Technology News

With Try Galaxy, Samsung makes it possible to try One Ui directly on the iPhone. A smart strategy that uses the web app to circumvent the Apple’s law firm’s restrictions.

With Try Galaxy, an iPhone 13 mini can become a Galaxy for testing // Source: Frandroid

The best way to choose between an iOS or Android smartphone is still to try. And Samsung understood that.

The Korean company wanted to answer a very simple dilemma: How do you get users, getting used to their iPhone, to try One Ui who will probably never bother going to a store to try a Galaxy themselves? Why not install One UI or at least a demo of the Samsung interface on your own iPhone?

How to test One UI on your iPhone?

It’s called Try Galaxy and it’s simply a web app that can be installed from Safari. To do this, go to trygalaxy.com.

Everything is explained there. Remember that you need to click the share icon to install a shortcut to the web app on your home screen.

Once done, you can access a simplified version of One Ui 5.1. You have the option to access various applications with preinstalled profiles. Bots regularly send fake text messages asking you to try features. You can even change the background image and theme.

However, it is not possible to call up the submenus or start a game, for example. A small widget also invites you to buy the latest Galaxy S23.

As I’m sure you’ve understood, it’s not so much an OS skin or simulator as it is a demonstration similar to what you can find in stores.

Samsung’s initiative is reminiscent of iTest, which worked on exactly the same principle. A web app has the advantage of being able to bypass Apple’s restrictions. With the introduction of alternative stores on iOS, will the next iteration of this One Ui demo be directly installable on iPhone? This remains speculation for the time being.

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Canonical recently announced that it will no longer ship Flatpak as part of the default installation of various official Ubuntu releases, in line with mainstream Ubuntu distribution practices. Flatpak package format has gained popularity among Linux users due to its convenience and ease of use. Canonical will focus solely on its own Snap package management system. This decision angered some community members who felt the distribution made this decision without considering its users.

The announcement was made on the Ubuntu Discourse forum, where Philipp Kewisch, Community Engineering Manager at Canonical, said:

As part of our joint effort, Ubuntu flavors have made a joint decision to customize some of Ubuntu’s default packages: the future Flatpak package, as well as packages to integrate Flatpak with Software Center. The respective packages will no longer be installed by default in the next release scheduled for April 2023, Lunar Lobster. Users who have been using Flatpak are not affected by the update as the flavors include a special migration that takes this into account. If you haven’t used Flatpak yet, you can use software from the Ubuntu repositories and the Snap Store.

For what ?

During the announcement, Kewisch said the decision stemmed from a desire to “improve the Ubuntu experience for new users while respecting how existing users personalize their own experience.” Ubuntu prioritizes deb and Snap, its standard packaging technologies, but no longer provides a standard competitor. This decision is described as a concern for consistency and simplicity for users.

By focusing on these technologies, Ubuntu claims to be able to better support the community in solving software-related problems. While Canonical doesn’t have full control over every snap package released to the Snap Store, it does have some control over the format itself. This makes it easier for Canonical to diagnose and resolve issues that arise during packaging or distribution. In addition, since Canonical operates the official Snap Store, it has some control over the quality of the packs it hosts. She can work with developers to ensure packages meet certain standards and do not contain obvious bugs or security vulnerabilities.

In comparison, Flatpak is developed and maintained by a community of contributors rather than being tied to a company or organization. According to Canonical, this can make it difficult to coordinate bug fixes or updates, as there isn’t always a single entity responsible for the technology. During the announcement, Kewisch mentioned the fragmentation issues:

In an ideal world, users have only one way to install software. If they do, they can be assured that this mechanism is community-supported and draws the most attention when it comes to fixing problems in software packages. When a new packaging technology is deployed by default, the distribution is expected to provide community support and development investment to resolve the issues. This leads to fragmentation instead of focusing on improving the technologies selected for distribution. There is a key difference between installing the base Flatpak package by default and setting up a Flatpak repository like Flathub (or something Ubuntu-specific), which has never been the case with Ubuntu and its variants. Simply removing the base Flatpak installation from the default installation does not prevent users from having problems with Flatpak applications if they install them anyway. Nor will it make these problems easier to solve.

This adds grist to the mill for Canonical, who are essentially doing this to serve their own interests. For example, because it controls the Snap Store, the company can share revenue from any proprietary Snaps available there. But while Canonical has selfish reasons for making this change, it’s important to remember that Flatpak hasn’t been phased out entirely; Users can still install the package management system manually.

impact

This decision has drawn mixed reactions within the Linux community, with some users and developers saying they owe it to the decision. Others supported Canonical’s decision and agreed with his reasoning regarding the unnecessary burden Flatpak places on support staff. Forum user Aaron Rainbolt (“arraybolt3”) said that Ubuntu tries to rarely change versions of its packages and only update them for important bug fixes, which is not the case at all with flatpaks, so users may experience instability when using them, e.g Example. In an answer, “h0lly” saw it differently:

People who choose Flatpaks do so precisely because they want the latest (stable) versions, which I think a lot of users do, as evidenced by the increasing popularity of Flatpaks.

Thanks to sandboxing, Flatpak apps usually work great right out of the box. Your image of users having bad experiences with unstable Flatpaks is largely made up. And even then, not having flatpak selected as the default source in the App Store is enough to “protect” inexperienced users. If it really mattered, it would be enough to display a small notice warning the user when selecting a Flatpak source for the first time.

Canonical doesn’t need to verify anything here. There’s absolutely nothing technical to stop the support staff from saying “sorry, you’ll need to contact the maintainer of this flatpak for assistance, we can’t help you” while also having it as a built-in option. Although I don’t think it’s as common as you say.

Rainbolt also defended the change, noting that while Flatpak was more convenient, Snap packages offered better long-term compatibility and reduced the burden on technical support staff. “An application doesn’t have to be buggy to cause problems for technical support staff. It just needs to be different from what users are used to.”

Another potential issue is that Canonical could use this decision to force upstream packages to offer a snap version, otherwise it might not be available in the default Ubuntu install.

Ubuntu clearly wanted to present this decision as a united front with its flavors, but some have questioned that. As recently as December 2022, Sean Davis, technical lead for the Xubuntu variant, was seen promoting Flatpak. While a lot can change in a few months, it seems odd that Davis only recently commented on the benefits of Flatpak:

With the addition of the flatpak and gnome-software-plugin-flatpak packages, Xubuntu now supports the flatpak package format. Now you can easily install apps from Flathub with just a few clicks. In fact, any .flatpakref or .flatpakrepo file is natively supported by GNOME software. The rationale behind Canonical’s decision remains somewhat unclear, but Flatpak users can take comfort in the fact that it’s still possible to enable the package management system, even though doing so is now a bit of a chore.

Use Flatpak

For starters, this means users must first manually install Flatpak and a dpt like Flathub before they can start installing Flatpak apps from the Ubuntu Software Center. Flatpak is part of the Universe repository, which means it’s included in the community repository for Ubuntu packages not officially supported by Canonical. Because of this, Flatpak can be installed via the Ubuntu Software Center or the GNOME Software GUI.

Once Flatpak is installed, it can be connected to a Flatpak repository like Flathub. To configure Flathub the following command can be used:

In his announcement, Kewisch addressed some concerns users might have about the decision. For example, users don’t lose access to apps that depend on the Flatpak ecosystem: we added a special migration that checks if you have Flatpak packages installed or remotes configured. If this is the case, upgrading to Lunar Lobster will not automatically remove Flatpak and related Software Center plugins. So you don’t have to worry about this change. Also, Flatpak users don’t have to worry about removing the package management system on current and older versions of Ubuntu: no, flavors do not actively remove package managers from current or older versions. This change impacts the upgrade to Lunar Lobster and beyond where it is available, but will not be installed by default on fresh installs.

Diploma

Ubuntu’s decision to default Flatpak is important, but it’s not the end of the road for Ubuntu’s package management system. As the Linux ecosystem evolves, more new technologies and approaches are likely to emerge to meet the needs of users and developers. For now, Ubuntu users who want to use Flatpak will have to adapt to the new way of doing things, but will still have access to the same wide range of Flatpak applications.

Source: LWN

And you ?

What is your opinion on the topic?

Do you think Snap can replace Flatpak in terms of features?

See also

Release of Flatpak 1.0, the framework for sandboxed desktop apps on Linux, promising to revolutionize the Linux ecosystem

Flathub reveals its current status and plans for 2023, including progress on developing an app store service

GNOME and KDE, the powerhouses of the Linux desktop, unite to create an application store based on Flatpak: can the initiative make it possible to move Windows to the desktop?

Android’s Nearby Share, also known as Nearby Share, is coming to Windows PCs. What a bit more to compete with AirDrop.

Nearby sharing from Android to Windows. // Source: Google

How do you transfer your files from your smartphone to your Windows PC? When a plain old USB cable will do, many people email their file. Cloud solutions like using Google Photos to transfer snaps always save time. What if you could do without all that, but also cable? It will be reality soon.

Apple device users, especially those with a macOS computer and an iPhone, fondly remember that AirDrop, the process of wirelessly transferring files from one Apple device to another, is still a real benefit of this ecosystem. Google just announced that its AirDrop equivalent for Android, Nearby Share, is coming to Windows PCs.

How do I use NearbyShare?

To make this possible, Google has developed a Windows app. This is currently not available in France and is still in beta, but here is how it works in brief.

It is possible to transfer almost any type of file, video, document, audio or even entire folders from any fairly new Android smartphone (Android 6 and above) to a Windows 10 PC and above. Conversely, once the application is properly configured, you can also send files from your computer to an Android smartphone.

We find the visibility system already present on Android smartphones, which allows to make the device visible to contacts, to its own devices, to everyone or even to no one, to be silent.

Source: Google

To enable Nearby Sharing on your smartphone, make sure Bluetooth is turned on, then look for the Nearby Sharing icon in your shortcuts panel.

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Cricetomys gambianus or African giant rats fascinate with their intelligence. These large rodents are so smart that they have helped save lives on several occasions. Some were specially trained Defuse landmines or track down tuberculosis. Others have learned to carry small backpacks to rescue people in disaster areas.

Unfortunately these intelligent mammals are not productive. Breeders are desperate for more breeding females because there is not enough supply to meet demand. And yet other rodents are known for their ability to breed wildly.

Fascinated, Alex Ophir, behavioral ecologist, leaned over the reproductive behavior of this kind in 2019.

Female giant rats seal their vaginas to stop reproduction

In reality, Cricetomys is gambianus closer to the hamster than the rat. This animal is about one meter long from the mustache to the end of the tail and can live up to eight years. To the great surprise of breeders, however, many females do not breed until they are four years old. Worse, some of them Stop after a successful pregnancy.

Photo credit: BBC

Baffled by this phenomenon, researchers took a closer look. They discovered that many women just didn’t have gave up having more children, but that they had literally closed their vaginas. Scientists believe that it is a hormonal manipulation of dominant females so that once they are sterilized, the others take care of them.

Nonbreeders reopen their vaginas when the dominant dies

Significant changes occur in female Cricetomys that have ceased reproduction. In this particular morphological state, their The uterus has shrunk and its vaginal opening has grown together. In addition, the chemical composition of their urine differs from that of their breeding-active conspecifics. The researchers also found that this phenomenon is reversible.

Ethologist Angela Freeman and her colleagues at Cornell University counted as many as 23 transitions in 17 female rats. Even if one of the active breeding bitches died of old age, the vaginas of the other members of the colony have opened. Keep in mind that other mammals also have hormone-modulated reproduction, such as B. those whose reproduction is seasonal.

SOURCE: SCIENCE ALERT

started in 2005, Resident Evil 4 has branded an entire generation of thrill seekers. And 18 years later, Capcom has achieved what we thought was impossible: further perfecting one of the greatest games of all time. Cap.

We’ll admit it from the start, we spent countless days – and nights – using our thumbs on our GameCube’s controllers when the original Resident Evil 4 was released. Since then we have revisited this universe many times through the various ports offered on new generations of consoles over the years.

To say that this game shaped minds as much as it shaped the industry would be an understatement.

Because it is this fourth chapter that catapults the horror saga into a new era, abandoning the fixed camera so characteristic of the three main parts. The result, more modern and accessible, has attracted new legions of fans without, however, offending the faithful. Therefore, in the eyes of many connoisseurs, Resident Evil 4 deserves a very high place in the charts of the best video games of all time.

An opinion shared by the author of these lines.

In short, both the detours of its plot and its dark universe held no more secrets for us. However, the redesign (or remake in the vernacular) that Capcom offers us today surprised us. To tie us up And above all, to amaze us.

danger in Spain

Its premise remains intact: the player embodies the special agent Leon S. Kennedy, who is assigned to a dangerous mission in Spain. In fact, he must rescue the daughter of the President of the United States, who has been kidnapped by members of an obscure cult (and with macabre intentions, of course).

His path will therefore be littered with bloodthirsty enemies, nightmarish creatures and complex puzzles. Not exactly a tourist ballad in bullfighter country, huh.

This trip to Spain will not be easy for the players either. Because Resident Evil 4 turns out to be one of the most terrifying, scary and disturbing adventures of its generation. This statement applies all the more in view of the new edition.

Breathtaking action scenes, frenetic fights, tortuous and gloomy plot…everything is done to bring strong emotions to the player.

Thanks to current technologies, the experience offered by this remake is more realistic than ever, but also more fluid. As with the recent rereads of Resident Evil 2 and 3, the aesthetics are more polished, the controls more intuitive and the result, let’s face it, even superior to the source material. That means something.

Everything is therefore not identical to the original experience, starting with the plot, which is tightened (read: shortened) at various points here.

No downtime

Some will be disappointed if some parts of the game are removed or condensed, but we have to admit that all the changes fit the story particularly well. It is thus raised to the umpteenth level, freed from any dead time.

Nevertheless, rest assured. This new adventure might be more concise, it still takes almost fifteen hours to complete and takes the time to explore every quest and every nook and cranny.

Therefore, it is often said that perfection does not exist. This is true. But this new Resident Evil 4 comes closer than any other game of its generation.

• Resident Evil 4 ★★★★1⁄2

Available for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series and PC.

This text is part of the special research section

Last December, a team of scientists led by Caroline Piaulet, a PhD student in astrophysics at the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets, published an article in the journal Nature Astronomy. Their discovery: Two exoplanets 218 light-years from Earth would be mostly made of water.

“The article explains that these exoplanets are not only large rocky spheres, they are also not gas planets,” says Caroline Piaulet, a graduate student at the University of Montreal. They have a density between the two and similar to water. We already thought that there might be planets like this since water is very abundant in the Universe, but we couldn’t see them before. This discovery prompts us to study other planets to see if we could find any with a similar composition. »

These two exoplanets are part of a planetary system known as Kepler-138, located in the Lyra constellation. The article entitled “Evidence for the volatile-rich Composition of a 1.5-Earth-radius planet” was co-authored by Caroline Piaulet, Björn Benneke and Diana Dragomir from the University of New Mexico and other co-authors from France, the United States and Austria.

way of the astrophysicist

Caroline Piaulet came to Quebec eight years ago and received her BS in Physics from the University of Montreal. In 2019 she received her PhD directly in astrophysics and studies exoplanets, i.e. planets orbiting stars other than the sun and located outside the solar system.

“The goal of my research is to better understand the composition of the exoplanets known to us,” says Caroline Piaulet. We now know more than 5000 of them, but for the most part we don’t know much other than their size. We do not know their mass and composition, nor do we know what their atmosphere is made of. My mission is to observe these exoplanets to find out more. For some time I have been working on planets slightly larger than Earth that are thought to be mostly water or methane. »

To study them, she uses modeling and data analysis, as well as data from space telescopes. She is currently working on data provided by the James Webb Telescope, the most complex and powerful ever built.

“Previously I had worked on other space telescopes like Hubble or Spitzer, but since last year we’ve been starting to have data from this telescope. What is groundbreaking about James Webb is all the types of molecules that he can detect in a planet’s atmosphere. Each molecule has a signature in the light we receive, a bit like a fingerprint. With Hubble we could see water and methane, but with James Webb we can see other molecules, for example carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia. »

The PhD student is part of a group called Early Release Science. “It allowed us to obtain the initial observations from James Webb to analyze and provide best practices to the rest of the scientific community. »

Making research accessible to young people

The researcher is also president of the organization Initiasciences, which she founded in 2021. “It’s an organization that allows young people in high school and CEGEP to do their own research while being mentored by scientists in graduate school,” she says. The aim is to awaken them to science, but also to make them understand that they are capable of doing research. For example, the young people I work with are currently studying exoplanets that we already know about but whose composition we would like to know. Others study cell biology. Everything depends on the mentors who are recruited every year. It’s a mission close to my heart. »

The small team is currently working on a system called TRAPPIST-1. “It’s a star with seven planets orbiting it, and they’re about the same mass as the planet,” says Caroline Piaulet. With the team I’m mentoring, we’re trying to understand what these planets would be made of thanks to the data from the James Webb telescope. »

Working in this field is particularly exciting for the astrophysicist at a time when a powerful telescope like James Webb is beginning to provide data. “It’s really amazing to be doing research early in my career, right now,” she says. I expect it will be a real game changer in the next five to ten years. »

This special content was created by Le Devoir’s Special Publications team, reporting to Marketing. Le Devoir’s editorial staff did not take part.

To see in the video

What has angered General Motors, one of America’s largest automakers? Portal reports that GM plans to end CarPlay support from the Chevrolet Blazer EV, due out in Q3 2023. Consolation, meager, for Apple: Android Auto will no longer play along, but for Google it will be a blessing in disguise.

The Chevrolet Blazer and its interior.

Indeed, the industrial giant is developing a new infotainment system based on Android Automotive, a real operating system that manages all the functions of the vehicle. We are far from remotely viewing applications from a smartphone. GM is by no means the first manufacturer to rely on this Google technology: Renault, BMW and Honda work to varying degrees with Android Automotive for their electric vehicles.

Android Automotive: Google on course to win the battle for the car operating systems

Something odd about this story is that Android Automotive, being very flexible, doesn’t ban the use of CarPlay. But GM seems determined not to let others use the screens on its future electric cars (even if Google benefits from them anyway). “We don’t want to develop functions that depend on the user’s smartphone,” says Mike Himche, Director of Digital Cabin Experience.

Future Blazer drivers have 8 years of free access to Google Maps and Google Assistant, while the system is compatible with Spotify, Audible and other services typically used in-car via an iPhone or Android. GM relies heavily on subscription revenue. For many automakers, this is the new Eldorado…

Listening to music or making phone calls from the iPhone to the vehicle audio system via Bluetooth is still possible. Additionally, CarPlay and Android Auto remain available in GM’s thermal models, which are progressing on a siding: the manufacturer plans to end production of thermal cars for individuals in 2035.

This is bad news for Apple, which during the last WWDC presented the new generation of CarPlay that operates closer to Android Automotive. The first compatible vehicles should be announced by the end of this year. Will the candidates be there?

Automakers are still not excited about next-gen CarPlay

Google has just released a first stable beta of its Chrome browser update 112 on PC. A new version that updates its web application support and adds some graphical elements.

Google has rolled out a first stable version of its Chrome browser update 112 beta. // Source: Google

After a first beta in early March, Google has just announced the release of a first stable version of the next Chrome 112 update on computers on Wednesday March 29th. An iteration of its world’s most popular web browser that follows the release of Chrome 111 in early March and has mostly made improvements aimed at making developers’ jobs easier.

This forecast version 112 focuses on web applications while offering some visual changes including the beginnings of a graphical overhaul coming in 2023.

A new welcome page

Source: Android Police

This is the biggest visual change in Chrome 112, and it’s minor. If you decide to switch to Google’s browser (or reinstall Chrome on a PC), a new welcome page will now prompt you to sign in to the software with your Google account.

Chrome 112 thus highlights the advantages of this choice: synchronization between your devices, “better security” to protect your passwords and the backup of your favorites. A novelty that, according to the Android Police information page, is not yet available to all users of this stable version.

The beginning of a graphic revision

Source: Frandroid screenshot

It’s very easy, but it’s a start. Chrome 112 has a new experimental feature to test some graphical changes, which can be activated via the address chrome://flags/#chrome-refresh-2023. A name that suggests that a next global visual update could see the light of day later in the year.

The changes are subtle for now: the tab bar background changes from gray to light blue, while text boxes and buttons become more rounded and the address bar slightly larger.

The end of Chrome apps

This version 112 puts a nail in the coffin of an outdated Google technology: Chrome apps. Specifically, these small pieces of software made it possible to install software from the Chrome Web Store (where you download your Chromium browser themes and extensions) and run it directly in the browser without having to install it on your storage hard drive. They can no longer be installed on Chrome 112.

However, Google has gradually abandoned them in favor of Progressive Web Apps (PWA). These use web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to provide an experience similar to a native application installed on your device, but in a separate window from Chrome.

If Chrome apps have been scheduled to stop working since December 2022, Google has extended their lifespan so as not to stop businesses that rely on them from using them. A hidden option still makes it work for Chrome 113 and 114, but after that it’s over.

Even faster web applications

Conversely, Chrome 112 will also optimize the loading of PWA web applications. Specifically, when loading a web app, the browser also attempts to retrieve elements that allow it to work offline or temporarily cache data.

In many cases, these elements are not integrated into the web application, which slows down its loading time. Google Chrome 112 will therefore automatically skip loading these items if the developers have indicated that there are none.

Google highlights its privacy toolkit

Source: Frandroid screenshot

Back in February, Google introduced a new toolkit called “Privacy Sandbox” that offers Chrome users new settings to manage the data they share with the websites they visit.

This new page is now powered by Chrome 112. In particular, it makes it possible to prevent certain websites from showing you personalized advertising and to block advertising for specific areas of interest.

Where to test this beta version of Chrome 112?

This version 112 in stable beta of the Google browser is currently available for Windows, Mac and Android. You can go to the dedicated Google Chrome page to download the version compatible with your device.

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