China Tests It's New Hypersonic Weapon

The Chinese government has recently tested a new hypersonic weapon system. This hypersonic weapon is designed to reach a speed of Mach 5. The “Starry Sky” weapon was tested on August 3rd. It is a super fast weapon which is meant to destroy the enemy’s air and missile defences. The China Aerospace Aerodynamics Research Institute announced the launch of this very weapon on its WeChat account saying that it has conducted the first domestic test of a “wave rider” hypersonic vehicle at 6:41 am on 3rd August.

According to Beijing’s state media, the rocket flew for ten minutes. The hypersonic vehicle which detached itself from the booster rocket flew for 400 seconds and reached the maximum speed of Mach 5.5 to 6 with an altitude of 100,000 feet. The People’s Liberation Army news site has described the wave rider weapon as the one that “uses the aerodynamic shape of the fuselage to generate lift, with a lift-to-drag ratio between 0.5 and 1.3. … it is mainly used for spacecraft design to re-enter the atmosphere. The wave body is used in a wide range of speeds and has a high structural strength, manoeuvrability and lift-to-drag ratio at Mach 5.23. From the appearance, the wave body looks flat.”

The Starry Night 2 appears to be a boost-glide weapon. The boost-glide weapons take the rocket to high altitudes, but they fall short of sending their payloads to the low Earth orbit. The weapon then glides down to the target at thousands of miles an hour. The advantage to having boost weapons is that they can confound the current missile defences. These weapons fly to their destinations at a trajectory which is too low for ballistic missile defence systems and too high for traditional air defence missiles. It is said that a boost-glide weapon can deliver a nuclear weapon against USA’s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense ballistic missile interceptors in Alaska.

Apple Said to Repair Faulty MacBook Pro With Keyboards Issues

Mac has formally recognized that there are issues with its "butterfly" mechanism incorporated with the keyboards  of the recent MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops. The organization is currently offering a extended keyboard benefit program for PCs influenced by the issue, by means of  iMore. 

The service agreement covers substitution of at least one keys or the entire keyboard, contingent upon the degree of clients' issues, and it conceals qualified laptops to four years after the computer was purchased at retail. (Each MacBook and MacBook Pro model with the butterfly  switches seems to be included.) That's drastically longer than the restricted warranty the PCs send with or even Apple's extended AppleCare Plus. 

As per Apple's administration page, the program covers the accompanying issues: 

Letters or characters repeat unexpectedly
Letters or characters don't show up 
Key(s) feel "sticky" or don't react in a consistent way 

Grumblings from clients about Apple's ongoing workstation consoles have developed in the previous many months, with individuals saying that the keyboards have a tendency to fail totally while experiencing dust and the delicate plan makes them hard to repair. And keeping in mind that it's absolutely taken longer than most clients would presumably have preferred, it's great to see Apple is at last finding a way to take care of the issue.

SpaceX: USAF Awarded SpaceX The Contract To Send Air Force Classified Satellite To Space

SpaceX has won a $130 million contract to send a classified Air Force satellite to space on its monster Falcon Heavy rocket. The satellite, known as AFSPC-52, is scheduled to launch in 2020. SpaceX beat out the United Launch Alliance, the joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which was angling to use its own heavy-lift Delta 4 rocket to send the military satellite to space.

One of the goals of pitting companies against each other for contracts like these is to reduce costs for the government. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. John Thompson said in a statement released on Thursday that awarding the launch to Space X “fits the mission of delivering resilient and affordable space capabilities to our Nation while maintaining assured access to space.” The average price tag for Delta 4 launches is around $350 million, according to SpaceNews, and NASA’s heavy-lift rocket hasn’t been built yet.

By awarding the launch to SpaceX, the US Air Force is giving the company a vote of confidence in a rocket that has only launched once so far. The first Falcon Heavy lifted off back in February, and while the center rocket booster botched its landing at sea, everything else about the rocket performed up to expectations, according to SpaceX.

Since then, though, SpaceX has gone on to win multiple USAF (United States Air Force) contracts. And the USAF has stuck by SpaceX as a launch option despite two Falcon 9 failures on non-military missions, and the loss of the military’s Zuma satellite this past January.The willingness of the United States Air Force (USAF) to tap the new rocket so soon is a departure from the protracted process SpaceX went through to get its Falcon 9 rocket certified for military missions. SpaceX spent two years, at least $60 million, and filed a lawsuit against the USAF to gain military certification for the Falcon 9. (The lawsuit was dropped a few months before certification.)

“SpaceX is honored by the Air Force’s selection of Falcon Heavy to launch the competitively-awarded AFSPC-52 mission,” SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell said in a statement. “I want to thank the Air Force for certifying Falcon Heavy, awarding us this critically important mission, and for their trust and confidence in our company. SpaceX is pleased to continue offering the American taxpayer the most cost-effective, reliable launch services for vital national security space missions.”

SpaceX still hasn’t set a solid date for the second launch of the Falcon Heavy. CEO Elon Musk said in February that it would take “three to six months,” though that may have slipped to October according to a recent report from Florida Today. That mission will send more than two dozen smaller satellites into space. A third launch is scheduled for around the end of the year.

The Falcon Heavy cost SpaceX $500 million to develop and build, Musk said in February. But even with the discount that SpaceX offers over competitors like the ULA, he still expects the giant rocket to make money as long as there are customers.

“The great thing about Falcon heavy is that it opens up a new class of payload,” he said. “It could launch one more than twice as much payload as any other rocket in the world, so it’s up to customers what they might want to launch. But it can launch things direct to Pluto and beyond. No stop needed.” 

Netflix:Chief Public Relation Executive Got Fired For Using N-Word

Netflix

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has fired his chief public relations executive, Jonathan Friedland, after his repeated use of the n-word, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Friedland, who’s been with the company for seven years, reportedly used the racial slur in a meeting with employees, leading some to report the incident to upper management. Then, in a follow-up meeting with Netflix’s human resources department regarding his use of the n-word, Friedland reportedly used the word again.

“The second incident confirmed a deep lack of understanding, and convinced me to let Jonathan go now,” reads an email Hastings sent to employees that was obtained by THR. “As I reflect on this, at this first incident, I should have done more to use it as a learning moment for everyone at Netflix about how painful and ugly that word is, and that it should not be used. I realize that my privilege has made me intellectualize or otherwise minimize race issues like this. I need to set a better example by learning and listening more so I can be the leader we need.”

We still don’t know the full context of Friedland’s initial use of the slur, though he says in a series of tweets that he was having a discussion he with his team “about words that offend in comedy.” Friedland’s tweets go on to say that he feels “awful about the distress this lapse caused to people at a company I love and where I want everyone to feel included and appreciated.” When contacted by The Verge, Netflix would not confirm Friedland’s use of the slur, and a spokesperson instead pointed to Friedland’s Twitter account for his full statement. THR has the  full Hastings email here.

Facebook Won't Be Showing Ads For Gun Accessories Again

Facebook will soon prevent minors from viewing ads for gun accessories such as holsters, or magazines. The move comes amidst renewed focus on gun violence in the United States following school shootings in Santa Fe, Texas, Parkland, Florida, and others.

According to a Facebook spokesperson, the company already bans ads for guns and modifications, but sellers can post ads for accessories such as gun-mounted flashlights, scopes, holsters, gun cases, gun paint, or slings. The company isn’t going to prohibit those ads, but it will require sellers to “restrict their audiences to at least 18 years of age or over.”

The company’s listed adverting policies don’t currently list the age restriction — that will change when the policy will take effect on June 21st.

Facebook updated Ad Policies

The change comes amidst a larger discussion about the role of firearms in the US, especially in the wake of a number of high-profile shootings. Limiting the ads to users who are likely out of high school feels as though it’s an incremental step, but one that could cut down on the visibility of the items and accessories that make guns seem cooler.

Ford Cars Will Soon Start Using Waze

Ford Ecosport

After announcing that t was coming at CES and showing us a beta version in late January, Ford is finally rolling out Waze integration with its SYNC 3 infotainment system. iOS users with a SYNC 3-equipped car will now be able to “project” or “mirror” Waze onto the infotainment system, giving them full access to Waze’s maps as well as all of the crowdsourced information about traffic, hazards, and police alert that the app is known for.

To make it work, users need the Waze app and have to be on version 3.0 (or greater) of SYNC 3, with their phones running iOS 11.3 (or later). Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t run through CarPlay; Apple still wants you to use Apple Maps there. Instead, it runs on SYNC 3 via Ford’s AppLink, which is kind of like Ford’s own version of CarPlay.

Available on any SYNC 3 system

Like with, say, CarPlay, the Waze app will still be running on your phone in this situation. But the mirrored version that shows up on the infotainment screen doesn’t feel any worse off because of this (at least based on what I saw when it was running in beta at the beginning of this year). The only issue I had when I fiddled with Waze back then was that the experience was a little buggy, which is not surprising for a beta.

Otherwise, the icons are big and colourful, the interface was simple to navigate, and it even works with voice controls. Bringing Waze to the bigger screen for iOS users — something Android Auto users have enjoyed for a while now — helps add more choices to the mix. It’s also another small part of the effort Ford’s making to try and elevate its tech-forward image. The company also announced a deeper integration with Amazon’s Alexa earlier this year. On the driving side, it recently unveiled its driver assistance package, which will debut on the 2019 Edge SUV.

  

Google: YouTube Premium And YouTube Music Announced by Google

Google is breaking up its premium YouTube Red service into two new offerings: a YouTube Music streaming service, available either for free with ads or for $9.99 per month, and a YouTube Premium for original video content costing $11.99 per month.

YouTube Music is Google’s most direct competitor to Spotify yet, coming with “a reimagined mobile app” and a new desktop player, both of them designed specifically for music. The YouTube advantage, argues Google, is that it will combine all the official versions of songs with access to “thousands” of related playlists, remixes, covers, live versions, and of course, music videos. Google’s AI mastery is also being integrated into YouTube Music, with the promise that the app will discover songs either by lyrics or just a general description like “that hipster song with the whistling.”

Music discovery is literally front and centre in the new YouTube Music, with the app’s home screen dynamically recommending new listening based on your history, location, and activity. Air travellers might get Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, for example, while gym rats would get something a little more dynamic to keep their pump going. Google is emphasizing its diversity of playlists, too, which will also be used to suggest and surface new music for the user.

In terms of pricing, YouTube Music will be a direct match to all the major music-streaming platforms already available, costing $9.99 for the premium version, which adds background listening, downloads, and an ad-free experience to the free option. Anyone who already has a Google Play Music subscription gets YouTube Music as part of that membership. Play Music isn’t going away yet, though it’s hard to see what future purpose there will be to Google sustaining two services and apps that overlap to quite such a degree.

Google

 The $11.99 YouTube Premium gets you everything inside YouTube Music plus access to the YouTube Originals library of video content. Google promises it’ll expand the Originals selection with “more, bigger original series and movies,” including comedies, dramas, reality series, and action adventure shows from the UK, Germany, France, Mexico, and other countries. With YouTube Premium, you’ll be free of ads, able to play videos in the background or download them for offline playback.

YouTube Premium is the new name for YouTube Red, and Google is doing something nice for existing Red subscribers by not asking them to pay the new higher price. In countries where Red is already available, you can secure the $9.99 price by signing up now, before YouTube Premium has rolled out. That includes the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and South Korea, all of which are getting YouTube Premium “soon.” With the new service’s rollout, the following new countries will be added: Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Google indicates that additional expansion will come later this year and beyond.

YouTube Music starts rolling out on Tuesday, May 22nd, to the existing YouTube Red markets, with the small addendum that in South Korea Google will only be offering a $9.99 YouTube Premium service. The other countries named will also get YouTube Music “in the coming weeks.”

Speed Test: Samsung’s Galaxy S9+ Beats iPhone X In Speed Test

The love-hate relationship between arch rivals, Apple and Samsung are known to everyone. Whenever one tech giant launches a smartphone, many of us wait for the other one to come up with a better one.

While Apple launched its premium flagship smartphone, iPhone X in November 2017, everyone was eagerly waiting for Samsung to launch its high-end smartphones as well, Galaxy S9 and S9+, which it already did recently. So hmm, who is the winner?

Although Samsung Galaxy S9+ that is powered by Snapdragon 845 SoC is certainly faster than any Android phone, it cannot outperform the A11 bionic-powered iPhone from Apple, the iPhone X. However, in a speed test video put together by YouTube channel EverythingApplePro, the iPhone X  lost out to Galaxy S9+ purely in terms of performance.

While speed test isn’t really the most scientific way to assess the performance of a device, it does provide an insight on how fast the devices would work in real-life situations. of course, it is also important to note that both the handsets consist of different hardware and software components, and their handling of processes too are different.

In the first lap that had “launching apps” as part of the speed test, the iPhone X emerged as the winner, as it was much faster than the Samsung S9+ while loading graphics-intensive apps and 4K videos. However, the second lap that focused on relaunching apps, saw the 6GB of RAM packed in the Galaxy S9+ take the lead and beat the iPhone X that comes with 3GB of RAM by a pretty decent margin. Basically, the extra RAM allows the Samsung Galaxy S9+ to open apps from memory in a jiffy.

The video shows benchmark tests for both phones, including Geekbench 4 (iPhone X wins here) and Antutu (the Galaxy S9+ scores better than iPhone X). The Galaxy S9+ also performs well in single-app load times, biometrics performance, boot time, and wireless data speeds.
For a better, clearification You can watch the comparison between iPhone X and Galaxy S9+ in the video below.