Hasta La Gadget!

HONOR has introduced the European launch of the PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic6 RSR, the second collaborative smartphone with Porsche Design. This release follows the success of their initial foldable smartphone collaboration, aiming to combine performance with luxury design.

CEO George Zhao emphasizes the device’s embodiment of Porsche DNA and commitment to excellence.

The PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic6 RSR incorporates structural elements inspired by Porsche cars, with a camera module embraced by Porsche’s hexagonal design.

It comes in Agate Grey and Frozen Berry colors, paying homage to iconic Porsche hues. Leveraging automotive industry cues, the smartphone features advanced HDR sensors and a LiDAR Matrix Autofocus System for superior photography.

In terms of durability and visibility, the device boasts the HONOR Anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield and Dual-layer OLED Tandem Display. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform and innovative battery technologies derived from electric vehicles.

The PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic6 RSR runs on HONOR MagicOS 8.0, offering features like Magic Portal and MagicRing for enhanced user experience and connectivity.

Specs

Price and Availability

With a starting price of £1,599 (~$2,009), it targets discerning customers seeking performance, luxury, and innovation. For more information and global availability visit HONOR’s Global website — Customers in the UK can visit the HONOR and Porsche Design websites to purchase this interesting device.

Luxury Meets Innovation: HONOR Unveils PORSCHE DESIGN Magic6 RSR

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

More than anything, Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace is a fascinating cultural object. It’s been 25 years since I saw the film in theaters, and over a decade since I last rewatched it (in a vain attempt to help my Trekkie wife catch up to the prequels). I’ve had enough time to process the initial disappointment and embarrassment of introducing my wife to Jar Jar Binks. So when Disney announced it was bringing the prequel trilogy back to theaters, I was practically giddy about revisiting them to see how George Lucas’s final films compared to the onslaught of Star Wars media we’ve experienced over the past decade. Was The Phantom Menace as bad as I’d remembered? Well, yes and no.

Disney/Lucasfilm

Boring but full of imagination

In 1999, I knew Episode 1 would be a bit of a slog as soon as we hit the second line of the opening crawl: “The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.” Really, George? This was what Star Wars fans were waiting for since 1983’s Return of the Jedi? During this rewatch, I was more tickled than annoyed by the many baffling narrative choices: The empty drama of a trade blockade; the confusing decision to establish a romance between a literal child and an older teenager; and throwing in Jar Jar Binks to appease kids amid the hideously dull dialog.

It’s as if The Phantom Menace was written and directed by an alien who hadn’t actually seen a movie, or engaged in any aspect of pop culture, since the early ’80s. At the same time, that near-outsider perspective is part of the film’s charm. Seeing a society slowly lose control of an idealistic democracy to a power-hungry dictator is a lot for a PG-rated fantasy film. Yet that also sets up the first two prequels to feel eerily-prescient beside the global response to 9/11.

By the time we reached 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, the allusions to George W. Bush’s Patriot Act and Global War on Terror were hard to miss. “This is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause,” Padme says as her fellow Senators hand over emergency powers to Palpatine, turning Supreme Chancellor Palpatine into the Emperor, and transforming the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire.

Disney/Lucasfilm

Beyond political machinations, The Phantom Menace is filled with loads of gorgeous imagery: Naboo’s lush palace and aquatic Gungan city; the designs of new ships and weapons; and, of course, every single outfit worn by Princess Amidala. It would have been nice if these visuals cohered into the narrative better, but their presence makes it clear that Lucas was surrounded by world-class talent, like renowned costume designer Trisha Biggar.

The Phantom Menace also leaps to life in its handful of action set-pieces. Sure, maybe the pod-race goes on a bit too long, but the sense of speed, scale and bombastic sound throughout is still absolutely thrilling. (The film’s sound team — Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Shawn Murphy and John Midgley — was nominated for an Oscar, but lost out to The Matrix.)

And yes, the entire Duel of the Fates fight is still an absolute banger. There’s no doubt that The Phantom Menace would have been a stronger film with less-clunky dialog and more character development shown through action. At one point in the fight, all of the participants are separated by laser barriers. Qui-Gon Jinn meditates, almost completely at peace. Darth Maul prowls like a caged lion. And Obi-Wan Kenobi is simply eager to get on with the fight, like a hot-shot student who just wants to show off. That sequence tells you more about those characters than the remaining two hours of the film.

Disney/Lucasfilm

A precursor to ubiquitous digital characters

While I didn’t come around to loving Jar Jar Binks during this rewatch, his very existence as a fully-CG character felt more significant than ever. Voiced by the actor and comedian Ahmed Best, Jar Jar was roundly trashed upon release and his implementation was far from seamless. But it was also the first time we saw a motion-captured performance be transformed into a fully-realized character. Now that technology is so common in movies we practically take it for granted.

“You can’t have Gollum without Jar Jar,” Best said in a recent interview for The New York Times. “You can’t have the Na’vi in ‘Avatar’ without Jar Jar. You can’t have Thanos or the Hulk without Jar Jar. I was the signal for the rest of this art form, and I’m proud of Jar Jar for that, and I’m proud to be a part of that. I’m in there!”

In 2017, Best offered an expanded version of his thoughts in a Twitter thread (via ScreenRant): “Jar Jar helped create the workflow, iteration process and litmus test for all CGI characters to this day. On some days the code was being written in real time as I was moving. To deny Jar Jar’s place in film history is to deny the hundreds of VFX technicians, animators, code writers and producers their respect. People like John Knoll, Rob Coleman and scores of others who I worked with for two years after principal photography was ended to bring these movies to you.”

Disney/Lucasfilm

A great story stuck in a bad film

I’ve learned the best way to watch The Phantom Menace is to take in the aspects that I like and replace Lucas’s many baffling choices with my own head canon. The story of Anakin Skywalker being born through the sheer power of the Force and becoming the Jedi’s Chosen One? That’s interesting! Inventing Midi-chlorians to give people a literal Jedi power score? That’s bad, to hell with you! (Midi-chlorians are still technically canon, but they’ve been largely ignored in recent Star Wars media.)

This time around, I couldn’t help but imagine how a more natural and energetic storyteller would have tackled The Phantom Menace. Surely they wouldn’t front-load trade disputes and taxation. A more skilled writer, like Andor’s Tony Gilroy, could thoughtfully weave together the Republic’s potential downfall. And I’d bet most people wouldn’t waste Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan by keeping him off-screen for an hour, while everyone else goes on a pod-racing adventure. (It sure would be nice to have him spend more time with Anakin!)

Disney/Lucasfilm

I still haven’t seen Topher Grace’s fabled 85-minute edit of the Star Wars prequels, but his decision to start in the middle of Phantom Menace’s climactic lightsaber battle makes sense. So much of Episode 1 feels entirely superfluous when the real story of Anakin Skywalker is about falling in love, being tempted by the Dark Side and ultimately betraying his master.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/i-guess-i-learned-how-to-appreciate-the-phantom-menace-173010855.html?src=rss

During CCXP Mexico City, director Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) shared with Collider that he’s aiming to bring more practical movie-making magic to his coming-of-age Star Wars space adventure Skeleton Crew. That toolkit will include the stop-motion talents of visual effects legend Phil Tippett.

Read more…

HONOR has introduced the European launch of the PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic6 RSR, the second collaborative smartphone with Porsche Design. This release follows the success of their initial foldable smartphone collaboration, aiming to combine performance with luxury design.

CEO George Zhao emphasizes the device’s embodiment of Porsche DNA and commitment to excellence.

The PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic6 RSR incorporates structural elements inspired by Porsche cars, with a camera module embraced by Porsche’s hexagonal design.

It comes in Agate Grey and Frozen Berry colors, paying homage to iconic Porsche hues. Leveraging automotive industry cues, the smartphone features advanced HDR sensors and a LiDAR Matrix Autofocus System for superior photography.

In terms of durability and visibility, the device boasts the HONOR Anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield and Dual-layer OLED Tandem Display. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform and innovative battery technologies derived from electric vehicles.

The PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic6 RSR runs on HONOR MagicOS 8.0, offering features like Magic Portal and MagicRing for enhanced user experience and connectivity.

Specs

Price and Availability

With a starting price of £1,599 (~$2,009), it targets discerning customers seeking performance, luxury, and innovation. For more information and global availability visit HONOR’s Global website — Customers in the UK can visit the HONOR and Porsche Design websites to purchase this interesting device.

Luxury Meets Innovation: HONOR Unveils PORSCHE DESIGN Magic6 RSR

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Proton’s encrypted password manager, Proton Pass, has received a significant update with an emphasis on security. This comes in the form of a new toolset called Pass Monitor, which will alert users of account weaknesses and data breaches.

This is done automatically and the system will even guide users through solutions in the event of a data leak from a third-party service, which happens a whole lot. It also scours the dark web and alerts people if Proton addresses, email aliases and up to ten custom email addresses have been leaked and used for nefarious purposes. If this happens, you’ll get an alert so you can take action.

Pass Monitor includes a password health feature that flags any weak or reused passwords that could use an update. The inactive two-factor authentication portion of the toolset is an additional layer of security that identifies various accounts that offer the option for 2FA.

Finally, the company’s bringing its Proton Sentinel feature into Pass Monitor. The service uses a combination of AI and human analysts to detect and block account takeover attacks.

The password health and 2FA checks are available to free users, but monitoring of the dark web and Proton Sentinel are only for paying members. Luckily, Pass Plus memberships are currently on sale for $2 per month. These new tools, available on Windows, Android and iOS, will roll out to current users in the “next few days.”

Proton is actually a fairly new entrant in the password security game, as the password manager just celebrated its one-year birthday. The company is more famous for its stellar VPN software, which topped our list of the best VPNs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/protons-new-password-monitor-update-will-scour-the-dark-web-on-your-behalf-183914473.html?src=rss