G-Technology's New Hard Drives Can Take a Beating

At CES today, G-Technology added a pair of hard drives to its G-Drive ev lineup. The G-Drive ev RaW with Rugged Bumper and G-Drive ev ATC are made for the photographers and videographers who travel to distant lands, particularly those who are rough on their equipment.

The G-Drive ev RaW with Rugged Bumper is a 7,200rpm hard drive with a SATA and USB 3.0 interface designed to work with the G-Dock ev with Thunderbolt. This time, the ev cartridge is painted black, and is 35 percent lighter than the silver G-Drive ev cartridge. As its name indicates, it comes with a cushioning bumper that will protect the drive from a 1.5 meter drop. You'll need to remove the bumper to use the ev RaW with the G-Dock, but you can use the drive as is with the included USB 3.0 cable in day-to-day use. The drive is formatted HFS+ for Macs, but you can reformat it for Windows use.

The G-Drive ev RaW comes in a 500GB capacity for US$99.95 and 1TB capacity for US$129.99. Look for it in stores later this month.

G-Technology G-Drive ev ATCYou'll also find a G-Drive ev RaW cartridge in the new G-Drive ev ATC with Thunderbolt and G-Drive ATC with USB. Essentially, the G-Drive ev ATC adds a watertight case in place of the rugged bumper. Both ev ATC drives have a 2.0 meter drop spec, and are water tight up to 1 foot submerged for 30 seconds. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it will save your data from a quick drop and dunk in liquid. The G-Drive ev ATC will also float, helping you recover the drive if it falls overboard on a scuba trip.

As their names suggest, one version has a tethered Thunderbolt cable, while the other has a tethered USB 3.0 cable: you can't lose either as long as you have the drive. The ev RaW cartridge is removable for use in the G-Dock ev.

The G-Drive ev ATC with Thunderbolt goes for US$229.95 (1TB) or $129.95 (for just the case), the USB version is US$179.95 (1TB) or US$79.95 (case only). The ev ATC case works with most G-Drive ev cartridges, though the G-Drive ev 220 is too thick to be used with the case. Look for the Thunderbolt drive and case later this month, with the USB versions in February.

Unlock Hidden Netflix Movies

The next time you’re struggling to find something on Netflix, consider this: there are thousands of movies and TV boxsets you can’t see because of where you live. With the right app, it’s possible to get around these restrictions (if you don’t mind breaching the site’s terms and conditions).

You’ll have access to a wealth of new content: Mad Men and Family Guy in the US, for example, plus all the latest blockbusters that Sky keeps for itself in the UK. Unblock-US is one of the best tools for the job, making your device appear to be located in a country of your choice.

1. Changing DNS settings

Once you’ve signed up for a free trial at unblockus.com, follow the online guide to download the Windows or Mac set-up app, or reconfigure your computer’s DNS settings as instructed. You might have to reset both your computer and your router before the new settings take effect.

2. Verify the connection

Everything is handled via the Unblock-US website (which uses your email address for verification) so there are no settings screens to work through or software applications you have to install after the initial setup. On the Unblock-US home page you will see three green bars when you’re successfully connected.

3. Choose your country

After that you simply need to pick what part of the world you want to appear to be from: 22 different countries are supported and the check box underneath lets you turn on Netflix captions if you’re not confident of being able to understand everything that’s being said on the screen.

4. Enjoy the content

The final step: get watching. You should find your Netflix account repopulated with all kinds of good material you haven’t come across before, though you can still use the same account and Netflix will keep hold of your viewing history for the shows you’ve been watching previously.

Rivals Team Up for Virtual Reality Standards

Virtual reality has been a vague and scattered concept for decades now, with various companies offering their own takes on head-mounted displays, motion controls, and integration of the two, to varying levels of success.

The Oculus Rift rekindled interest in VR a few years ago, with the development kit's inexpensive price and relative ease of use. Now virtual reality is growing again, and this time several industry leaders are going to try to unify the different products under one standard.

A consortium of device manufacturers and developers have announced the Open-Source Virtual Reality (OSVR) ecosystem, a collaborative effort between multiple companies to ensure broad cross-compatibility with different VR devices. OSVR will use a standardized device interface that, with plugins, will ensure compatibility with different controllers and head-mounted displays.

Several major names in VR and gaming peripherals are currently supported by OSVR, including devices made by Oculus, Razer, LeapMotion, TrinityVR, and Sixense. OSVR is also compatible with several major game engines, including Unity 3D and Unreal Engine 4. Ubisoft, Gearbox, and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) have also signed on with OSVR.

For hobbyists and small developers, OSVR is producing the OSVR Hacker Development Kit. The package includes individual modules for the head-mounted display's sensors, screen, and optics, along with a separate belt box for additional connectivity. It won't be a ready-to-use device like the Oculus Rift Devleopment Kits, but will instead encourage working with the different parts of a VR system. It's currently being distributed under limited developer access, and will be available to the public for US$199.99 in June.

Quitbit Lighter Helps Curb Your Smoking Habit

LAS VEGAS—Sin City isn't the first place you think of when you think about kicking a nicotine habit. But the Quitbit lighter definitely caught my eye at the Consumer Electronics Show. It's a smart lighter designed to help you quit smoking. It'll light your cigarettes for you, but it also keeps track of your smoking habits to make it easier to put the pack down for good.

The first thing you should know about the Quitbit is that it's an actual lighter, though it doesn't use an actual flame. Instead, it uses a powerful heating element similar to a car lighter, so there's no need for gas or butane. That's pretty convenient, but you'll need to charge the battery every 100 lights, or roughly once a week.

Physically, the Quitbit looks like something of a cross between a Zippo lighter and the face of Samsung smartwatch. Beyond the actual lighter element, the Quitbit has a built-in display that shows information like the amount of cigarettes you've smoked for the day, your goal amount, and the amount of time since you last puffed. It automatically tracks every time you have a cigarette, and it doesn't record multiple smoking events in a few-minute time window, so it won't count relighting your cigarette as smoking a whole new one. It works as a standalone product, with all of the above information displayed on the Quitbit itself, but you get a much more detailed look by connecting it to an Android or iOS device.

This Lighter Can Help You Quit Smoking

The Quitbit wirelessly syncs your data via Bluetooth, allowing you to view how much you smoke across a graph, which makes it easy to see what parts of the day, week, or month you smoke the most. You can also use the app to customize how the Quitbit works, setting new targets and goals as you go along. And if you don't actually trust yourself to stick to the plan, you can even set limits for how often or when the device can work as lighter. There's a social aspect as well, that allows you to share your progress with others, as well as the Quitbit community.

The US$99 Quitbit is available for preorder and is expected to ship in March. That's a pretty steep price to pay for a lighter, but Quitbit points out that even if you start smoking one cigarette less a day, it will pay for itself in a year. I've used my fair share of activity trackers, and they've definitely made me more conscious about the number of steps I take per day. I can see how this same sort of logic can be applied to smoking, but I'm curious to see how well it works. So for all the smokers out there: Let me know if you think this might help more than the patch or e-cigs in the comments below.

Zuckerberg: 99% of Facebook Content Is 'Authentic'

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, acknowledged that hoaxes and fake news occasionally show up on his social network, but that it is 'extremely unlikely' they changed the outcome of the recent US presidential election.

Zuckerberg's comments, posted to Facebook last Saturday, echoed those he made last week when asked about Facebook's role in the election and how it resulted in a historic win for President-elect Donald Trump.

"Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99% of what people see is authentic," Zuckerberg wrote. "Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes. The latter that do exist are not limited to one partisan view, or even to politics."
Facebook has faced repeated criticism following its decision in August to replace the human editors that once curated its 'Trending Topics' section with computer algorithms. Since the change, multiple fake news stories have appeared in the trending section.

Facebook Vice President, Adam Mosseri, acknowledged in August that fake news on Facebook is a problem and has confirmed that the company relies on users to identify it. Zuckerberg hinted that the social network would roll out more tools for users to flag hoaxes and fake news in the near future.

"We have already launched features that enable our community to flag hoaxes and fake news, and there is more we can do here," he wrote. "We have made progress, and we will continue to work on this to improve further."

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Zuckerberg: Fake News Swaying the Election Is 'Crazy Idea'
Citing sources with direct knowledge of the company's decision-making, Gizmodo also reported how an update to the Facebook News Feed that enables it to detect fake news had been shelved earlier this year after it disproportionately impacted right-wing news sites by downgrading or removing that content from people's feeds.

Even as Zuckerberg downplayed the role that fake news on Facebook played in the election, he did not address suggestions that the mere existence of the social network influenced Trump's victory.

A recent Pew Research Center study found that 20% of social media users have modified their stance on a social or political issue because of something they saw on one of these services. Another 17% revealed how social media helped changed their views about a specific candidate.

D-Link's New Routers Go All Out With the Antennas

D-Link isn't kidding when it says its new line of 11AC Wi-Fi routers have a "bold new look." Our sister site, Geek.com, compared them to equipment used by the Imperial Guard in Star Wars (which is actually a compliment).

The company's latest routers include the AC3200 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-890L/R) with six antennas, plus the AC5300 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-895L/R) with eight antennas, and AC3100 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-885L/R) with four antennas. The AC3200 is US$309 and exclusive to Newegg at the moment; the latter two have prices to be determined—they'll be out before June.

D-Link claims they'll achieve wireless speeds up to 5.3 Gigabits per second (Gbps) across the 5GHz and 2.4GH bands, and have great household coverage. A new Smart Connect load-balancing feature of the router software will also make sure clients on the network are all getting the bandwidth they need—so your smart TV streaming won't suffer when the kids are upstairs video chatting on tablets, for example. Inside are dual-core processors clocked at 1.4GHz (1GHz in the AC3200).

Here's a noisy video with a CG-rendered look at the new routers.

Naturally, there's also a matching Wi-Fi adapter, the AC1900, that plugs into a computer USB port to match your PC up with the new chips in these routers. It's also got a price and availability to be determined.

D-Link's got other devices at CES this year, too. They include a baby monitor camera with 720p HD view and pan and tilt controls, with mobile viewing via an app. The camera will play up to five MP3s of your choice or five pre-programmed classic lullabies for the little one, and can store snapshots and video on a microSD card. It's for sale now for US$229.99; a standard VGA version is US$139.99.

Not to be outdone by Netgear, which is also releasing 1.2 Gbps HomePlug-based Powerline networking adapters today, D-Link's new PowerLine Kits claim full 2 Gbps speed over your existing home power cabling. That kit, the PowerLine AV2 2000 Gigabit Starter Kit (DHP-701AV), is US$129.99, and pure plug-and-play to connect two rooms. There's also a slower 1 Gbps version (DHP-601AV) that sells for US$79.99.

Don't not forget that home networking gives way to home automation, and D-Link wants its piece of that pie. Today it's launched two home security suites, including a camera, sensor, and smart plug.

Called the D.I.Y. Security Kits, one has an HD camera and goes for US$189.99; the other with a pan and tilt-capable cam goes for US$229.99 (you can buy the HD cam along for US$119.99). All feature myLink cloud video recording (or will later in 2015), local storage to D-Link Network Video Recorder, and can be monitored via apps for iOS and Android.

A Connected Home Hub rounds out the CES offerings—it's a US$79.99 device that can be bundled with sensors for opened/closed doors, motion, water, and a Wi-Fi Siren, all for better monitoring your home. Look for the Connected Home line products to become available in the second quarter of the year.

Secret codes for Android

Most interesting hacks require root and other tweaks, but here is a simple way of getting info on your device and changing some settings not possible in the normal menus. Simply open the dialer on your phone and enter some numbers!

1. 
   

   Basic phone info

   In the dialer enter *#*#4636#*#* You will then see a testing page, which gives you info on the phone, as well as battery stats and app usage stats. In the Wifi menu you can get info on the network you are connected to and more.
2. 
   

   Change the power button action

   Entering  *#*#7594#*#* will bring up the menu to adjust the power button action. Dependent on your ROM you usually see a list of actions such as ‘Reboot – Airplane Mode’ etc, this allows you to remove these.
3. 
   

   HTC Update checking

   *#*# 2432546#*#* If you use an HTC device, you can force a check for updates using this code. This will bring up a notification telling you whether or not it has been successful. Be careful if you are using a custom ROM , as some updates may not be compatible with it.