Biki Underwater Drone

If you’re on the lookout for a new kind of drone experience, then how about diving into the deep blue with Biki.

The aquatic explorer, described as a “robofish” by its creator, comes with a 4K camera and can dive down as far as 196 feet (60 meters) into the ocean. Unlike some of its competitors, Biki can swim autonomously and without a tether, giving you greater freedom while eliminating concerns about potentially disastrous entanglements with underwater obstacles.

The robotic submersible, recently launched on Kickstarter by Beijing-based Robosea, can move at a leisurely 1.1 mph for up to 90 minutes on a single charge, while an flapping fish tail works to propel it through the water. You can control Biki via the accompanying app or with a physical controller, and if at any point the connection goes down between you and the robot, built-in GPS means it’ll automatically return to base.

You can even program your own routes and swim alongside, or simply let Biki wander off by itself while you stay on dry land and enjoy the footage it streams back to your smartphone or tablet. Built-in obstacle avoidance tech should save the robofish from any calamitous mishaps, though it clearly won’t be quick enough to escape the jaws of an angry shark or some other large creature that crosses its path.

Now, you may be wondering how the footage looks considering how Biki wobbles about as it swims along. Robosea promises the wide 150-degree lens and built-in stabilization system ensures smooth footage, and the clips on its Kickstarter page certainly appear to confirm this.

The team behind Biki is aiming to ship the device this August, with early bird backers able to snag one for $549, offering a substantial saving on the $1,024 retail price.

As with all Kickstarter projects, it’s important to check out the “risks and challenges” at the bottom of the product page to help you determine its viability. Robosea says it’s currently working on improving the durability of Biki’s shell and waterproof capabilities, kind of important for a device like this.

However, it says it’s already tested 30 prototypes and used feedback from more than 100 testers to improve the design. It’s also sailed through its $20,000 funding target, so it appears to be well on its way to becoming a reality.

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The best ways to stream live TV without cable

Few things are better than plopping down on the couch after a long day of work, turning on the TV and vegging out. You do it, I do it, everybody does it.

And now Google (GOOG, GOOGL) wants to get in on your TV time with its new YouTube TV streaming service. Available in select cities for $35 a month, YouTube TV promises 40 channels of live TV including the five major broadcast channels: ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and NBC.

Google, though, is entering an increasingly crowded market with a wide variety of different channel offerings that can be difficult to parse when all you want to do is watch “The Bachelor” and eat your KFC $20 Fill-Up in your comfy chair.

But since I care so much, I’m breaking down each of the major over-the-top cable streaming services so you can get back to watching the rose ceremony.

Still, not all over-the-top services offer the same channels. YouTube TV is missing Turner and Viacom properties. Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation Vue is also missing Viacom channels, while Dish’s (DISH) Sling TV and AT&T’s (T) DirecTV Now don’t offer CBS. That said, at least one of these options could be right for you.

YouTube TV

We’ve been waiting a long time for Google’s big TV play and it’s officially here. YouTube TV features 40 channels and gets you everything from the major broadcast channels to a huge array of sports stations. In fact, YouTube TV gives you 13 sports channels and the option to add on Fox Soccer Plus.

Outside of that, you get Fox News, MSNBC, Disney, National Geographic, Bravo, USA, FX and E!, among others. Google says it will add AMC and BBC World News to its lineup in the near future. You can also add Showtime for $11 a month extra.

But YouTube TV has some drawbacks. First off, the service doesn’t carry Turner properties like CNN, TBS, TNT and, importantly for me, Cartoon Network. You also don’t get Viacom channels like MTV or Comedy Central. What’s worse, there doesn’t appear to be an option to add on HBO just yet, only Showtime.

What’s more, YouTube TV isn’t available for Roku streaming devices or Apple TV. To address that, Google will provide you with a free Chromecast so you can stream your favorite shows to your big-screen.

Still, if you’re a Roku or Apple TV user, that means having to bounce between those devices and your Chromecast just to watch different channels, which can be annoying.

Sony PlayStation Vue

Sony’s PlayStation Vue is the Japanese tech giant’s over-the-top streaming play and it’s actually a quality offering. Rather than a one-size-fits-all offering, Sony offers four different packages depending on the number of channels you want to watch and how much you want to pay each month.

The base offering, which starts at $40 per month, gets you 49 channels including ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, as well as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ESPN and ESPN 2, FS1 and FS2 and a slew of others. Oh, and Cartoon Network. Sony’s $45 package gets you more than 60 channels, while the $55 package gets you more than 90 channels. Then there’s the $75 option, which includes the NFL Network and HBO.

Sony, however, recently did away with Viacom content like Comedy Central. So if you’re trying to watch the “Daily Show,” you’re out of luck.

Vue is available on a number of devices including, naturally, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, web browsers, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon’s (AMZN) Fire TV and your mobile devices.

If you’re already a PlayStation fan, Vue is a solid choice.

Sling TV

Dish’s Sling TV offers three packages Orange, Blue and Orange + Blue with a host of additional add-ons to customize your viewing options. The Orange package costs $20 per month and gets you 30 channels including ESPN, AMC, CNN, TBS, Comedy Central, Travel Channel and, of course, Cartoon Network. What you don’t get are the basic broadcast channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC or the CW.

The Blue package costs $25 per month and gets you 45 channels including FOX and NBC. The Orange + Blue package, which costs $40 per month, gets you 50 channels.

Here’s the thing, though — you can add a range of different channels to any of the three packages. For instance, the New Extra add-on gets you MSNBC, BBC World News and Headline News for $5.

Comedy Plus Extra, also $5, gets you MTV, Spike, MTV2 and CMT, which means you can watch “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge,” the greatest show on television.

Curiously, Sling doesn’t include CBS. So “Big Bang Theory” fans, you know who you are, won’t be able to watch their favorite show.

Sling TV is available on most mainstream TV streaming devices including Apple TV, Roku and Amazon’s Fire TV players, as well as Apple, Android and Amazon phones and tablets, Mac and Windows computers and Microsoft’s Xbox One. Unfortunately, you can’t watch Sling TV on your PlayStation.

If you’re the kind of person who wants greater control over what channels you pay for, Sling TV is the way to go.

AT&T DirecTV Now

Like Sling TV, AT&T’s DirecTV Now allows you to purchase different packages of channels based on what you want to want and how much you want to pay each month. The base offering starts at $35 per month and gets you more than 60 channels including ABC, NBC and FOX, but not CBS and the CW.

You also get CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ESPN, Disney, Cartoon Network and Comedy Central. The $50 option gets you more than 80 channels, while the $60 package gets more than 100. The largest option is the $70 package, which gives you more than 120 channels, enough to keep you on your couch for quite some time. You can subscribe to HBO GO as part of your package for an additional fee.

AT&T lets you watch DirecTV Now on your Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android phone and tablet, iPad and iPhone, Chromecast and web browsers. But you can’t watch it on your Chromecast with the iOS app, your Roku or Xbox One. As with YouTube TV, DirecTV Now gives you a streaming device, in this case a Fire TV stick, with your first month’s payment.

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The 20 highest-paying tech companies in America

Silicon Valley’s stratospheric tech salaries are higher than ever — if you can believe it.

That’s according to a Glassdoor report out Wednesday called the “25 Highest Paying Companies in America for 2017,” which features 20 tech-related companies.

The high-paying tech companies are led by the virtualized computing company VMWare, big data enterprise software business Splunk, and software and engineering services company Cadence Design Systems. Every tech company on the list pays the average employee between $2,000 and $15,000 more in total compensation than they did in 2016.

Taken together, those salaries far surpass pay in many other industries in the US. The lowest-paying tech company on Glassdoor’s list, the content delivery service Akamai, pays the average employee $121,000 in annual base compensation — more than twice the average American employee’s salary of $49,000 a year. 

Here are the 20 tech companies that made Glassdoor’s list ranked in descending order:

VMware (VMW)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 3

Median Total Compensation: $167,050

Median Base Compensation: $136,750

Splunk (SPLK)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 4

Median Total Compensation: $161,010

Median Base Compensation: $132,500

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 5

Median Total Compensation: $156,702

Median Base Compensation: $141,202

Google (GOOG, GOOGL)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 6

Median Total Compensation: $155,250

Median Base Compensation: $120,000

Facebook (FB)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 7

Median Total Compensation: $155,000

Median Base Compensation: $130,000

NVIDIA (NVDA)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 8

Median Total Compensation: $154,000

Median Base Compensation: $150,000

Amazon Lab126 (AMZN)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 10

Median Total Compensation: $152,800

Median Base Compensation: $130,400

Juniper Networks (JNPR)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 11

Median Total Compensation: $150,000

Median Base Compensation: $138,500

LinkedIn

Rank on Glassdoor list: 12

Median Total Compensation: $150,000

Median Base Compensation: $127,000

Salesforce (CRM)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 13

Median Total Compensation: $150,000

Median Base Compensation: $120,000

Dimension Data

Rank on Glassdoor list: 14

Median Total Compensation: $150,000

Median Base Compensation: $110,000

Synopsys (SNPS)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 15

Median Total Compensation: $148,000

Median Base Compensation: $130,000

Informatica

Rank on Glassdoor list: 16

Median Total Compensation: $147,400

Median Base Compensation: $125,000

Broadcom

Rank on Glassdoor list: 18

Median Total Compensation: $145,025

Median Base Compensation: $130,000

Microsoft (MSFT)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 19

Median Total Compensation: $144,000

Median Base Compensation: $127,000

Walmart eCommerce (WMT)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 20

Median Total Compensation: $143,500

Median Base Compensation: $124,900

Twitter (TWTR)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 22

Median Total Compensation: $142,000

Median Base Compensation: $125,000

F5 Networks (FFIV)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 23

Median Total Compensation: $140,555

Median Base Compensation: $125,000

Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 24

Median Total Compensation: $140,020

Median Base Compensation: $124,700

Akamai (AKAM)

Rank on Glassdoor list: 25

Median Total Compensation: $140,000

Median Base Compensation: $121,000

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The 10 Most Pirated Movies

TorrentFreak's most pirated movies list is an excellent gauge of popular movies as well as the Hollywood zeitgeist.

This week, The Fate of the Furious screeches into sixth place on the list. Logan manages to claw his way past King Kong to the top. Maybe because of whitewashing concerns or just because it's not the greatest film, Ghost in the Shell looks like it might soon disappear.

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Zuckerberg will destroy Snapchat: Facebook will also have Stories

The main attraction of Snapchat is the ability to share videos and photos with expiration, some ephemeral publications that Instagram has already modeled with the arrival of Stories . Now, Mark Zuckerberg has set out to remove all interest in the social network of the yellow ghost incorporating this same functionality to the same Facebook.

As revealed by Business Insider , Facebook has begun testing Stories on your mobile application in Ireland, which is expected to soon be extended to other users.

It is recalled that when Facebook launched alternatives to Me Gusta , was tested first inthe Spanish and Irish version of Facebook before launching to all users in the world, which it is estimated that the stories being tested in Ireland will reach the Rest of countries in a few months.

The Facebook Stories operate identically to the Stories of Instagram and by extension, those of Snapchat-, so that friends of social network can view for 24 hours videos and photos published in this format. So, users also have filters, stickers and freehand notes with which to customize their shots.

The truth is that Zuckerberg's strategy of using Instagram to turn off interest in Snapchat is working thanks to the large user base that has its photographic social network. Instagram already has 600 million users of the application, of which about 150 million use the Histories, a figure close to the total Snapchat users.

The next arrival of this option Facebook is expected a success thanks to the almost 1,800 million users that the network is worldwide, of which 1,660 million are exclusively mobile, so that the functionality of the Histories will be essential To trigger its use.

This offensive by Zuckerberg against Snapchat comes in full rumors of an upcoming IPO of the company of Evan Spiegel, a director who rejected a bid to buy on Facebook.

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The brand new Huawei Mate 9

Performance, excellent pictures and superior battery all combined into one smartphone.

The smartphones users have begun in recent years to become more and more demanding and look for devices that can provide the best possible experience and to combine speed, excellent quality images, large screen, but not necessarily the device is bulky, and battery with large "strength." The combination is quite difficult and even more difficult to find a manufacturer that can offer him.

Huawei, however, can claim to be one such manufacturer judging from what has succeeded with Mate 9, which has been available for a few days in the Greek market with a suggested selling price of EUR 699 for the version with 4 GB of memory and internal storage 64 GB, expandable via microSD card.

Huawei Mate 9 is one of the most impressive devices in circulation. The display is at 5.9 inches, but nevertheless the device is not very big and practically at the same level models have 5.5-inch screens, being beautifully designed and comfortable to use. Based on an extensive research and development process, the Mate 9 is made through 50 different procedures, resulting in a one-piece metal precision framework. Every detail, from the soft texture created by blasting through the beautiful color palette, is the result of 25 years experience of Huawei and refined virtuosity that characterizes it.

Mate 9 makes first appearance of the new processor Huawei, the Kirin 960, which, according to the company, offering the best performance in the world. Additionally, one of the most attractive advantages is that utilizes machine learning algorithms, providing a fast and seamless experience even after 18 months of continuous use. He is also the first processor in the world that incorporates ARM Cortex-A73 / A53 CPU and Mali oktapyrini oktapyrini G71 GPU. The Kirin 960 provides better performance multi-core between all processors to smartphone, while reducing power consumption up to 15%. The GPU provides up to 180% improvement in performance and 40% improvement in energy efficiency compared to its predecessor. The Kirin 960 also make the most of the new standard graphics in Android 7.0, boosting performance up to 400%.

In addition to reduced energy consumption, the Huawei Mate 9 incorporates high capacity battery 4000mAh, the new fastest Supercharge charging technology. With advanced energy saving technology, Huawei Mate 9 increases the battery life to provide more than two days of continuous performance in normal use and 1.7 days for "heavy users."

After the great success of Huawei P9 with Leica camera with double lens wears the Mate 9 Leica camera Double second generation lens. the Huawei and Leica continued their effort to improve and enhance the optical performance of the camera, which is now composed of an RGB sensor 12 Megapixel (F2.2) and a monochrome sensor 20 Megapixels, supported by sophisticated image algorithms contribute to capture great photos. The RGB sensor captures incredibly vibrant colors, while the monochrome sensor captures intricate detail and depth to match the photographic style by Leica. Coupled with Optical Stabilisation function of Image (OIS) give the Huawei Mate 9 an advanced capability even for night photographing.

Meanwhile, the Kirin 960 is designed specifically to support dual camera from Leica hybrid zoom. Hybrid "4 in 1» Auto-Focus features a laser focus, focus on face recognition, depth and focus Contrast focus.

The Mate 9 features the new EMUI menu 5.0, thanks to which this smartphone is smarter, more efficient over time, understanding the user behavior patterns and ensuring that applications that use more will have access to greater system resources . This guarantees a long lasting smooth experience, since EMUI 5.0 slows the deterioration of performance all smartphones face.

Finally, EMUI 5.0 introduces a completely new design to user experience software. More than 50% of the features can now be accessed with two clicks, while over 90% can be reached within three clicks.

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The technological predictions that were fulfilled during 2016

Just ten days after the end of the year, it is necessary to take stock of the experience. The year has been particularly busy in the technological sector, however, at the end of the previous year a series of predictions were made about what would be the technological development in 2016 but which of them have been fulfilled, what technologies remain untapped ? 

Since Entelgy, the company specialized in consulting, technology and outsourcing have made a review of the current year in information technology on the great trends that has left the 2016.

Cybersecurity

In 2015, the global turnover in cybersecurity amounted to 62,540 million euros and it is expected that by 2018 this figure has increased to 79.292 million euros; Those were the data offered by the consultant Gartner a year ago.

The omens however seem to be short, and is also according to Gartner himself, by the end of this year have invested a total of 81.6 billion dollars (76.728 million euros) in computer security systems and solutions, a 7, 9% more than in 2014. A trend that consolidates cybersecurity as one of the main technological factors that companies take into account.

Everything indicates that this scenario is also fulfilled in Spain, according to the figures that reveal from Entelgy. "It can be seen that more than 20,000 high-impact incidents and more than 2,000 cases of online fraud were handled during our last year in our Advanced Security Operations Center, SmartSOC, while over 1,200 hacking tests Ethical and intrusion testing, and more than 5,000 malware analyzes per month. "

Cloud Computing

Another major player of the year, IDC said in 2015, that by 2018, at least half of IT spending would be cloud-based, accounting for 60% of all IT infrastructure and 60% 70% of all software, services and technology spending by 2020.

The data that have been known this year closely resemble this prediction, and is that this year 43% of Spanish companies are already investing in solutions and technology Cloud, a figure that will continue to grow in the coming months to reach 50% Of new ICT spending in 2020, according to recent IDC predictions.

Internet of Things

According to Gartner figures, the forecast in 2016 was to have more than 6.4 billion devices connected worldwide; A figure they predicted would continue to grow unstoppably at least until 2020. Along the same line was IDC and went even further indicating that this business would expand to 22 billion devices in 2018, boosting the development of more than 200,000 new Applications and services.

Cities and intelligent cars or houses of the future are just some of the IoT applications that will begin to be implemented during the next months and that, already, they can already be observed in some sectors, thanks to that the networks are better, more reliable, faster and Sensors are getting better prices.

A potential already with real application, which seems to confirm that, although today is a technological trend not too landed, the Internet of Things has a remarkable journey ahead.

Big Data

IDC estimated last year that the business that will move on servers, storage and cloud resources used for Big Data-related activities in the EMEA region was to triple by 2019, reaching $ 5.4 billion within just three years . He seems to be right.

Focusing on how this market is evolving we can now see how, according to Gartner, 48% of organizations have invested in Big Data in 2016, 3% more than in 2015.

This figure is also in line with Ovum's analysis that this year Big Data has moved around $ 1.7 billion globally, a trend that is expected to consolidate and increase in the coming years, in which one Correct use of the data will be one of the key axes on which to build companies.

Wearables

According to IDC, in 2015, 39.5 million adult Americans used handheld devices, including smartwatches and fitness trackers, an increase of 57.7 percent over 2014.

According to the research firm, that growth would continue in 2016 and increase in 2018 with 81.7 million adults who will use this type of smart devices. In fact, exports of traditional Swiss watches have fallen to 1984 levels.

The data have not approached the forecasts, but have gone over, and is that IDC ensures that, according to their estimates, these devices could reach 101.9 million units by the end of the year. This figure represents a growth of 29% compared to those achieved in 2015. The consultant also places the annual growth rate (CAGR) at 20.3%, which would reach 213.6 million units distributed in 2020. A gigantic figure compared to the predictions they estimated for 2018 that 81.7 million adults would wear wearables.

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Smartwatches sales already surpass those of traditional watches

The watch industry begins to take the new reality of a market in which smart watches already surpass for the first time in sales to traditional. Thus, what seemed impossible a few years ago has become reality thanks to the efforts of the major manufacturers of mobile.

According to sector data made public yesterday Samsung, sales of smart watches worldwide reached 8.1 million units, compared to 7.9 million conventional watches, according to the fourth quarter of 2015.

This trend seems to have no turning back to the prospect of a market whose global sales wereables will be about 220 million units in 2020, as measured by manufacturers.

In this offensive, Samsung yesterday began marketing in Spain of its smart watch Gear S3 , the first device of its segment with four - hour autonomy. The launch of the Gear S3 range, with a price of 399 euros, includes two models, Frontier and Classic, with which the manufacturer intended to satisfy the tastes of amateur users to sports and those who prefer the more traditional style, respectively.

The same manufacturer spokesmen explained that the new family of devices S3 Gear "is inspired by classic watches, but with the addition of the most advanced wereable technology, including the integration of speaker and microphone".

These new watches are waterproof and dustproof (IP68 certification) and have an efficient GPS with new features in sensors such as altimeter, barometer (which warn of sudden changes in pressure). The watch also offers a virtual trainer for running practitioners, capable of monitoring physical activity with data speed, media and heartbeat rhythms. Also, the Gear S3 has strengthened the internal memory to 4 GB and is capable of playing six million colors on its 1.3-inch screen.

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