Tech News 2Night 189 (Transcript)

[Top TN2 Animation ] Tonight! HTC launches a new phone, a camera and models dressed as jellyfish, and it's been out a week- what's the lowdown on the Windows 10 preview? Tech News 2Night is Next! [TWiT Open] [Main TN2 Open] This is Tech News 2Night Episode #189, for Wednesday October 8th, 2014 This episode of Tech News 2Night is brought to you by NatureBox. NatureBox ships great-tasting, healthy snacks right to your door. Forget the vending machine, and start snacking smarter with healthy, delicious treats like Salted Caramel Pretzel Pops! To get your FREE NatureBox sampler box go to naturebox.com/twit. That’s naturebox.com/twit. I'm Sarah Lane, Let's get right to the Tech Feed! HTC’s got a new smartphone: the Desire Eye, which includes two identical 13 megapixel cameras, front and back, dual color LED flashes, in two-color plastic unibody designs. It has IPX67 waterproofing, same as in the Samsung Galaxy S5) which works for quick submersion in shallow water and splash protection. The Desire Eye ships with HTC’s new Eye camera software suite, which includes an auto-selfie feature, and HTC’s own simultaneous front-and-back-cam-photo app. No word on availability yet. The event HTC chose to unveil the Desire Eye smartphone is getting its own share of attention though - the company brought a group of models dressed like...jellyfish? They walked back and forth across the stage holding HTC smartphones. Possibly a link to marketing the device as a fashion statement? Or a great selfie camera for really pretty people? Just grasping at straws here. HTC did have another product announcement today though - the Re Camera, a standalone digital camera that pairs to either an Android phone or iPhone and is designed to take quick photos and video. The Re Camera sells for $199.99 and has a pared-down, minimalist design, a button on the front and a button on the back, and two LED indicator lights. There's no viewfinder, no display, and no graphical user interface. Its 16-megapixel sensor is set behind an ultra-wide angle fixed-focus lens and can shoot 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second or slow motion 720p video at 120 frames per second. It will be available in orange, blue, teal, and white in the US later this month. That's still a $200 camera in addition to a smartphone, though, which might be a tough sell. / Back in June at WWDC, Apple announced Apple Health for iOS 8. Now, popular fitness tracking maker Fitbit says it doesn't "currently have plans" to opt in, and will chooses to work on other "exciting projects". Fitbit was the top seller for activity trackers in Q1 2014 according to ABI Research, accounting for nearly 50% of shipments, so perhaps teaming up with Apple isn't seen as a necessity for the company. Fitbit's trackers do work with apps for MyFitnessPal, Withings, Runkeeper, MapMyRun, Endomondo and others that are all HealthKit-friendly. / Just like Re/Code reported...Apple has just confirmed a keynote address for Thursday, October 16th, to take place at the Town Hall auditorium at its Infinite Loop Campus in Cupertino, California, and has sent out invitations to members of the press. The event begins at 10 AM Pacific time. 9to5Mac predicts new versions of both the iPad Air and the iPad mini. The new Air will be slightly thinner, and have a more efficient A8 processor, the new M8 chip from the iPhone 6, Touch ID, enhanced camera features, an improved screen design, and a new gold color option. The new Mini may get some or even all of the Air’s reported new features. OS X Yosemite may be be released for free on the Mac App Store on the day of the event, as it has in previous years. Sources tell 9to5Mac that Apple is preparing both a new iMac and a 12-inch MacBook with Retina displays.. and rumors have been swirling that the Mac mini may get updated too. Apple Pay is launching this month on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple may disclose more details and launch information during the event. / In other Apple news, the company has finalized its specifications for HomeKit through its Made-For-iPhone/iPad/iPod (MFi) licensing program. Accessory makers can now start building products that integrate iOS 8’s new framework for home automation devices, ahead of Apple’s yearly MFi summit in November where it plans to brief manufacturing partners on HomeKit and other new iOS 8 features for accessories. Apple requires that companies building HomeKit-enabled hardware be part of the MFi licensing program and follow the guidelines in the newly published specs. / The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission announced today that AT&T has agreed to pay $105 million to settle claims that it allowed third-party companies to bill subscribers for millions of dollars in unauthorized charges. The FTC and FCC claimed that until January of this year, AT&T billed subscribers for services like ringtone subscriptions, usually costing around $9.99 a month, and that AT&T kept at least 35 percent of the money. AT&T will pay $80 million to refund money to current and former AT&T customers who were hit with unauthorized charges. States participating in the settlement agreement will get $20 million from AT&T to settle the allegations and the federal government will get $5 million. AT&T subscribers can go to ftc.gov/att for information about the refund program, which will be handled by the FTC. Coming up, are Americans really sacrificing food for technology? Up next I'll talk with Ed Bott from ZDNet about reaction to Windows 10 a week after the preview release [AD] "This episode is brought to you by NatureBox. Right now NatureBox is giving you a chance to get a FREE trial box of their most popular snacks. So, drop the candy bar, drop the potato chips – they’re not good for you! Do what I do – get delicious, wholesome snacks at naturebox.com NatureBox has hundreds of delicious snacks. I don’t feel guilty about eating them, because they’re better for me. They’ve got zero artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners, zero grams trans fats and no high fructose corn syrup. You’ll even find snacks with no added sugar and without gluten. So in the afternoon when you’re hungry, do what I do - grab Sour Cream and Onion Almonds from NatureBox. Or Blueberry Nom Noms. Or Garden Tomato Crunchies. So good! And so much better for you than other snack options out there. [[Offer/ Call to Action]] Start your free trial today and get a FREE sampler box at naturebox.com/twit. Stay full. Stay strong. Start snacking smarter. Go to naturebox.com/twit. And we thank Nature Box for their support of Tech News 2Night" [Segment #2] Ed Bott ZDNet wrote the article: ""There's more to Windows 10 than just the revamped Start menu"" -You asked your readers to chime in on the new Windows 10. What kind of feedback did you get? -What are some of the key features? -What have people have discovered with the preview after having it for a few days? -There is some concern over a ""keylogger"". What's that about? -What is still missing? ## Thanks Ed Bott [Kicker!] The CNBC All-America Economic Survey, which I have never heard of until today, conducted a poll that found Nearly half of Americans have cut back on spending, including for travel, food and health care, in order to afford...technology. 49 percent of the 805 respondents polled say they economize to afford technology. 20 percent report cutting back on clothing, 11 percent purchase less food and 10 percent have reduced spending on health care. Women between the age of 18 and 49 and people with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000, made up the two groups most likely to reduce spending to afford technology, with 60 percent of respondents in both of these groups. So..which technology is the most important? The cellphone. [good bye] That's it for this edition of Tech News 2Night. Subscribe to this show at Twit.tv/tn2, and write us at tn2@twit.tv Don't miss our morning news program, Tech News Today, tomorrow and every weekday at 10am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern. I'm Sarah Lane, thanks for watching.