Blackfire Research Blackbook

Impressions from IFA

Europe’s largest consumer electronics show, IFA, is currently taking place in Berlin. Before the show even began, companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Sony were already making a splash with big announcements. So what are the new and continuing tech trends of the second half of 2017, as we slowly make our way into the holiday season? And what can we expect from our CE devices in the near future? Here are our main takeaways from IFA 2017!

The War for Cloud AI Control Heats Up

In what we see as a very Game of Thrones maneuver, Amazon and Microsoft have formed an alliance. Before the show began, it was announced that Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana voice interfaces will soon be able to interact with each other which potentially opens up a powerful combination of Microsoft’s business app integration with Amazon’s rapidly growing Smart Home device integration. This sort of cooperation between competing technologies is huge news, especially in a market that is known for closed ecosystems. This alliance will serve as a blow to Google and Apple, whose Google Assistant and Siri, are still struggling to integrate 3rd party devices.

Speaking of Google, back in May, they opened up their AI software development kit (SDK) in the hopes of getting Google Assistant integrated into a plethora of third party smart devices for the home, a move directly in response to the “The Amazon Home Takeover” at CES in January. At IFA, it was announced that Google Assistant will be integrated into new smart speakers, like Sony’s biggest unveil at the show, the Apple HomePod look-alike, LF-S50G (rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) and various LG home appliances. Although this is all great news for Google, it’s not hard to notice that Amazon is still way ahead in the race for smart home ownership – which is ironic, since Google paid $3.2B in 2014 to buy IoT pioneer Nest Labs. Is this an indication of Google’s growing disfunction as a company?

Wireless Woes

Ever since the iPhone 7 ditched the headphone jack last year, other smartphone manufacturers have begun to follow suit. At IFA this year, wireless headphones were in an abundance. Beyerdynamic has unveiled Aventho Wireless headphones, a beautifully designed wearable, using their super high-end Tesla drivers. The only problem? These ultra lux Hi-Fi quality headphones use APTX HD Bluetooth, a lossy-compression algorithm that is only supported in about 5 Android phones, meaning most of the time you’d be listening to the gurgling mess that is regular Bluetooth SBC. If ever a product deserved lossless HD streaming over WiFi…this just seems like a complete missed opportunity. Sad! And then there are the new Marshall Headphones Bluetooth speakers, which are adding WiFi for multi-room capabilities. (Even Bluetooth speakers are ditching Bluetooth.)

Conclusions

IFA 2017 has shown us that the smart home is getting smarter, and cell phones are expanding their wireless capabilities. And thanks to new low-cost, low-powered chipsets, it’s WiFi all the way as far as connectivity. Now all we need is a protocol that runs on standard WiFi, connects multiple brands, is agnostic to the voice AI wars and has the performance to handle streamed media. Hmmm….

September 6, 2017

The Tech

FireCat

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Troubleshooting your Whole-Home WiFi Extender or Mesh Network

The top WiFi Router brands have recently introduced Whole-Home, multi-unit mesh network systems (WiFi extenders) for extending your WiFi coverage across larger buildings. Examples are Eero, Luma, Orbi, Google Wifi and Apple Airport Express. These systems comprise a base-station which is hard-wired to your internet connection, plus one or more extender units that connect wirelessly to the base station and relay the signal further than a single router can reach.

Although the latest Whole-Home systems have resolved many of the reliability issues plaguing earlier mesh networks, there is still a “hand-over” process as a device moves out of range of the base station and into range of an extender unit. For a streaming device, this hand over can sometime cause the WiFi connection to be momentarily lost, resulting in a visible or audible drop-out. Also, these systems can be confusing to configure since the base-station and the extenders may all share a single SSID (network name), and sometimes switch automatically between the 2.4GHz band and the 5GHz band so you often can’t easily tell where your devices are connected, or at what speed.

We’ve put together a few tips to help you get the most out of these set ups.

Make sure that your main base-station router (the unit wired to your internet connection or WAN) is in a central location in your home. In any mesh system, you will get the highest WiFi speed when devices can connect to this unit directly, so it makes sense to place it where it provides the strongest signal to as much of your home as possible.
Make sure that the extender units are placed where they still have a strong signal connection with the base-station – ideally within sight of the main router. Mesh networks are only effective when each unit can share a strong wireless signal, so avoid placing the extender units at the very limit of the base-station’s WiFi range.
Give your extender a different SSID name than your main router, to show you when devices switch between them.
Check to make sure that your wireless network isn’t being interfered or obstructed by a neighbor’s network. One way to remedy this is to change the channel of your access point or router.

You can check out some routers that Blackfire Research recommends here.

September 5, 2017

The Tech

Ruben Mookerjee

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Music Review: TLC, “TLC”

Fifteen years after Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was involved in a fatal car crash while filming a documentary in Honduras, the remaining members of the iconic 90’s R&B trio – TLC – “Chilli” Thomas and “T-Boz” Watkins, have released their fifth and final TLC album with the help of a Kickstarter campaign. In early 2015, they asked fans to help finance the project by donating at least $5 to reach their goal of $150,000. In less than 48 hours, they surpassed their goal and become the “fastest most funded pop project in Kickstarter history,” raising a total of $400,000. Clearly, the group that fostered feminist anthems like “No Scrubs” and “Unpretty,” are still relevant today. TLC delivers as a perfect farewell album: from opener “No Introduction” (“We don’t need no scrubs chasing waterfalls”), to empowering tracks like “Haters” and “Perfect Girls,” the album is a celebration of their history (“Way Back ft. Snoop Dogg”), their legacy (“It’s Sunny,”) their work as champions of social justice (“American Gold”), and, most heartfeltly, their fans (“Joy Ride.”) Chilli and T-Boz may be saying goodbye to new TLC music, but they’re not splitting up – they’ve promised their devoted fans that they will continue to perform together for as long as they can.

September 1, 2017

Featured Music Friday

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Throwback Thursday: Metallica Releases The Black Album

On this day in 1991, the self-titled, fifth album (commonly known as “The Black Album”) by iconic heavy metal band, Metallica, hit Number 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart. Released on August 12, the album featured five singles that are considered to be among the band’s best-known songs: “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Sad but True.” The album received widespread critical acclaim, becoming the band’s best-selling album (and one of the best-selling albums worldwide). The release of “Metallica” marked a transition in the band’s sound from thrash metal to something a bit more subdued. In 2003, the album was ranked number 252 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

August 31, 2017

This Day in Music History

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New to Netflix in September

Fall is coming upon us fast! And once that chilly weather hits, who wants to go outside, anyway? Instead, why not stay cozy and warm at home watching the latest Netflix Originals? From Colombia to “Hollywoo,” here’s what’s coming in September to our favorite streaming service!

Narcos (Season 3)

With the demise of Pablo Escobar last season, Narcos is shifting its focus to the Cali Cartel, Escobar’s former rivals and the most powerful Cartel in Columbia. Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones) will be returning as DEA agent Javier Pena. Start streaming it on September 1st!

Bojack Horseman (Season 4)

The critically-acclaimed animated series, Bojack Horseman, returns on September 8th with Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), and Amy Sedaris (Strangers With Candy) returning to voice the lead roles. The series follows the life of a beloved 90’s sitcom star, Bojack Horseman (Arnett), 20 years after his sitcoms ends – struggling to to make a name for himself (again) in “Hollywoo.”

Strong Island (Documentary)

From Netflix: “Strong Island chronicles the arc of a family across history, geography and tragedy – from the racial segregation of the Jim Crow South to the promise of New York City; from the presumed safety of middle class suburbs, to the maelstrom of an unexpected, violent death. It is the story of the Ford family: Barbara Dunmore, William Ford and their three children and how their lives were shaped by the enduring shadow of race in America.

In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Jr., the Ford’s eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. A deeply intimate and meditative film, Strong Island asks what one can do when the grief of loss is entwined with historical injustice, and how one grapples with the complicity of silence, which can bind a family in an imitation of life, and a nation with a false sense of justice.” Strong Island debuts on September 15th.

Fuller House (Season 3 – Part 1)

Fuller House, the reboot/sequel of the popular show, Full House, is returning for Part 1 of it’s third season on September 22. Fuller House is the story of D.J. Tanner-Fuller (Candace Cameron-Bure), a recently widowed mom of three. After realizing she is unable to handle the demands of a full time job as a vet and raising three kids herself, her sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and childhood best friend Kimmy (Andrea Barber), who is also a mother, offer to move in and help her bring up her children.

What Netflix Originals are you excited for in September? Tell us in the comments section, below!

August 29, 2017

For Your Entertainment

FireCat

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