ac WiFi yet, but you can at least get 5Ghz 802.11n. The new Stick sports Roku OS 7.1, which offers a few improvements when it comes to following movies and TV shows. There’s also a slightly redesigned remote, which is a bit smaller than Roku’s last few remotes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a headphone jack or voice control support. On the bright side, the new Roku mobile app offers both of those features. The ability to stream audio from whatever you’re watching right from your phone, in particular, looks particularly handy for all Roku users. In a brief demonstration with the Roku Stick sitting in an enclosed A/V cabinet, it was noticeably snappier than the previous model. Simple things like navigating around menus quickly, or scrolling through Netflix titles, was almost as smooth as the more powerful Roku 4 . As a frustrated owner of the last Stick, this one looks like an improvement in just about every way. The new Roku Stick is up for preorder today, and it will hit stores later this month.

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Roku’s new $50 stick fits a quad-core CPU in a smaller frame

Homebrew self-driving tech gets millions in backing

George “Geohot” Hotz’s attempt to put cheap, self-driving tech into any existing car raised eyebrows (and Tesla’s ire) when it was revealed late last year. Now, one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital funds is throwing its wallet behind Hotz’s grand idea. Andreessen Horowitz has written a check for $3.1 million to help Hotz hire engineers and turn his jury-rigged system into a working product. He’s joining some illustrious company, since the fund has previously handed cash to outfits like Oculus VR, Zynga, Instagram, Groupon, Jawbone and something called Twitter. Those with long memories will know Hotz from his days as Geohot, the hacker that cracked the iPhone and PlayStation 3 . The engineer has founded a company, Comma, on the principle that cheap sensors and machine learning makes it possible to make a system for a few thousand bucks. It’s a claim that Tesla was quick to trash, saying that while it’s easy to build a system for a “known stretch of road, ” a real self-driving car is a much harder proposition. Still, if the folks at Horowitz are opening their bank accounts, even slightly, then they must feel differently. Source: Chris Dixon

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Homebrew self-driving tech gets millions in backing

‘Biopen’ lets doctors 3D print cartilage during surgery

If you need knee replacement surgery in the future, doctors may be able to create a custom-made joint from your own stem cells. A team from St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, have developed the Biopen, a type of 3D printer that uses “ink” made from hydrogel and stem cells. While 3D printing stem cells isn’t new , the exact shape of a patient’s cartilage often can’t be known until they’re cut open. Using the device, surgeons can precisely customize the joint to the patient with surgical “scaffolds, ” then permanently harden the biogel using ultraviolet light. Built from medical-grade plastic and titanium in consultation with doctors, the Biopen is supposedly up to the challenges of an operating room. “The development of this type of technology is only possible with interactions between scientists and clinicians — clinicians to identify the problem and scientists to develop a solution, ” says Professor Peter Choong, Director of Orthopaedics at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. The process yields a very high 97 percent survival rate for the cells. Doctors developed a Biopen prototype several years ago (see the video, above), but refined it considerably, according to a new research paper . The same device could be used in other forms of surgery where custom tissue regeneration is needed, but there’s no word yet on when it will be tested on patients or commercialized. Via: IB Times Source: Pubmed (subscription)

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‘Biopen’ lets doctors 3D print cartilage during surgery

FCC expands Lifeline to help low-income Americans afford internet

Today the FCC voted 3-2 to approve expanding its Lifeline program that has subsidized phone and prepaid wireless access for low-income Americans since the 80s, so that now it covers internet access too. The $9.25 household subsidy is paid directly to service providers, and now it can be applied to standalone internet access, or bundled voice/data service. There are requirements for the services provided, like a minimum 150GB monthly usage cap, as well as minimums for mobile broadband usage and cellphone voice minutes. The point here is to shrink the “digital divide” between households that can and cannot afford internet access, as necessary elements for education, job-hunting, health care and more increasingly move online. The vote was not without political drama however, as it was held up for several hours before eventually the commissioners voted along party lines. Deliberative process did work. At 10:30 we had bipartisan agreement. Chairman Wheeler delayed meeting to work to blow it up! — Matthew Berry (@matthewberryfcc) March 31, 2016 A proposed compromise to get a unanimous vote including Republican commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Reilly would’ve put a hard $2 billion per year cap on spending (funding for the program comes from a fee placed on consumer’s phone bills). That did not come to fruition, as Pai’s chief of staff Matthew Berry told reporters that the chairman Tom Wheeler pressured fellow commissioner Mignon Clyburn to back off of the compromise deal — which both Wheeler and Clyburn denied. The plan adopted has a soft cap of $2.25 billion per year, which could be adjusted as necessary. According to the LA Times , the program spent $1.5 billion last year, after peaking at $2.2 billion in 2012. Source: FCC

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FCC expands Lifeline to help low-income Americans afford internet

‘Final Fantasy XV’ lands September 30th, ten years in the making

Final Fantasy XV hits PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 30th, Square Enix announced during its Uncovered live event in Los Angeles. The release date may not be a surprise for everyone, considering it leaked a tad early , but this announcement marks official confirmation. A new teaser for FFXV launches tonight, called Platinum Demo , and it’s free to download on PS4 and Xbox One. PC players, you’re out of luck — for now. FFXV director Hajime Tabata told Engadget that the studio isn’t currently working on a PC version of the game. But, Tabata said he was “aware of the big call for a PC version.” “Unfortunately we weren’t able to do simultaneous development on a PC and console version for XV, ” he said. “We had to focus on the console version and our goal was to maximize, optimize everything for the HD consoles. Once that’s done, then we will definitely take a good, hard look at PC and what we need to do, and consider all our options. But right now we aren’t decided, we’re still considering a lot of things.” For Xbox One and PS4 players, there is a Deluxe Edition and Ultimate Collector’s Edition available to purchase on the official Square Enix online store. FFXV stars Prince Noctis and his friends as they take one final, epic road trip together before Noctis is married to a neighboring princess. Players will control Noctis only throughout the entire game, though his friends are independent AI helpers and he can give commands to them. The main characters in FFXV have rich backstories and personalities, and these will be on full display in two supplemental pieces of media set to launch before the game itself. Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV is a five-episode animated series from A-1 Pictures, the studio behind Sword Art Online and Black Butler . Its story focuses on the strong emotional bonds connecting Noctis and his best buds, and explains how they became friends. The first episode is available now for free on YouTube . Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is a full-length, 3D-animated feature film a la Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children , directed by veteran Final Fantasy director and animator Takeshi Nozue. It takes place during the events of FFXV , but it focuses on King Regis (Noctis’ dad) and the Crown City once the bro trip leaves the kingdom. Game of Thrones stars Lena Headey and Sean Bean provide their voice-acting talents to the film, as does Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul. Kingsglaive will be released digitally in 2016, and the studio is still figuring out if it will pursue other formats as well. FFXV has traveled a long and rocky path toward release: Square Enix announced it in 2006 under the name Final Fantasy Versus XIII , but over the years, it changed titles and directors. Final Fantasy XV is led by Type-0 director Tabata, who took over from long-time Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts mastermind Tetsuya Nomura.

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‘Final Fantasy XV’ lands September 30th, ten years in the making