This Apple Olympics ad will melt your cold, cold heart

BY LANCE ULANOFF

It's been a tough four years for the human family since the last summer Olympics. We've seen our share of violence, heartache and divisiveness, much of it focusing on our perceived differences.

Entitled The Human Family — Shot on the iPhone, Apple's latest commercial for its iPhone 6s and 6s Plus focuses not so much on one of the Cupertino tech giant's products, as on a poetic antidote to these divisions. It will make its debut on NBC Friday night during the opening ceremonies for the Rio Summer Olympics.

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The company also posted this latest in its series of print and video ads devoted to "Shot on iPhone" on YouTube and Apple.com on Thursday morning.

The commercial deftly blends an undated recording of the late poet laureate Maya Angelou reciting her poem The Human Family with photos and videos (taken with the iPhone, naturally) of people from all races, ages and religions. Each image has the first name and last name initial of the person who took the image. Apple found the photos and videos — all taken by amateurs — and got their permissions to use them. Even so, Apple does note at the very end of the commercial that some additional software and hardware was used to create the beautiful images.

Angelou's poem celebrates people's differences while reminding the reader:

I note the obvious differences

between each sort and type,

but we are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike. 

The combination of the images, which are expertly synced to the words and ideas, Angelou's resonant voice and the affecting score will doubtlessly give many viewers the warm fuzzies. And, of course, Apple gets to show off the power of its latest iPhone 12 MP iSight camera. 

Does feeling good make people by more iPhones? Who knows. Can poetry heal the human family?  The jury's still out. But, in this case, it might just be worth enjoying the surface sentiment.

You can read the full text of Angelou's The Human Family here. 

FINALLY: We can be holograms, people!

BY CARMEN TRIOLA

If the Tupac hologram was the stuff of your dreams, or this scene from Star Warskind of changed your life, you're in for some good news. 

A startup called HoloVit has launched an Indiegogo campaign to bring holograms to a consumer audience. Even better, you'll be able to make them right from your phone, tablet or TV screen.

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They will come in three different sizes, ranging from 9.8 x 15.3 inches to 25.5 x 35.4 inches. No additional technology is required use HoloVit's special hologram screen. Early birds can get the smallest one at $79, with retail prices starting at $165.

You'll be able to turn yourself into a hologram —  as well as play a special holographic video game for iOS or Android. It should also be noted that these holograms are not 360 degrees. You can only see them from behind HoloVit's screens. 

HoloVit's founder, Jeff Deleon, began studying holography systems in 2002 and started HoloVit in 2015. 

"We want to bring the fun and excitement of futuristic technology into every home" Deleon and his partner, Sibel Stanz, wrote on their Indiegogo page. "We would like to see HoloVit as a game changer of the home entertainment world."

Here's the thing, as cool as all of this sounds, we're still a bit skeptical that this concept will work. The campaign is incredibly light on technical details, and that's worrisome. This is Indiegogo — not your local retailer — so it's not guaranteed that the HoloVit will ever reach the finish line or that backers will get the product that is described today.

Those very real caveats aside, this looks really cool.

Apple finally introduces a security bounty program

BY CHRISTINA WARREN

Apple is launching its first security bounty. The news comes on the heels of a presentation from Apple’s Ivan Krstic at the annual Black Hat USA security conference in Las Vegas. 

Krstic runs security engineering and architecture at Apple and presented an in-depth look at iOS security. This was Apple’s first appearance at Black Hat in four years. 

SEE ALSO: Apple opens up on how it approaches security following FBI battle

Since its battle with the FBI this spring, Apple has been more outwardly focused on discussing its commitment to security. To that end, Apple is opening up its first security bounty program. The program, which will roll out in September, will accept security submissions in a number of areas. Depending on the type of exploit found, researchers and their organizations will get more money. 

The categories and issues up for consideration, along with their bounties, are as follows:  

• Secure boot firmware components – up to $200,000.
• Extraction of confidential material protected by the Secure Enclave Processor – up to $100,000.
• Execution of arbitrary code with kernel privileges – up to $50,000.
• Unauthorized access to iCloud account data on Apple servers – up to $50,000.
• Access to sandboxed processes to user data outside of the sandbox – up to $25,000.

Organizations can accept the money Apple offers or they can donate it to a charity of their choice. Apple says that if researchers choose to donate to a charity, they will consider matching that donation. 

Apple tells me it may also award researchers who share significant critical vulnerabilities not outlined above. 

Unlike many security bounty programs, this program is not open to the public. For now, Apple is partnering with a dozen or so security researchers and organizations to focus on finding flaws. 

But Apple tells me that this isn’t an attempt to be exclusive. The plan is to open it up to more individuals and organizations over time. Apple also says that if someone not associated with an invited organization responsibly discloses a vulnerability, that feedback will be welcome and they may be invited to join the formal process. 

Apple says that it spoke to a number of other companies who have already run successful security bounties and that advice – which was to start small (as to reduce the signal/noise ratio) and then ramp up – contributed to the decision to only involve a few organizations and researchers at the start. 

A long time coming 

Although it’s great that Apple is introducing a security bounty, it's worth noting that the company has taken its time getting here. Nearly every other major tech company – including Microsoft, Google and Facebook – have offered security bounties for years. 

So what took so long?  

Apple tells me that although it has been working with outside researchers for years, it has consistently received feedback – from experts inside and outside of the company – that it is more difficult to identify significant security vulnerabilities without a bounty program.  

As a result, it makes sense that the company would look (finally!) to outside organizations and researchers to offer their own feedback. 

It probably doesn’t hurt that the focus on Apple’s security is now more pointed than ever before. With more eyes on Apple security – and more people trying to bypass it (whether it’s law enforcement or hackers), it makes sense to get more eyes focused on finding flaws. 

I understand the need to limit — at least initially — involvement in the bounty program, but I do hope Apple commits to expanding the individuals and groups involved quickly. iOS as a platform deserves as many eyes on it as possible.

For now, the focus of the bounty is on iOS, but Apple says that it is open to expanding the bounty program to other platforms (including macOS) and other areas, once the program ramps up.

This battery pack is the perfect buddy for your laptop

BY RAYMOND WONG

Battery packs are incredibly useful for keeping your gadgets charged when they're running low on juice.

But what about your laptop? MacBook users can pick up the HyperJuice, but it requires a little bit of modding to make it compatible with the MagSafe charger and not everyone is comfortable getting their hands dirty. 

A new product called the Omnicharge, currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo, charges any device through a standard AC/DC (120V AC and 150V DC) power plug and has two USB ports to juice up phones and tablets.

The Omnicharge is available in 13,600 mAh and 20,400 mAh capacities currently selling for $99 and $129, respectively, as early promotional prices during the campaign. Once the campaign is over, the Omnicharge will cost $199 (13,600 mAh) and $249 (20,400 mAh). Deliveries are expected to arrive in October.

Sure, the full retail price is expensive. But I'd say it's worth it for the peace of mind when you need juice on the go, even if you don't get the discounted pricing. 

For road warriors and nerds like me who can't go on vacation without bringing a million different devices that need charging, the Omnicharge is basically the ultimate battery pack.

Resembling a stone (even the texture is stone-like), the Omnicharge, which weighs 0.83 pounds (13,600 mAh; 5.2 x 3.3 x 0.9-inches) and 1.3 pounds (20,400 mAh; 5 x 4.8 x 1-inches) is, frankly, quite ugly. The black color looks better, though. Yet the Omnicharge's functionality more than makes up for what it lacks in aesthetics. 

The battery pack contains an OLED screen, which shows the charging output, battery capacity and the temperature of the charger. The screen is bright and easy to read, even in the dark.

Moreover, the Omnicharge can intelligently monitor the batteries and preserve them after each charge to extend life.

The 13,600 mAh Omnicharge provides one full charge (9 hours) for the 12-inch MacBook, 8 hours for the 13.3-inch MacBook Air, 5 hours for the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro, and a full charge for the Surface Pro 4. You can find more device power data 

here, as well as battery life time for the larger 20,400 mAh Omnicharge.

I've tried out MacBook-specific battery packs like Lenmar's ChugPlug, but that thing is big, heavy and overheats so often I always worry it'll explode. I brought it with me to IFA last year and all I'm going to say is I bought a cheap product and got what I paid for. 

The Omnicharge, especially with its discounted crowdfunding pricing (the 20,400 mAh is a hell of a deal for an extra $30), is the battery pack I've been searching for. Yes, I'm gushing over a battery pack and I'm not afraid to shout it from rooftops.

As more laptops include USB-C ports that can be charged with battery packs (like the 12-inch MacBook), there may not be a need for a gadget like the Omnicharge. But the days of widespread USB-C ports won't come for a while. And even then, there will still be tons of laptops and accessories that will need charging through the good ol' AC plug. Better get it while it's still cheap!

Xbox One S, with a thinner form factor, confirmed at E3

BY CHELSEA STARK

The bulky Xbox One is finally much smaller.

The Xbox One S is a welcome change to the giant square of the Xbox One original, which was launched in November 2013. Microsoft confirmed itsexistence at its E3 press conference in Los Angeles on Monday morning.

The all-white Xbox One S is 40% lighter than the original Xbox One, without the large power supply, according to The Verge. The Xbox One S also comes with a stand, so it can be stood vertically as well as laid on its side.

There is no Kinect port on the Xbox One S, fully cementing Microsoft's dropping of the technology. (Instead, players will be able to use Cortana if they want to talk to their consoles.) 

There are small tweaks to the controller as well. It now has Bluetooth built in, so the controller can be used wirelessly with Windows PCs.

The Xbox One S will be available in August, with a 500GB version for $299, a 1TB version for $349 and a limited-edition 2TB version for $399.

Smaller, 4K-ready Xbox One S finally has a launch date

BY RAYMOND WONG

Microsoft's new smaller and sleeker Xbox One S finally has a release date: Aug. 2.

Announced at E3 in June, the Xbox One S is Microsoft's most compact Xbox game console yet. Starting at $299 with a 500GB hard drive, the Xbox One S is 40% smaller than the Xbox One, supports 4K UHD resolution and HDR (High Dynamic Range) videos.

Even if a game wasn't made for 4K, the Xbox One S can upscale to 4K resolution, Xbox boss Phil Spencer told Mashable.

An Xbox first: The power supply is built into the console. The console also stands vertically (yes!).

The smaller console will also be available with 1TB of hard drive storage for $349 and with 2TB for $399.99 (this one launches later on Aug. 31). 

If white isn't your color and you prefer something a grittier and bloodier, Microsoft's also releasing a limited edition Gears of War 4 Xbox One S bundlewith a 2TB hard drive; pre-orders start on Aug. 1 at $449.99 with shipping in mid-September.

In addition the snazzier design, the console also includes a streamlined Xbox One controller for better grip and improved wireless range and Bluetooth connectivity support for use with PCs running Windows 10 with the Anniversary Update).

The Xbox One S is, of course, merely a minor update until the more powerful Xbox "Scorpio" console, which will be able to deliver 6 teraflops of processing power from its graphics processor, launches next year.

3D-printed Pokédex for playing 'Pokémon Go' has built-in battery

BY RAYMOND WONG

You wish you were playing Pokémon Go like a real Pokémon trainer using this 3D-printed Pokédex.

Recently, Sparkfun user Npoole printed this Pokédex case for his Samsung Galaxy S4 and posted the photos online. Pokémon fans will immediately recognize the portable Pokémon scanner and encyclopedia device as the original model Professor Oak gave to Ash Ketchum and Pokédouchebag/Ash's rival/Oak's grandson Gary. 

The 3D-printed Pokédex is more than just a case. It also packs a 2,600mAh battery to keep the phone charged up during long Pokéhunts.

He says he's working on another revision that'll include cooling fans and additional batteries.

Pokémon fans with access to a 3D printer can download files for cases for the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 6S (which he hasn't tested yet) from Github here and print them for themselves. You can also find more pictures on Sparkfun.

And if you really must know, it looks like he's on Team Valor. Because Valor is the best and you know it.