In late October, a giant chunk of ice broke free from the Pine Island Glacier and formed an iceberg that has been named B-46 by the US National Ice Center. Earlier this week, NASA’s Operation IceBridge took a flight over the iceberg, giving humans their first look at the floating ice. NASA’s IceBridge team has spent years tracking Earth’s ice, … Continue reading
Michelle Yeoh, as Captain Philippa Georgiou and then, later, as the evil Emperor Georgiou from the Mirror Universe, was one of the most captivating parts of Star Trek: Discovery’s first season. And we may be seeing a lot more of her.
Whether or not you dug the Star Wars prequels, you have to admit the music was on point. “Duel of the Fates”? Incredible, classic stuff, integral to the series’ modern identity.
Xiaomi has worked their way to be the 4th largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, and their mid-range smartphones continue to straddle the comfortable level between price and performance. While the Redmi Note 5 is not the newest device on the block in this category, it has aged well over the past half year. Here is a review of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 for those who would like a highly functional smartphone without having to take out a second mortgage on their home.
My usage pattern
The Redmi Note 5 screams value for money right from the moment you open the box. There are no headphones included, but it does feature a transparent case and a two-pin charger with a microUSB cable. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, the Redmi Note 5 is no slouch when it comes to performance, and any smartphone that is capable of handling PUBG Mobile without running into lag or a stuttering frame rate is certainly decent enough to be your daily driver.
I would like to provide the right frame of reference concerning my use of the Redmi Note 5 so that readers will have a better idea of what to expect should they decide to pick up the device. As my daily driver, the Redmi Note 5 will provide me with tunes from Spotify for an average of 3 hours each day, not to mention an average of 3 hours’ of screen time. I have Bluetooth turned on to connect to my smartwatch, while Wi-Fi is never turned off so that I can seamlessly drift between my mobile data and home Wi-Fi network. Both SIM card slots are taken up as I sport two numbers, and I also turn on mobile hotspot capability for up to 30 minutes daily.
Design
What is there that can be said about the Redmi Note 5’s design? The updated visual details bring the handset up to par with what a modern day smartphone should look like, where the 18:9 display makes an attempt at a minimal bezel look, pulling it off decently. However, the top and bottom bezels are still fat when compared to the flagship devices that are in the market, but that is to be expected.
I like the feel of the metal chassis that exudes a breath of style and elegance, but the major downside would be the slippery feel even though my palms barely sweat at all. I would strongly advise purchasing a third party protective case in order to enjoy a more secure grip each time you use the smartphone. Despite packing in a beefy 4,000mAh battery, the Redmi Note 5 remains surprisingly light and slim, which is a good thing.
At the back lies a fingerprint sensor that is easy to access with one’s index finger, and it performs with relative accuracy that makes it far more convenient than typing a passcode or forming a pattern to unlock the device. The 3.5mm audio port and microUSB port are located at the bottom of the device, which is a far better design idea than its predecessor (Redmi Note 4) which places the 3.5mm audio port above while the microUSB port is at the bottom, especially when you are charging the handset while listening to your favorite tunes.
It would be nice to see the Redmi Note 5 migrate to USB Type-C though since it would help elevate the device to a more premium standing in terms of perception.
User Experience
Xiaomi’s handsets run on MIUI, which is skinned on top of Google’s Android mobile operating system. With MIUI 9.5 arriving right out of the box, you would do well to perform a system update and enjoy all that MIUI 10 has to offer. It does not feel bloated, and the Snapdragon 636 processor is more than capable of handling all swipes and interactions without any kind of slowdown. If you are a first time owner of a Xiaomi device, the learning curve is not steep at all and extremely easy to pick up.
My eyes did not find any issue with the 5.99-inch 18:9 Full HD+ display that delivered an acceptable degree of brightness for its price point, while colors remain vibrant. This makes the Redmi Note 5 above average in its visual department, be it for gaming or watching movies.
I also find the built-in 4,000mAh battery to be extremely useful since I no longer have to charge the handset halfway through the day. In fact, with my described usage pattern, I am able to push it all the way to one and a half day’s use with reserves to spare before plugging in the charger. The Redmi Note 5 also supports Quick Charge 2.0, but you will need to purchase a separate charger that caters to that feature.
Arriving in two flavors of 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal memory and 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal memory, you might want to settle for the latter as the lack of a dedicated microSD memory card slot might mean making a sacrifice of one SIM card slot just to fit in your microSD memory card. Again, a lot of it depends on your usage pattern, so do think things through carefully before making a purchase.
Camera
There are dual rear cameras in the Redmi Note 5, comprising of a 12MP f/1.9 primary shooter and a 5MP f/2.0 sensor. The latter will help capture depth information so that better looking portrait shots can be taken. The 12MP sensor itself is impressive as it boasts of a large 1.4μm pixel size, enabling it to absorb even more light to deliver above average shots in low light conditions. However, there is no optical stabilization for a handset at this price point, which would mean grainy and blurred shots are part of the deal under less-than-ideal situations.
Do be aware that there is some lag when booting up the camera app, although it seems to happen randomly. Still, this is an irritating quirk that I hope Xiaomi will be able to weed out with a future software update, as some moments are lost within seconds. Apart from that, there is also a noticeable shutter delay in between shots at times, especially when I tried to capture images under low-light conditions.
In terms of picture quality under adequate lighting, the Redmi Note 5 performs admirably for a device in its class. There is also a 13MP selfie camera in front, and while both the front and rear cameras are able to capture portrait shots with the bokeh effect around the subject, the dual rear cameras do it better due to the secondary lens.
Conclusion
If you want an everyday workhorse smartphone that gets the job done quietly and without having to pull attention to yourself, the Redmi Note 5 is certainly worth exploring. However, those who always want to be on the cutting edge of technology would do well to give this a pass and aim higher up the smartphone food chain.
[ Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 review copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Ahead of BlizzCon 2018, Blizzard published a blog in which they attempted to temper the expectations of fans who had speculated that a Diablo 4 announcement could be part of the event. However a report from Kotaku later suggested that Blizzard apparently had planned Diablo 4 to be announced, but pulled it at the last minute.
However it turns out that it might not have been true after all. Blizzard has since responded to the rumors in which they deny that Diablo 4 was part of BlizzCon 2018 and that they had pulled the announcement at the very last minute. This was confirmed by Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham.
According to Adham, “First off we want to mention that we definitely hear our community. We generally don’t comment on rumors or speculation, but we can say that we didn’t pull any announcements from BlizzCon this year or have plans for other announcements. We do continue to have different teams working on multiple unannounced Diablo projects, and we look forward to announcing when the time is right.”
That being said, Kotaku for the most part stands by part of its report, in which they assert that they can “confirm” that a Diablo 4 announcement video had been made, but whether or not it was planned for a BlizzCon 2018 announcement to begin with is unclear, although based on Adham’s statement, that was never the company’s plan.
Blizzard Denies They Pulled Diablo 4 Announcement From BlizzCon 2018 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
These days a good majority of games are released in digital and physical formats. However for indie titles, going with a digital release is substantially easier as it means that they won’t need to deal with the production and distribution of a physical release, especially since some indie studios are too small to do so.
Now the folks at Team Cherry, the developers behind indie hit Hollow Knight, had initially intended to create a physical release of the game. However for the reasons we mentioned above, it looks like those plans have since been scrapped, according to an announcement on the developer’s website.
According to the blog post, “We’re regretfully announcing the cancellation of physical copies of Hollow Knight and our partnership with Skybound Games. As a team of 3 people still in intensive production of Hollow Knight, taking the game into the retail space (even with the extensive assistance of Skybound) proved more work than we could reasonably manage.”
However they note that they do plan on revisiting such a possibility in the future, although if and when they do so, they might do it in smaller quantities which we imagine should prove to be easier to manage. That being said, we understand that some gamers do prefer collecting physical copies of games, perhaps for the artwork or the preference of owning a tangible product.
Hollow Knight Physical Release Has Been Cancelled , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
The virus has killed more than 190 people in the country since the outbreak was declared in August.
As much as we love or LEGO sets, these building blocks are made of plastics, which are byproducts of crude oil and natural gases. And while we’re not tossing LEGO bricks in the trash like drinking straws, making them still isn’t great for the environment. That said, LEGO wants to be more sustainable, and it is starting with this set called the LEGO 10268 Creator Expert Vestas Wind Turbine.
The set is based on Vestas’ wind turbine which is installed in over 80 countries. What makes this set unique is its use of plant-based plastic. The tiny trees in the set are made from all-new sustainably sourced plant-based plastic. The plastic used to make the spruce trees are made from sugarcane. The rest of the plastic elements of this set still uses plastics from conventional sources, but I guess LEGO needed to start small to see how this goes before ramping up.
The 826-piece set has a Vestas Wind Turbine that stands 3.3 feet tall, and comes with the ‘Plants from Plants’ spruce trees, along with a house with a working porch light. You also get three LEGO Vestas servicemen minifigures and a LEGO dog. This is one pretty cool and innovative LEGO set. I’d really like to own this one. You can order yours for $199.99 starting on November 23, 2018 in the LEGO Shop.
[via Mike Shouts]
It took about six months for popular consumer drone maker DJI to fix a security vulnerability across its website and apps, which if exploited could have given an attacker unfettered access to a drone owner’s account.
The vulnerability, revealed Thursday by researchers at security firm Check Point, would have given an attacker complete access to a DJI user’s cloud stored data, including drone logs, maps, any still or video footage — and live feed footage through FlightHub, the company’s fleet management system — without the user’s knowledge.
Taking advantage of the flaw was surprisingly simple — requiring a victim to click on a specially crafted link. But in practice, Check Point spent considerable time figuring out the precise way to launch a potential attack — and none of them were particularly easy.
For that reason, DJI called the vulnerability “high risk” but “low probability,” given the numerous hoops to jump through first to exploit the flaw.
“Given the popularity of DJI drones, it is important that potentially critical vulnerabilities like this are addressed quickly and effectively,” said Oded Vanunu, Check Point’s head of products vulnerability research.
A victim would have had to click on a malicious link from the DJI Forum, where customers and hobbyists talk about their drones and activities. By stealing the user’s account access token, an attacker could have pivoted to access the user’s main account. Clicking the malicious link would exploit a cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw on the forum, essentially taking the user’s account cookie and using it on DJI’s account login page.
The researchers also found flaws in DJI’s apps and its web-based FlightHub site.
By exploiting the vulnerability, the attacker could take over the victim’s account and gain access to all of their synced recorded flights, drone photos, and more. (Image: Check Point)
Check Point reached out in March, at which time DJI fixed the XSS flaw in its site.
“Since then, we’ve gone product-by-product through all the elements in our hardware and software where the login process could have been compromised, to ensure this is no longer an easily replicable hack,” said DJI spokesperson Adam Lisberg.
But it took the company until September to roll out fixes across its apps and FlightHub.
The good news is that it’s unlikely anyone independently discovered and exploited any of the vulnerabilities, but both Check Point and DJI concede that it would be difficult to know for sure.
“While no one can ever prove a negative, we have seen no evidence that this vulnerability was ever exploited,” said Lisberg.
DJI heralded fixing the vulnerability as a victory for its bug bounty, which it set up a little over a year ago. Its bug bounty had a rocky start, after the company months later threatened a security researcher, who “walked away from $30,000” after revealing a string of emails from the company purportedly threatened him after finding sensitive access keys for the company’s Amazon Web Services instances.
This time around, there was nothing but praise for the bug finders.
“We applaud the expertise Check Point researchers demonstrated through the responsible disclosure of a potentially critical vulnerability,” DJI’s North America chief Mario Rebello said.
Good to see things have changed.
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