Technology

Google calls it a “roadmap for future redesigns”, but you can call it “making Android less of a confusing hellscape”

Your smartphone is a mess of buttons and menus. While the hamburger menu and settings cog have become ubiquitous, dig a little deeper and you’re still presented with an eclectic grab bag of options. With the release of Android P, Google is trying to change that. Again. Material Design, Google’s attempt to make sense of the unrelenting mess that is software design, launched in 2014. It brought with it new guidelines for how not just smartphone and tablet apps, but all software, should look and feel. More importantly it tried to formalise how they should behave when a human used them. For developers, it provided handy tips and tools for making software easier to use. For users, it was meant to make smartphones, tablets and laptops more intuitive. It didn’t. So now, four years after Google launched its Material Design vision, it’s having another go. And it’s a vision of the near future that is particularly important for the success of Android P. Material Design might not be the solution to how we design apps, but it is at least a solution. As Matias Duarte, the head of the Material Design group at Google, told The Verge: “A lot of both the designer and developer community took it as a ‘gospel’”. Since its launch, failure to adhere properly to Material Design on Android has made your app look like a mess. READ NEXT Forget leather, the future of fashion is all about fish skin Forget leather, the future of fashion is all about fish skin By KATIA MOSKVITCH The most common complaint from developers, which ultimately translated into you getting confused while using an app, was that Material Design wasn’t flexible enough. Companies that were happy to abide by Google’s strict design rules ended up with an app that looked too generic, which created a sea of interfaces that looked flat, boring and bland. As a result, many apps – especially those from larger companies – eschewed Google’s design wisdom and ploughed their own furrow.
Material Theming ”We spent two years telling people ‘this is how to make Material yours’, and it didn’t work,” Duarte said shortly after Google lifted the lid on its updated vision for software design. And its new guidelines for Material Design make the reason for that failure abundantly clear: to make apps, and software in general, easier to use, it is important that buttons and menus have a similar form and function – it isn’t important that they look exactly alike. And that’s where Material Theming comes in. Google calls it a “roadmap for future redesigns”, but you can call it “making Android less of a confusing hellscape”. Google’s renewed drive for design consistency is based on making apps work in a similar way while retaining their own individuality. In short: two calendar apps might look totally different, but you should immediately know how to make an appointment in either of them without having to learn a whole new interface. Material Theming is Google’s attempt to help this way of thinking along. Change the colour or typography of the app you’re working on, for example, and the rest of the app’s design will change accordingly. In practical terms, it means that developers can make their app feel distinct without chucking buttons and options all over the place. As Google readily admits, the restrictive nature of Material Design made adding flair and identity to an app without sacrificing its ease of use and consistency “tedious and inefficient”. A new tool called Material Theme Editor lets developers change one theme value and have it change throughout the design. READ NEXT How to create the ultimate high-tech, stylish home office How to create the ultimate high-tech, stylish home office By CHRIS HASLAM And Google is even practicing what it preaches. The new versions of Gmail, Google News, Google Play and Google Home all use Material Theming to create a “cohesive, branded experience”. As the new-look Gmail shows, Google has been using Material Design to change how its apps and services work on all types of devices. On the all-new Google News, which uses artificial intelligence to curate lists of relevant and related stories, the new Material Design tools have been used to formalise and set font types to make it easier to draw people’s attention to the most important headlines.

New EU regulations mean teens may need to get parental consent to use apps – but no one’s clear on how it will work

It's clogged up your inbox with pleading emails, but another unintended consequence of GDPR could be bad news for teenagers. The European data laws coming into effect this week will introduce new rules around kids and online services, in some cases requiring children under 16 to get parental consent before using apps that ask for personal data. The idea behind the age limit is to give additional protection to young people when it comes to their personal data, but some app developers and experts argue that it could have the unintended consequence of preventing teens from accessing educational information and taking part in digital society – not to mention that no one really knows how to make age verification work, anyway. Ida Tin, founder and CEO of period-tracking app Clue, says she is concerned that the requirement for under-16s to get parental consent will prevent young women from benefiting from the app’s services, especially if they may be embarrassed to ask their parents for consent. “You can imagine being a young woman getting your first period maybe at age 13, 14, or even younger, and then having to ask your parents to use this app to explain what’s going on in your body is a really hard thing to do,” she says. “I think for a lot of people that will basically mean that they won’t get access to the educational information that someone like Clue provides.” READ NEXT Psychological microtargeting could actually save politics Psychological microtargeting could actually save politics By SANDRA MATZ The new rules around age limits and parental consent are part of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The rules lay out the ways in which companies can collect and process personal information. One of the things GDPR covers is the circumstances under which a company can legally process someone’s personal data. One such circumstance is if the company has consent from the subject of the data. However, the regulations acknowledge that children may not be able to give consent for their data to be processed as they cannot be expected to understand the risks and consequences. Therefore, they state that “where the child is below the age of 16 years, such processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that consent is given or authorised by the holder of parental responsibility over the child”. Essentially: if you’re under 16, your parent or guardian has to give consent for the company to use your data. Not all European countries have the same age limit of 16 – GDPR leaves some wiggle room to lower that threshold to as low as 13 (which has been the general standard across the US and Europe until now – hence social media platforms like Facebook requiring users to be at least that old). The UK and Ireland have opted to keep the age of consent at 13, while countries including France, the Netherlands and Germany have moved to adopt the 16 limit. In response, some apps have simply changed their age restrictions to say that users must be 16 to use them at all; last month, WhatsApp updated the minimum age of European users to 16 (though you still only have to be 13 to use it in the US). Facebook still allows 13-year-olds to sign up, though they will need parental consent to access some features such as personalised ads. One obvious issue with the regulations is the difficulty of actually telling if a child is underage or not. GDPR does not specify how services should verify that their users are of age and/or have parental consent, save to say that they need to make “reasonable efforts” to do so. If a child says that they are over 16, it’s unclear how a company is supposed to check that – and it’s difficult to believe that all under-16s are suddenly going to leave WhatsApp just because of a change in T&Cs. READ NEXT The big problem with big data? Without theory, it's just garbage The big problem with big data? Without theory, it's just garbage By ROGER HIGHFIELD And to thoroughly verify that a child has parental consent, companies would presumably need to know the identity of both child and parent in order to establish that the consent is legitimate – a level of verification that goes well beyond most apps’ sign-up procedures. Tin says that Clue will require users to verify their age and provide parental consent where relevant. Underage users who do not have parental consent will be able to browse the app but not sign up for an account. But she is realistic about the company's ability to verify age. “If there’s a 12-year-old who says that she’s 13, we cannot check that,” she says. And for Clue, she says, this can have another unfortunate knock-on effect, as the company also collaborates with academics on research around women’s health, and people giving false information can skew their data. “Fundamentally we have to trust the data people give us, but it’s not a great solution to pretend we think everyone just suddenly turned 16,” she says. “That’s really sub-optimal.” She also worries that the requirement to get parental consent will stop some teens from accessing information that could help them understand more about their health and changing bodies, for example if they are too scared to ask for permission to access a period-tracking app. “We see again and again that really young women need support – the education system is not giving them what they need,” she says. “My fear is that women will have less access to information and education.” Tin wants to see regulators explicitly consider the issue of women’s health when making new rules. “I would argue that if you had to go ask your dad or your mum to ask them about using a fitness tracker, that’s really different to going and asking to use a period-tracking app – unfortunately,” she says.

WIRED picks out the best choices of PC games from the enormous choice available in Steam's Summer sale 2018.

If you want to keep out of the sun for a bit this summer, pick up some cheap games on Steam to play while you do. The Summer Sale has arrived once again, with big price drops everywhere for the next two weeks, and this year, a new gimmick in the form of browser game Saliens, which gives you the chance to win games and Steam trading cards. Just make sure you get what you want before the end of the sale: July 5, at 6PM. In the meantime, these are WIRED's pick of the Steam sale deals. Prey On board a space station orbiting the moon, you play as Mogan Yu, a test subject now left alone with a host of violent alien invaders. Fortunately for you, you’ve got some strange new powers to help you survive. With plenty of options with how to proceed, you can play in the way that you want. It's current 50 per cent off at £9.99.
As a mix of a god and a civil engineer, grow a tiny town into the perfect metropolis, pouring hours into solving traffic jams, allocating neighbourhoods and sculpting your new site for expansion. If you fancy adding more ingredients into the simulation, check out the many expansion packs also on sale.

European Parliament to charge search engines to link to sites and require service providers to automatically censor copyrighted content, the popular Stylish browser extension has been caught collecting user data.

Your WIRED daily briefing. Today, the European Parliament will vote on copyright laws to charge search engines to link to sites and require service providers to automatically censor content, commissioner Cressida Dick has defended the Met Police facial recognition programme, the popular Stylish browser extension has been caught collecting user data, and more. GET WIRED'S DAILY BRIEFING IN YOUR INBOX. SIGN UP HERE 1. MEPs vote today on 'disastrous' online copyright changes Today, Members of the European Parliament will vote on a new copyright law, which currently includes two controversial sections: Article 11, which will require online platforms such as search engines and news aggregators to pay publications if they link to them, and Article 13, which makes copyright enforcement the responsibility of online service providers and asks them to use content recognition technology to censor material at the point of upload (BBC News). Campaigners including Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales warn that the "disastrous" move could make it "impossible to share a newspaper article on social networks or find it on a search engine." Spanish and Italian editions of Wikipedia temporarily suspended their services in protest against the articles, which are significant blots on an otherwise a much-needed update to bring copyright law into line with modern technology. 2. Dick defends Met Police facial recognition programme Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick has told the London Assembly that she is "completely comfortable" with the ongoing deployment of facial recognition technology in the capital and says that "we’re going to carry on with the trial" (The Register). The hearing follows the release of figures indicating that the technology, which has been used four times in London this year, had a 98 per cent false positive rate, with only two accurate matches so far, and no associated arrests. Dick says that it's working as intended, saying that the face-scanning system – which has been criticised as being invasive and liable to chill citizens' inclination to peacefully protest or attend public events – is working as planned, describing it as "a tool ... a tactic. I’m not expecting it to result in lots of arrests." READ NEXT Thursday briefing: EU calls for international ban on autonomous weapons of war Thursday briefing: EU calls for international ban on autonomous weapons of war By WIRED 3. Popular browser extension caught spying on its users Stylish, the popular browser extension that lets you change the look and feel of websites you view, has been spying on its users for over a year, sending back complete records of their browsing data, complete with a unique identifier that (The Register). That's a huge breach of privacy and it gets even worse for people who created an account to download and share new themes for the plug-in, which can easily be linked to their real-world email address and identity, software engineer Robert Heaton has warned. Browser makers have reacted promptly and extension has already been removed from the Chrome and Firefox extension stores. 4. Thought Rosetta had it tough? Scientists are about to attempt an even more daring space landing Japan’s Hayabusa2 has finally arrived in orbit around Ryugu after travelling for three and a half years, while US’s OSIRIS-Rex is on target to arrive at Bennu in August (WIRED). Both spacecraft are engaged in asteroid sample return missions that will help scientists piece together how planets form and tease future plans for asteroid mining. But the asteroids are four times smaller and even harder to land on than the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko that the intrepid Rosetta probe and its lander, Philae, arrived at in 2014. Ryugu is about 865 meters in diameter, spinning like a top for days just seven and a half hours long. Bennu is under 500 meters, roughly twice the width of the river Thames at London Bridge, with an even shorter day of just over four hours. 5. Researchers create viable northern white rhino hybrid embryos Scientists have successfully used IVF to create viable embryos using sperm from the virtually extinct northern white rhino – whose last male, Sudan, died in March (The Economist). In a significant trial procedure, researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany and Italian biotech firm Avantea combined northern white rhino spermatozoa with immature egg cells from the closely related southern white rhino, successfully creating blastocysts that developed into seven potentially implantable embryos. However, although there is a cache of preserved northern white rhino sperm, there aren't any eggs currently stored, the process of extracting them is difficult and only two – infertile – females remain of the species. Popular on WIRED Google’s artificial intelligence ethics won't curb war by algorithm Metadata, used to select targets for US drone strikes, is drawn from a web of intelligence sources, much of it harvested from mobile phones – including text messages, email, web browsing behaviour, location, and patterns of behaviour. While the US army and CIA are secretive about how they select targets – a process known as the kill chain – metadata plays a role. Big data analytics, business intelligence and artificial intelligence systems are then used to spot the correlations that supposedly identify the target. "We kill people based on metadata," said the former head of the CIA Michael Hayden in 2014.

After a string of setbacks, the launch date for the James Webb Space telescope has been pushed back to 2021
The launch of the James Webb Space telescope has been delayed, again, Nasa announced last week, after an “acoustics test anomaly” set things back. The new launch date for the world’s “next great astronomy observatory” has been scheduled for March 30, 2021, after budget overruns and test issues has resulted in a string of unforeseen delays. Nasa cited misplaced optimism as the underlying problem here – for an observatory of this scale, the slightest oversight can lead to untold issues. An independent review board set up by Nasa to ensure oversight concluded that there are “no small” problems on a beast of this size. “The complexity and highly integrated nature of the observatory” mean that “a very small human error or test anomaly can impact the schedule by months and the cost by tens of millions of dollars,” the board wrote. Not all problems on a telescope of this size are small, however: tears in the tennis-court sized sunshield, at the hands of contractor Northrop Grumman, were one of the reasons launch was delayed earlier this year, Nasa announced back in March, when launch was rescheduled for May 2020 after an initial due date of October 2018 was abandoned. Since the beginning of the project in 1996, after multiple delays and expanded scope, its budget has exploded from $0.5 billion to $9.6 billion. This ballooning has added a further $800 million to costs, meaning Congress has to re-approve the spending increase if Webb is eventually to go ahead.

The best laptops for students heading to university or kids going back to school in 2018

 


Whether you’re off to immerse yourself in fluid dynamics or Gide, need a lightweight laptop for lectures or a powerhouse for creative software, or simply want something cheap for your fourth child’s GCSEs, there’s a laptop here for you.

We have another guide to the best laptops that might interest you and those who want a tablet should read our best tablets guide.

WIRED Recommends is your definitive guide to the best technology. Click here for more no-nonsense buying guides.

WIRED Recommends: Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch

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The best smartphones for any budget in 2018

The best smartphones for any budget in 2018
By WIRED

Pros: Powerful and gorgeous
Cons: Expensive upgrades

A Mac is never going to be a cheap option, but if you’re after a hugely powerful laptop that can handle any task, from writing essays to graphic design, from video editing to coding, the MacBook Pro is it.

Apple has recently revamped the Touch Bar models from the range with Intel’s latest processors, but if you go for the 13in model without a Touch Bar, you can pick one up for an almost-reasonable £1,249. For that you get a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a beautiful 2,560x1,600-pixel screen.

Those planning to use their Mac for creative work (and anything to do with 4K video) may want to budget for a larger SSD. The MacBook Pro also only comes with two USB-C ports, so you may need an adaptor or two to plug in USB flash drives, printers or a network cable.

Apple also sells a 15in variant of this machine, which is ideal for anyone who wants a larger screen – especially for photography or video projects. The 15in version has a slightly higher Retina resolution, quicker processors and dedicated AMD graphics, so, while it’s larger and heavier, it’s also a more capable workhorse.

READ NEXT
These are best tablets for any budget in 2018

These are best tablets for any budget in 2018
By WIRED

Finally, it's well worth considering that Apple offers a student discount, reducing the non-Touch Bar and Touch Bar models to £1,125 and £1,575, respectively.

Price: £1,249 | Check price on Apple.com

Best cheap alternative: HP 15-da0047na

Pros: Affordable price; good performance
Cons: Not enough power for gaming or video editing

If your budget doesn’t stretch to a shiny Apple machine, this HP ticks all the boxes you need for an affordable, reliable laptop that’ll last a few years without fuss. Its 15.6in, Full HD screen is large enough to double as your TV for Netflix, YouTube and co, while a decent Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of memory and 128GB SSD ensure snappy everyday performance.

READ NEXT
The best smartwatches for Android and iPhone in 2018

The best smartwatches for Android and iPhone in 2018
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There are smaller, more portable laptops, but at 1.7kg it’s light enough to cart around campus. It isn’t up to much gaming, unless you love Minecraft, and video editing will be sluggish, but there’s little it won’t do. All-day battery life is just what you need, too.

Price: £449 | Check price on HP.com

Best MacBook alternative: Dell XPS 13

Pros: Loads of specification options, great ergonomics, stylish exterior
Cons: No dedicated graphics

Dell’s latest slim laptop looks just as good as Apple’s machines thanks to its mix of aluminium and carbon fibre, and its 1.2kg weight and 12mm body mean you’ll barely notice it in your bag.

READ NEXT
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You can configure this machine with touchscreens, high-end processors and 4K panels, and it’s available in silver or rose gold colours. And, if you don’t want to spend loads of cash on this machine, the entry-level models start at £1,198 and include 8th-Gen Core i5 processors, 8GB of memory and 256GB SSDs.

The keyboard and touchpad remain excellent, and you get Thunderbolt and USB-C options. You can even switch it up and opt for the hybrid alternative if you’d like a little more versatility.

The XPS 13 is just as eye-catching and capable as a MacBook, and it’s often a lot cheaper. If you want to stick with Windows, it’s an excellent option.

Price: £1,099 | Check price on Amazon.co.uk

Best for work and games: MSI GL62MVR

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WIRED Recommends: The best gadgets and gear in 2018

WIRED Recommends: The best gadgets and gear in 2018
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Pros: Nothing it can’t cope with
Cons: You’ll need a big bag

Their parents may not approve, but there are plenty of students who would rather play games in between essays than watch Countdown. And where’s the harm in spending a little more on a laptop that’s built for entertainment as well as work?

Its 2.4kg weight means you’ll certainly notice the MSI GL62MVR in your backpack, but the trade-off is more than enough power for intensive applications and the latest games. There’s no major compromise in the laptop’s specification despite its reasonable price, with a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, a 256GB SSD for applications and a 1TB hard disk for your files.

There’s also a 15.6in Full HD screen with a high-quality IPS panel, and the MSI’s GeForce GTX 1060 graphics have enough power to play any modern game at high quality settings.

Price: £780 | Check price on Overclockers.co.uk

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Best for portability: Acer Chromebook 14

Acer
Pros: Great value for money
Cons: Chrome OS might be too limiting for some

A laptop thinner and lighter than a MacBook Air, with a Full HD screen and 10 hours of battery life, for £300? There must be a catch.

And there is, of sorts. The Chromebook runs Google’s Chrome OS, a Linux-based operating system that mainly exists to launch the Chrome web browser.

For many students, this could be all they need. Google Docs can take care of your word processing and spreadsheets (and can import Word and Excel files), while Google Keep is great for notes. You can store all your files in the cloud in Google Drive, and the Chromebook can keep several gigabytes of documents in local storage so you can carry on working when offline.

READ NEXT
The best 4K TVs for gaming, movies and more in 2018

The best 4K TVs for gaming, movies and more in 2018
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Chrome OS even now works with USB printers, although setup can be fiddly. If web applications are all you need, a Chromebook is a great budget choice – and it can also work as a portable counterpart to a more versatile desktop PC.

Price: £300 | Check price on Amazon.co.uk

CHROME OS EXPLAINED
WHAT IS CHROME OS?
Chrome OS is an operating system from Google based entirely on the Chrome web browser. Instead of installing applications, you use web applications like Google Docs in the Chrome browser. A laptop with Chrome OS is a called a Chromebook.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES?
Chromebooks are generally cheaper than similar Windows laptops, but that isn't the only advantage. Chromebooks are more or less impervious to viruses and malware, and because they're so simple there's little to go wrong. The simple operating system also means Chromebooks boot very quickly, have good battery life and don't suffer from bloatware and slow down over time.
WHAT ARE THE DOWNSIDES?
While many of the applications people use have good web app equivalents, that's not always the case. For example, if you rely on Adobe Photoshop then you might find the online alternatives too restrictive. And, while you can store Google Docs offline, you can't store a big music collection on a Chromebook. That's fine if you use music streaming services, but Chromebooks require an internet connection to do most things.
Best desktop replacement Asus ROG GL703G

Pros: Huge 120Hz screen, loads of gaming power, surprisingly slim

Cons: Still relatively heavy, battery life is poor



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By WIRED

Picture the scene. You’re off to university to study meteorology. Your new room is smaller than a tollbooth. There’s no space for a desktop computer and, frankly, there’s no way you’re going to cope for three years without playing Cyberpunk 2077.

What you need is a no-compromise laptop that can do everything your desktop can do, whether that’s playing games or, of course, modelling weather patterns. The Asus ROG GL703GM is such a machine. For £1,500 you get a high-end quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM and both an SSD for fast boot times and a 1TB hard disk for masses of storage.

There’s also a huge 17in Full HD screen with a butter-smooth 120Hz refresh rate and a GeForce GTX 1060 graphics chipset, which will handle any current game at high detail levels.

If you want even more power – or more customisation options – then consider the Dell Alienware 17 as an alternative. It’s much heavier, thicker and more expensive than the Asus, but it’s worth considering if you want to tweak the spec or shell out more cash for a no-holds-barred portable.

Price: £1,499 | Check price on Overclockers.co.uk