May 13
Disney cuts the theater-exclusive window in half for 'Free Guy,' 'Shang-Chi'
Posted in: Today's ChiliNew Disney movies will only be exclusive to theaters for 45 days instead of 90.
May 13
Manchin does not support his party’s top legislative priority on voting. Republicans also don’t like his alternative.
May 13
You’ve goo goo ga got to check out these reviewer-favorite baby-proofing solutions.
May 13
Now that fully vaccinated people can mostly safely stop wearing masks, the CDC should consider some other guidelines.
May 13
There were a lot of things wrong with the 2009 movie G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra—a lot of things. But it seems like the upcoming film G.I. Joe Origins: Snake Eyes has figured out to avoid them, and thus create the G.I. Joe movie franchise the previous films failed to do. First and foremost on that list? Not worrying about …
May 13
Washed-Up Influencer Arrested For Driving His Tesla From The Backseat, Says 'Elon Musk Really Knows What He’s Doing'
Posted in: Today's ChiliAfter the California Highway Patrol alerted locals of a man who seemed to be riding from the backseat of his Tesla Model 3 while the car’s autopilot barreled down the highway, the CHP caught the man responsible on Tuesday, booking him into a local jail and towing his car from the scene. A day later, that man’s back on…
May 13
May 13
Infinix has announced its new “Note” series, with two models in the 2021 Note 10 lineup: the Infinix Note 10 Pro (~$259, image below) and Infinix Note 10 ($199, image above). Both are addressing the large-phone “multimedia beast” type of market but at slightly different price points.
Their 6.95” displays (FHD+, 1080×2460) should make any visual application extremely agreeable to use. The panels are based on IPS LCD technology, which typically does quite well in color gamut and maximum brightness (480 NITs).
Gamers might be interested in the 90Hz display frequency with a 180Hz touch sampling rate, but about everyone will enjoy smoother scrolling in everyday use when compared to standard 60Hz displays.
Infinix has DTS surround sound processing coming from its dual-speakers setup for a more “cinematic” sound experience to go with the ultra-large screen. In our experience, sound processing has become especially important since it is challenging (or expensive) to increase smartphones’ speaker size and power. For gamers, there’s also a 3D sound feature.
The overall design looks neat and modern, with a nice back dual-texture back cover and several choices of color. The black camera module design hosts three to four camera modules, depending on the model. As we have pointed out in earlier articles, it is exciting to watch the camera arms race in the sub-$300 market, and this is further proof of it.
The Note 10’s 48MP primary camera can capture 2K/30FPS video, while the Note 10 Pro can record 4K/30FPS with its 64MP camera.
I will let you judge the aesthetics, but the rest of the design is relatively standard except for the 3.5mm audio port, which has become a bit of a rarity these days. If you want to charge and use the audio port, you will appreciate that detail. As a bonus, there’s an FM radio receiver too.
The computing platform is powered by MediaTek processors, with the Note 10 Pro using a MediaTek Helio G95 and the Note 10 using a MediaTek Helio G85. Both chips bring an outstanding feature set for the price, and if you’re more into gaming, you probably want to pick the Helio G95 as it has ~27% faster CPU and ~200% faster graphics.
Both phones have a 5000 mAh battery capacity, which is at the upper-end of what can be integrated into this form-factor. The 33W fast-charging is only available on the Note 10 Pro as the Note 10 gets a more standard 18W fast-charging which is still great for that price segment.
A few people asked me if there’s a fingerprint reader, and the answer is “Yes” – it is located on the right side. For touchless unlock, there’s a face unlock feature that also works with a face mask.
Infinix has its own Android layer called XOS, currently at version 7.6 in these phones. It lets Infinix create a specific user experience with a consistent visual language. Some aspects of it, like Video caller-ID, are fun, while others are purely functional, such as the file compression to optimize storage space.
Both phones will be available “this month,” according to Infinix, but where and at what local prices will likely depend on retail partners, so check the official site to get your country’s specific details.
Infinix Note 10 Series Features 6.95-inch Displays
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May 13
Alba Orbital’s mission to image the Earth every 15 minutes brings in $3.4M seed round
Posted in: Today's ChiliOrbital imagery is in demand, and if you think having daily images of everywhere on Earth is going to be enough in a few years, you need a lesson in ambition. Alba Orbital is here to provide it with its intention to provide Earth observation at intervals of 15 minutes rather than hours or days — and it just raised $3.4M to get its next set of satellites into orbit.
Alba attracted our attention at Y Combinator’s latest demo day; I was impressed with the startup’s accomplishment of already having 6 satellites in orbit, which is more than most companies with space ambition ever get. But it’s only the start for the company, which will need hundreds more to begin to offer its planned high-frequency imagery.
The Scottish company has spent the last few years in prep and R&D, pursuing the goal, which some must have thought laughable, of creating a solar-powered Earth observation satellite that weighs in at less than one kilogram. The joke’s on the skeptics, however — Alba has launched a proof of concept and is ready to send the real thing up as well.
Little more than a flying camera with the minimum of storage, communication, power, and movement, the sub-kilogram Unicorn-2 is about the size of a soda can, with paperback-size solar panel wings, and costs in the neighborhood of $10,000. It should be able to capture up to 10 meter resolution, good enough to see things like buildings, ships, crops, even planes.
Image Credits: Alba Orbital
“People thought we were idiots. Now they’re taking it seriously,” said Tom Walkinshaw, founder and CEO of Alba. “They can see it for what it is: a unique platform for capturing datasets.”
Indeed, although the idea of daily orbital imagery like Planet’s once seemed excessive, in some situations it’s quite clearly not enough.
“The California case is probably wildfires,” said Walkinshaw (and it always helps to have a California case). “Having an image once a day of a wildfire is a bit like having a chocolate teapot… not very useful. And natural disasters like hurricanes, flooding is a big one, transportation as well.”
Walkinshaw noted that they company was bootstrapped and profitable before taking on the task of launching dozens more satellites, something the seed round will enable.
“It gets these birds in the air, gets them finished and shipped out,” he said. “Then we just need to crank up the production rate.”
Image Credits: Alba Orbital
When I talked to Walkinshaw via video call, ten or so completed satellites in their launch shells were sitting on a rack behind him in the clean room, and more are in the process of assembly. Aiding in the scaling effort is new investor James Park, founder and CEO of FitBit — definitely someone who knows a little bit about bringing hardware to market.
Interestingly, the next batch to go to orbit (perhaps as soon as in a month or two, depending on the machinations of the launch provider) will be focusing on nighttime imagery, an area Walkinshaw suggested was undervalued. But as orbital thermal imaging startup Satellite Vu has shown, there’s immense appetite for things like energy and activity monitoring, and nighttime observation is a big part of that.
The seed round will get the next few rounds of satellites into space, and after that Alba will be working on scaling manufacturing to produce hundreds more. Once those start going up it can demonstrate the high-cadence imaging it is aiming to produce — for now it’s impossible to do so, though Alba already has customers lined up to buy the imagery it does get.
The round was led by Metaplanet Holdings, with participation by Y Combinator, Liquid2, Soma, Uncommon Denominator, Zillionize, and numerous angels.
As for competition, Walkinshow welcomes it, but feels secure that he and his company have more time and work invested in this class of satellite than anyone in the world — a major obstacle for anyone who wants to do battle. It’s more likely companies will, as Alba has done, pursue a distinct product complementary to those already or in the process of being offered.
“Space is a good place to be right now,” he concluded.
May 13
If you’ve been fully vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that you can stop wearing your face mask in the majority of situations. The new guidance, which first leaked earlier today, underscores the importance of getting vaccinated against the virus and the role it plays in returning to normal. The new guidance was … Continue reading
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