Nuclear experts to Trump: More than tweets are needed to stop North Korea

January 16, 2017

Despite the efforts of the last three American presidents, North Korea has continued advancing as a nuclear state. Can Donald Trump rein in the rogue state any better?
In a televised New Year’s Day address to his nation, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced his resolve to develop a missile capable of reaching the U. S. mainland.
“We will continue to build up our self-defense capability, the pivot of which is the nuclear forces, and the capability for preemptive strike,” he said.
President-elect Trump responded the next day on Twitter: “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U. S. It won’t happen!”
“It’s just a statement of resolve without any indication of how he’s going to prevent it,” said John Delury, an associate professor of Chinese studies at Seoul’s Yonsei University. “And, of course, it’s all about the how.”
The value of all the unpaid labor that North Koreans are forced to perform by their government amounts to around $975 million annually, according to a new report by Open North Korea, a Seoul-based NGO.
The report, titled “Sweatshop, North Korea,” estimates that 400,000 people are in the lowest…
The value of all the unpaid labor that North Koreans are forced to perform by their government amounts to around $975 million annually, according to a new report by Open North Korea, a Seoul-based NGO.
The report, titled “Sweatshop, North Korea,” estimates that 400,000 people are in the lowest…
The United States and its allies have tried a variety of tools to prevent North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated countries, from developing and deploying nuclear weapons.
But diplomatic negotiations stalled in 2008, and a series of economic sanctions and aid have at times slowed, but not stopped, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
In the 1990s, then-President Clinton helped win agreement to close a North Korean nuclear facility in exchange for aid — a deal that ultimately fell apart. His successor, George W. Bush, sought a change in government in Pyongyang.
The Obama administration has demanded that Pyongyang denuclearize while also trying to get other countries in the region to oppose the country’s efforts.
The strategies haven’t worked. Most security experts now believe North Korea is, in fact, an established nuclear state — perhaps possessing more than a dozen devices. A key question now, analysts such as Delury say, is whether the nation has the tools to deploy the weapons globally.
North Korea has numerous missiles, some of them mobile and outfitted with reengineered Russian technology. America’s allies in the region, such as Japan and South Korea, whose capital is 120 miles from Pyongyang, are already on edge about short- and intermediate-range capabilities.
Long-range missiles remain a major goal, and in his New Year’s speech, Kim said the North Korean military was close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Since he took power in late 2011, Kim has supervised tests for dozens of missiles, including some that, in theory, could be launched from submarines. His country has also tested at least three nuclear devices, drawing ire from much of the international community, including Pyongyang’s longtime ally China.
Given the North’s advances in missile development, Trump’s administration now faces fewer options than previous presidents. Some include convincing North Korea that its nuclear program threatens the Pyongyang government’s survival. There’s also the possibility of a negotiated agreement involving regional countries — and perhaps more economic and political pressure from China and Russia.
Chun Yung-woo, a former South Korean national security advisor who has participated in talks with North Korea, sees in Trump’s confident tweets a leader who finally might make headway with Kim.
“I see the advent of Trump as an opportunity,” said Chun, now a senior advisor at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. “In dealing with unconventional leaders like Kim Jong Un, I think a leader like Trump, another unconventional leader, could help. I don’t think a conventional approach works better.”
Others are more skeptical.
Duyeon Kim, a Seoul-based researcher at Georgetown University’s Institute of the Study of Diplomacy, questioned, for example, Trump’s decision to weigh in on Twitter.
Trump punctuated his recent tweet with “It won’t happen!” Does that mean Trump does not believe North Korea can achieve the missile capacity, she asked, or that he will find a way to stop it? She said the president-elect’s public resolve could be an opportunity for diplomacy — or a disaster.
“I seriously hope Trump does not mean he will stop the North with force,” she said. “Trump needs a real North Korea policy and strategy, and Twitter is not the forum through which to create one.”
Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California, said North Korea’s desire for long-range missiles would be difficult for any president today to stop.
“I don’t think there’s any way that he’s come up with a silver-bullet solution that he said in his tweet,” said Hanham, who closely examines North Korea’s propaganda photos to gather clues about its military capabilities. “This is actually a very complex quagmire with all sorts of variables that he can’t stop with sheer force of will.”
In his speech, Kim also left a narrow opening for a diplomatic solution, subtly suggesting that the nation might halt its work if the United States and South Korea stop their regular war exercises on the North’s “doorstep.”
Delury, the Yonsei professor, took to Twitter to discuss the diplomatic opening in Kim’s remarks. He also noted that Trump had been relatively restrained in his tweets — not personally insulting Kim, for example. The North Koreans, in turn, haven’t attacked Trump.
“They have left themselves room to at least explore what a preliminary deal might look like,” he said.
What values does Hollywood promote? A storm that hit Northern California toppled the Pioneer Cabin Tree. Who should discipline police officers? Michelle King has made no big waves in her first year running Los Angeles Unified. A state watchdog agency is investigating political donations connected to real estate developer Samuel Leung. The Chargers are moving to L. A. Obama’s legacy: part 1. California’s drought conditions have improved in the northern part of the state.
The Chargers are moving to L. A., Obama’s legacy: part 1, California’s drought conditions have improved in the northern part of the state, and Sean McVay, the new Los Angeles Rams coach , becomes the youngest NFL head coach in modern history.
Video by Al Seib / Los Angeles Times
The family of 16-year-old Jose Mendez, who was fatally shot by the LAPD last year, released surveillance video of the February 2016 shooting.
Donald Trump’s independent streak was on vivid display at Wednesday’s news conference. Is the great California drought finally calling it quits? Michelle King has made no big waves in her first year running Los Angeles Unified. A state watchdog agency is investigating political donations connected to real estate developer Samuel Leung.
Donald Trump’s independent streak was on vivid display at Wednesday’s news conference. Is the great California drought finally calling it quits? Michelle King has made no big waves in her first year running Los Angeles Unified. A state watchdog agency is investigating political donations connected to real estate developer Samuel Leung.

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© Source: http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-north-korea-nukes-20170103-story.html
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Can Korea handle the truth about Japan’s 'comfort women'?

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January 16, 2017

W ith its recall of two diplomats this week, Japan appears to have upped the ante in its long-running dispute with Korea over its use of wartime sex slaves, reigniting enmities over an issue that had until recently seemed tantalisingly close to a conclusion.
And standing in the way of what might have been a watershed moment in diplomatic relations between the two countries? The statue of a teenage girl.
Rewind just a year and it appeared Seoul and Tokyo had reached a measure of closure over wartime Japan’s use of what were euphemistically known as “comfort women” – the reportedly hundreds of thousands of women, mainly from Korea, recruited to serve in its military-run brothels during the second world war.
But any lingering such notions were dispelled when Nagamine Yasumasa, the ambassador to South Korea, and Morimoto Yasuhiro, the consul general in Busan, returned to Japan on January 9.
That move, prompted by Tokyo’s displeasure over statues symbolising “comfort women” in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul and consulate in Busan, was the first high-level diplomatic recall by Japan since August 2012, when South Korea’s then president, Lee Myung-bak, visited the disputed islets of Dokdo (known as Takeshima in Japan).
Yet chances of the two countries putting the issue behind them had once, albeit briefly, seemed so promising. On December 28, 2015, Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se struck a landmark deal in which Tokyo agreed to pay 1 billion yen (HK$67 million) to the surviving victims and issue a formal apology.
For its part, South Korea agreed to consider the matter resolved and to speak with relevant organisations about the removal of the comfort woman statue in front of the embassy. So when Japan paid the 1 billion yen and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologised, hopes of closure on the issue – and a new era for Japanese-Korean relations – did not seem so far-fetched.
Except Korea then decided that Abe’s apology did not go far enough and therefore the matter was not resolved. Not only does the statue in front of the Seoul embassy remain standing, it now has a sister. In December 2016 – one year after that “landmark deal” – a replica of the statue was installed outside the Japanese consulate in Busan. That statue was briefly confiscated by police, as the group that installed it had done so without a permit, but it returned after a flood of protests from the public.
Tokyo asked for both statues to be removed, but Seoul replied that it had spoken to the civic groups involved and had no further responsibility. This led Tokyo to recall the diplomats and Woo Sang-ho, floor leader of the Minjoo Party of Korea, to suggest that, rather than remove the statues, Korea should return the 1 billion yen.
Since then, public opinion on each side of the debate has hardened, and what had seemed like a watershed moment now appears more like a stalemate.
The United States seems to have backed Seoul in the deadlock, with Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday commending Korea for faithfully implementing its side of the 2015 agreement.
Yet it may be that much of the blame for the deadlock lies not with the former aggressor, Japan, but with its victim.
“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely,” the English poet John Milton said in his polemic Areopagitica , which begins by paying respect to England for overcoming the tyranny of Charles I.
Similarly, any criticism of Korea should begin with an acknowledgement of the admirable distance it has travelled from the stupid and corrupt leadership of the Joseon era, the maniacal raping and pillaging of Japanese colonialists and the bloodthirsty dictatorships of its early democracy. Korea has come a long way and deserves a great measure of respect as a free and open society, but as Milton puts it, the freedom to speak must be paired with the freedom to know.
For this reason, it is perhaps telling that in this debate, one party refuses to entertain dissenting views, while the other at least consents to look at all the evidence.
While Japan considers other views – modern awareness of the “comfort women” issue began with the Japanese writer Senda Kakou – the Korean government is hostile to any voices that depart from its narrative. This should be a red flag.
Park Yu-ha, a professor of Japanese literature at Seoul’s Sejong University, published a book in 2013 titled Comfort Women of Empire , in which she detailed a nuanced history that included not only sex slaves, but prostitutes. She criticised Japanese right-wing extremists, argued that Japan should take responsibility for its actions, explained how its past attempts to do so had failed and described the role Korean collaborators played in trafficking Korean women for financial gain. In February 2015, the Korean government ordered her to redact 34 passages. In January 2016, a Korean court ordered her to pay 10 million won (HK$65,000) each to nine former comfort women for defamation.
This should be weighed alongside the scandal regarding Korea’s state-authored textbooks that depict the dictator Park Chung-hee in a favourable light. One might reply to this that Japan, too, has its own textbook scandal, involving books that depict its wartime atrocities in a favourable light, but those textbooks were created by a private right-wing group and were only ever used by 0.02 per cent of Japanese middle schools.
If anything, the textbooks are evidence of Japan’s freedom of speech – as are the schools in Japan that openly teach North Korean propaganda, something that would be illegal in South Korea. Officially, this illegality is because the South is still technically at war with the North, but there are plenty of other examples of Korean censorship. The country banned Japanese manga until 1998, restricted Japanese music until 1999 and restricted Japanese film until 2004. In 2014, the Korean song Uh-ee by the K-pop group Crayon Pop, was banned because it contained a Japanese word, pikapika (sparkling).
Restrictions on free speech – of which Korea seems fond – tend to injure and blur the truth.
Given this, it’s worth returning to the issue of “comfort women” to consider what ought to be a basic, objective, fact – the number of Korean victims involved.
The Korea Herald has repeatedly cited “up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea”, and this is in line with other Korean sources. But this number deserves more attention than it tends to get.
In The Comfort Women: Sexual Violence and Postcolonial Memory in Korea and Japan , Chunghee Sarah Soh, a professor of anthropology at San Francisco State University who specialises in issues related to gender and sexuality, says the widely cited figure of 200,000 comes from a 1981 essay in the Hanguk Ilbo by Yun Cheong-ok, a professor of English literature who claims that of 200,000 “volunteers” only 50,000 to 70,000 were sent to the front lines to become comfort women.
Yun “did not reveal the source of the figures given in her essay”, Soh says. She tells us a writer named Kim Teok-seong used the same figures a decade earlier in an article in Seoul Sinmun , and provides an excerpt.
“From 1943 to 1945 approximately 200,000 Korean and Japanese women were mobilised as cheongsindae [comfort women for the Japanese military],” Kim wrote. “The estimated number of Koreans among them is between fifty and seventy thousand.”
In other words, according to these sources, not all 200,000 were used as comfort women, and even of those that were, not all were Korean. On the other hand, Kim makes no mention of recruits prior to 1943, when most comfort women survivors say they were recruited.
One way or the other – whether too high or low – the often-cited 200,000 figure is highly questionable.
Yet any such suggestion would be shouted down in Korea, or never even heard, creating an echo chamber of opinion. This does an injustice not only to truth and Korean democracy, but to the victims, as well.
As the diplomatic battle with Tokyo continues, Seoul’s best weapon isn’t the outrage of the public, but a forum in which all ideas can be heard and openly defeated, or accepted.
“There can be no denial of the tragic victimisation of forcibly recruited women,” Soh concludes, adding that “it was Japan’s colonialism that undoubtedly facilitated the large-scale victimisation of tens of thousands of Korean women”.
But “the causes of surviving victims’ lifelong sufferings are often more complex and divergent than the nationalistic and transnational discourse of Japan’s comfort women phenomenon would suggest”. ■

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© Source: http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2062028/can-korea-handle-truth-about-japans-comfort-women
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Former U. N. chief Ban throws weight behind THAAD deployment

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January 16, 2017

Former United Nations chief and presumptive South Korean presidential candidate Ban Ki-moon has backed the deployment later this year of a U. S. anti-missile system to the country amid North Korea’s progress in its nuclear and missile programs.
“Given the reality of the Korean Peninsula being in an almost quasi-war situation, it is right for the government to take such a measure,” Ban was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying during a trip to the South Korean Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul. “I understand that it is to be deployed for defensive purposes as North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and accumulate ballistic missile technology,” he said.
North Korea conducted two nuclear tests last year and launched more than 20 missiles as part of its ramped up weapons programs. In a New Year’s address, leader Kim Jong Un said his country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system has stoked concerns in Beijing and Moscow that its X-band radar can peer into the two countries. Media reports have also cited Chinese officials as saying that the true purpose of the deployment is to track missiles launched from China. Seoul and Washington have said THAAD will only be used to defend against North Korean ballistic missiles.
Moscow and Beijing said Thursday that they had agreed to take unspecified “countermeasures” in response to the move.
Ban, who was foreign minister under late President Roh Moo-hyun, reportedly brushed off Russian and Chinese criticism of the plan Sunday, saying the issue can be resolved via diplomatic means.
Ban, who returned to South Korea on Thursday, is believed to be testing the waters for a presidential run after President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment last month following an influence-peddling scandal.
If the former U. N. secretary-general throws his hat into the race, due to be held before Dec. 20, his top challenger is likely to be Moon Jae-in, the former leader of South Korea’s main opposition party who lost the last presidential election to Park by 3 percentage points.
Moon has said he would reconsider the THAAD deployment plan.

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© Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/15/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/former-u-n-chief-ban-throws-weight-behind-thaad-deployment/
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South Korea prosecutor weighs economic impact of arrest of Samsung chief

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January 16, 2017

SEOUL: South Korea’s special prosecutor said on Sunday it will take into account the economic impact of whether to arrest Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee in connection with an influence-peddling investigation involving the president.
The office also delayed by one day, until Monday, its decision on whether to seek the arrest of Lee, the third-generation leader of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, or chaebol, citing the gravity of the case.
The special prosecution had said it would make a decision on Lee by Sunday. But spokesman Lee Kyu-chul told reporters on Sunday investigators were deliberating all factors including the potential economic impact of the arrest of Jay Y. Lee.
Prosecutors have been investigating whether Samsung provided 30 billion won (US$25.46 million) to a business and foundations backed by President Park Geun-hye’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, in exchange for the national pension fund’s support for a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates.
The Samsung chief denied bribery accusations during a parliamentary hearing in December.
Taking into account the economic impact could prove beneficial to the 48-year-old Lee. The imposition of less severe punishment on erring business leaders to avoid negative economic consequences has precedent in South Korea.
“Law and principle are the most important metric, and after also considering various factors mentioned previously, we will decide by law and principle,” the prosecution spokesman Lee said, referring to economic impact, without elaborating.
Samsung’s Lee was questioned for 22 hours before leaving the special prosecutors’ office in Seoul on Friday morning as part of the investigation into a corruption scandal that has led to President Park’s impeachment by parliament.
Establishing a money-for-favour exchange between Samsung and Park or her surrogate is critical for the special prosecutor’s investigation, analysts say.
Park, the daughter of a military ruler, has denied wrongdoing, although she has apologised for exercising poor judgment. Her friend, Choi, who is in detention and facing her own trial, has also denied wrongdoing.
The Constitutional Court is deciding whether to uphold or overturn the impeachment vote.
If Park is forced to leave office, a presidential election would be held in 60 days. Among the expected contenders is former U. N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The chiefs of South Korean chaebol have over the years had prison sentences shortened or forgiven, or received pardons, with the economic impact of imprisonment cited as a factor.
Jay Y. Lee’s father Lee Kun-hee, who has been incapacitated since a 2014 heart attack, was handed a three-year suspended jail sentence in 2009 for tax evasion. He was later pardoned.
Samsung has acknowledged making contributions to the two foundations as well as a consulting firm controlled by Choi but has repeatedly denied accusations of lobbying to push through the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries Inc.
The world’s biggest maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-screen televisions has delayed its annual executive promotions, which typically take place in early December, amid the scandal.
The special prosecution also said it plans to indict early next week National Pension Service chief Moon Hyung-pyo, who was arrested in December after acknowledging he pressured the fund to approve the merger while he was health minister.

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© Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/south-korea-prosecutor-weighs-economic-impact-of-arrest-of-samsu/3439818.html
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Suspension Trainer Showdown: TRX vs monkii bars 2

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January 16, 2017

Suspension trainers are like a gym that you can take anywhere. TRX, the current popular darling, is used in homes and boot camps for bodyweight workouts, but the monkii bars 2 gives it a run for its money in both aesthetics and features. Both add a ton more variety to your workouts and let you work out anywhere, but let’s see how they stack up in the categories that count.
Over the past year and a half, I spent a lot of time following bodyweight workouts , mainly because I’ve been away from home and don’t always have access to a gym. Suspension trainers, which are basically a pair of straps with handles that you can attach to sturdy objects, allow me to keep up my fitness and get stronger, no matter where I am. I’ve worked out at playgrounds, on beaches, on rooftops, under bridges—you name it, as long as there was a safe place for me to set up, I’d roll with it. While there are a lot of suspension trainers on the market, we decided to pit a perennial favorite against the new kid on the block.
Both are viable, awesome portable gyms, so to compare the two, I looked at their design, material quality, ease of setup, versatility, and portability.
As someone who travels frequently and considers daily workouts of some form as important as breathing, I take convenience and portability of my fitness gear very seriously. TRX has always felt pretty light, weighing no more than two or three pounds. The classic kit comes with a mesh bag that you can use to neatly transport your TRX and pack in your luggage without taking much space.
But when the TRX is not comfortably cozied up in its travel bag, it’s basically a coiled-up hot mess, kind of like how earbuds get after just 20 seconds in your pocket. Contrast this with the monkii bars 2 Adventure Kit, which is all arranged in a really slick-looking bag that folds out like so:
The sleekness of monkii bars 2 makes me want to take it everywhere with me. You just roll the pack like a burrito, clasp it shut, shove it into your pack, and run wild. And when it’s workout time, it’s all ready for you to unpack. What’s more, the monkii bars 2 Adventure Kit weighs less than the TRX—just a bit over one and a half pounds. If you want to pack extra light, the original monkii bars or monkii bars 2 Ultralight Kit is extra compact and weighs even less.
Getting a workout with suspension trainers is easy…once you set them up. You can set them up at home or outside for some fun in the sun, but depending on where you want to work out, the setup process can be a little different. For indoor use, you use a special attachment called a door anchor, which you place on top of a door frame and hook your suspension trainers to. When you’re outdoors, there’s another attachment that you can toss over pull-up bars or wrap around vertical posts, and then attach your trainers.
I mention all this because setup is where the TRX and monkii bars 2 diverge a lot. The TRX straps and handles come as one whole piece. You just find somewhere—a door, a pull-up bar, a high beam, and so on—to secure the anchor, hook up your TRX trainers, and you’re ready to rock. With the monkii bars 2, however, there’s a little more work.
The monkii bars 2 handles are a completely separate unit so there’s extra assembly required. In the Adventure Kit, the bag itself is the door anchor, making it less likely to chip or damage your door, and the straps that attach to your handles are also a part of the bag. That means you lay the bag halfway over a door frame, close the door, unfurl the pair of straps, and hook up your handles before you use it.
No doubt, the whole package of monkii bars 2 looks fly, but that cool factor is why it takes a tad longer to set up, and then break down and pack up again. It helps to take the time to neatly wrap up the straps to fit them snugly back in the pack and close it properly. That time was initially a bit of a turn-off. I’m used to very little setup for the TRX other than establishing the anchor, and when I’m done, I just shove the TRX back into its bag, tangled mess be damned!
Further, monkii bars 2’s straps for outdoors use are designed to be thrown over tree branches and other horizontal bars. They’re not easy to set up on, say, street lamps, which is a huge drawback for me.
Whether you can tolerate the extra assembly and clean-up time depends on how often you have to set up and then pack up your suspension trainers in the first place. Since I work out 5-6 times a week, all of that time added up and started to wear on me. Chalk it up to my impatience, sure, but I can also predict myself wiggling out of a workout because it’s an extra step before I can start.
The TRX’s easy, breezy setup and arsenal of bodyweight exercises are geared toward beginners. You grab onto the straps, lean your weight into them, and depending on what you want to do, push, pull, squat, lunge, or twist. You can get an awesome workout if you’re already super fit, too.
The monkii bars 2, meanwhile, can do what the TRX does and then some, as long as you have some imagination. Since the straps move independently, you can set them up at different heights for more challenging upper body exercises, like pull-ups, dips, or muscle-ups. In essence, they give you the functionality of muscle rings and the versatility of suspension trainers in one package. That means more bodyweight and gymnastic type movements. I already mentioned the door anchor, but monkii bars 2 also comes with much longer straps that I can easily toss over a high-hanging tree branch or goal post and set up pull-up bars. According to the website, the straps are designed to hold up to 250 pounds.
As much as I’ve been faithful to my suspension trainers for years now, I’m a big fan of the monkii bars 2 for their design and versatility (my own pull-up bars, you say? ) and might start using them as my main suspension trainers. That said, TRX trainers last a very long time, and you can feel confident that the straps can hold your weight. I admit there were times that I worried the monkii bars 2’s thinner straps would snap from the tension and I’d fall hard on my face.
At such similar price points, though, it comes down to how you use your suspension trainers. The monkii bars 2 is designed for someone who’s always on the move and works out on the road. But if you just want a no-hassle, simple bodyweight workout system at home while still having the option to take it elsewhere, TRX is a solid choice.

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Sunday's Best : Pepsi 1893, Fitbits, TriggerPoint Foam Rollers, and More

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January 16, 2017

The newest Fitbits , Pepsi 1893 , and a touchscreen Chromebook lead off Sunday’s best deals.
Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal. Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more.
You probably rolled your eyes when Pepsi started making “craft” sodas, but it turns out, they’re actually really good , and Amazon will sell you a 12-can variety pack, or 12 “Original” cans for $10 when you use Subscribe & Save and clip the 30% coupon on the page. Those are easily the best prices we’ve ever seen, so order fast, then sip slow.
Note : You won’t see the 30% discount until checkout.
USB-C is the future, and Anker’s kevlar and nylon-wrapped Powerline+ cables are the best you can buy .
With 4GB of RAM and an IPS touchscreen, the Lenovo N22 is a little more advanced than your average Chromebook. Today only though, you’ll only have to pay the bargain basement price of $180. And yes, it will run Android apps.
Two AC outlets, two USB ports, a microUSB charging cable, and even a device dock – what more could you want in a travel charger?
iTunes gift card discounts are noticeably less common than they used to be, and while we do see 20% discounts from time to time, a $100 iTunes gift card for $85, is still a solid deal if you pay for apps, movies, Apple Music, iCloud storage, or Mario Run unlocks.
Update : Sold out.
This 54-piece screwdriver set is marketed as a laptop repair kit, but with a snake attachment and tons of bits, it could come in handy for all sorts of repairs in hard-to-reach places.
Steaming your clothes might not get them as crisp as ironing, but it does a decent enough job in a fraction of the time, and for $15, why not? It’s even small enough to pack away in your suitcase.
We’ve all been there. The doorbell rings, and you’re in the bathroom, or otherwise pantsless. Before you know it, you’re answering the door wearing a towel, or missing an important package delivery. With this $17 driveway alarm though , you’ll have a precious few extra seconds of warning to make yourself decent.
Cleaning the grout in your tub doesn’t have to be an arduous, all-day affair. This discounted rotating scrub brush includes a long handle to save your back and knees, two different brushheads, and a rechargeable battery.
If you still haven’t given up on your new year’s fitness resolutions, this NordicTrack treadmill can help you get your runs in, even when the weather outside is frightful. $860 gets you a highly rated treadmill with fancy accouterments like a 10″ web-enabled touchscreen, stereo speakers, and a space-saving fold-up design. Just note that today’s all-time low price is part of a Gold Box deal, meaning it’s only available today, or until sold out.
TriggerPoint makes the most popular foam rollers out there, and two different models are on sale today: One for your feet (in two different densities), and one for the rest of you.
If you missed out on Fitbit’s Black Friday discounts, Amazon’s taking $20 off two of their most popular new trackers .
The Fitbit Flex 2 improves on its predecessor with water resistance, swim tracking, colored LEDs, and a smaller design. And for my money, it’s the most attractive fitness tracker I’ve ever seen.
Meanwhile, the Charge 2 adds connected GPS (meaning your phone has to be nearby), VO2 max level measuring, and even call & text alerts from your phone.
These deals aren’t as good as we saw last month, but if you need a little extra help with your new year’s resolutions, they’re pretty solid.
Yes, it’s third party, but $25 is the best price we’ve ever seen on an Xbox One gamepad. And don’t be fooled by the cable in the product photo; it’s detachable, and the controller can operate wirelessly.
You might not need to use a Dremel all that often, but it’s one of those things everyone should keep in their tool box, if only for sanding wood and engraving things. And today, Amazon’s discounting the Dremel 8050 Micro Rotary tool kit to an all-time low $63.
Of course, the kit comes with a standard, battery powered 2-speed Dremel rotary tool, but it also boasts an 18-piece accessory kit to cut, sand, grind, clean, carve, and more.
Ninja’s new high-end coffee maker has all the bells and whistles you could want in a coffee machine, and you can pick up a refurb for $90 today, the best price we’ve ever seen.
The headlining feature here is Ninja’s Auto-iQ system, which automatically adjusts the water level based on the brew size and type you select, but you’ll also get a permanent filter, milk frother and tumbler in the box .
If you’re not in need of a coffee brewer but still want to get in on something Ninja, how about the Ninja Master Prep Professional? Make smoothies or soups with the power of 450 Watts.
In my opinion, the most important accessory to bring camping is something to cook in. Grab this non-stick camping pan set for only $24 and get a mini flashlight, wire saw, and camping stove for free. It’s everything you could need to have a real meal in the woods.
People still use pens and paper, who woulda thunk? If you cannot fathom where your pens keep disappearing to and need some replacements, this box of 12 BIC Velocity Bold black ball-point pens is only $5 , the lowest it’s ever been.
This neck massager may look like a torture device, but let me tell you. I have a similar one from a different brand and it’s fantastic. The weird arm things help you regulate the pressure of the massager and it also heats up. It’s like the best straight jacket you’ve ever worn.
An endless supply of chips and cookies in my pantry is a dream, and it looks like Amazon wants to make that a reality. Use Subscribe & Save (you can always cancel) and grab massive variety packs on Frito-Lay products for 20% off. There are tons to choose from like Cheetos, Doritos, Sun Chips, Stacy’s and more.
Eneloops are the best rechargeable batteries , and since you can never have enough of them, here’s a dozen AAs for $31 , the best price since November.
These days, you probably charge as many things over USB as you do over standard AC outlets, so it only makes sense to add some semi-permanent USB ports to your home.
Today on Amazon, you can get highly-rated duplex receptacles with a pair of USB ports for $16 each , one of the best prices we’ve seen. These have proven very popular with readers in the past, even at higher prices, so be sure to secure a few before Amazon sells out.
Rain-X’s water repellency wiper blades don’t just push water off your windshield; they actively coat it with a water repelling formula that lasts for months. For a limited time, Amazon’s taking 15% off every size blade that they sell , with the discount shown at checkout.
Note : If you aren’t seeing the discount, make sure the listing is shipped and sold by Amazon.com directly, not a third party seller.
You know those cinematic time lapses where the camera slowly pans as the action speeds along? Now you can make them yourself for just $10. The Veho Muvi X-Lapse works with just about any compact camera, action cam, or smartphone, and can mount on top of a tripod for more control over your shot. Here’s a sample video to give you an idea of what you can pull off with this thing.
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Roll Your Own, Self-Hosted Image Gallery with Chevereto

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January 16, 2017

For many people, Google Photos, Flickr, and other cloud-based image hosting services are perfect for backing up photos, sharing them, and organizing them into galleries. If you’d rather use a self-hosted solution you control, or maybe use one in addition to those cloud services, Chevereto is worth a look.
Chevereto has been around for a long time—it’s not new, really, but what’s interesting about it is that the developer offers both a paid, hosted service you can sign up for on their homepage , but also Chevereto Free, an open source version of the gallery software you can download from Github (linked below) and install and run on your own web host. Best of all, they offer an installer you can run from the web, or even installation services so you can make sure your gallery is locked up tight and installed properly.
Chevereto itself is a richly featured gallery tool. You get beautiful, responsive galleries that look just as good on mobile as they do on the desktop, profiles for multiple users, an image uploader so you don’t have to do things in small batches, social features for easy image sharing (and for easy login), and feature updates as they’re available. The whole service is worth a look if you’d rather take control of your own photo library , but don’t know where to start. There’s a paid version of the self-hosted solution as well that comes with support and a few more features, so check that out too, if you’re interested in supporting the project.
Chevereto Free | GitHub via Chevereto

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Bendable and foldable phones are coming. Are you ready?

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January 16, 2017

She pushed down hard on the rectangular phone and, like a slap bracelet, it cinched around her wrist. The audience gasped; the internet went wild.
CNET tries on Lenovo’s bendy CPlus concept phone.
This articulated wraparound phone — known as the CPlus — was a concept device Lenovo used to wow the crowd as part of a larger launch last June that included the modular Moto Z and Phab 2 Pro (the first phone using Google’s Tango software for augmented reality). The CPlus may have only been a prototype, but it might as well have been a fireworks show for the imagination it ignited about the future of truly flexible phones that can bend and even fold.
As powerful as today’s phones are, their rectangular reliability has become a boring and invisible necessity that we hardly see at all. And that’s why handsets that bend, twist, snap and fold will electrify and energize the industry, even if these newfangled future devices limp and lag at first.
Flexing, folding handsets are visually and intellectually cool because rigid electronic pieces usually don’t bend, at least not without a hinge. But is there an actual use for them beyond pushing the boundaries of what designers and scientists can do?
Actually, there are a few. Folding a device gives you a smaller, more portable package to carry around — it can essentially double the size of your screen.
In addition, devices like these “will be able to be produced like newsprint,” said Roel Vertegaal, who directs the Human Media Lab at Canada’s Queens University and works on prototype models. Producing some phone parts this way could eventually make the phones cheaper to build, he added.
Shapely devices that give you more of a shifting 3D work surface (rather than a constantly flat screen) also have the power to change how people carry and even use them, like navigating in new ways while playing a game, or using the way you bend a device to trigger an action, like during gameplay or for creating sound (see video above).
Lenovo’s pill-bug phone isn’t the only one to stretch the boundaries of flexible devices. In fact, twistable phone prototypes are something we were seeing as far back as 2011. Samsung will reportedly release a phone that folds open into a tablet later in 2017, which would take the curved-screen (but static) Edge handsets to the next level, and LG Electronics is rumored to be supplying Apple, Google and Microsoft with flexible phone displays in 2018. Lenovo, too, is working on a tablet prototype that folds down to make a smaller overall package. The company briefly flashed it to journalists at the same time it showed off the wraparound CPlus.
Nobody remembers Samsung’s Galaxy Round, but it made the S7 Edge possible.
But while research on flexible and foldable phones is heating up in corporate and private labs, don’t expect to see them everywhere at once. Companies tend to go slowly and cautiously with radical new designs.
Take Samsung’s first curved-screen phone, for example. The Galaxy Round was essentially a concept phone that never left South Korea, but its design morphed through several iterations to arrive at today’s S7 Edge with its two curving sides. Xiaomi’s nearly bezel-less Mi Mix is also another concept device whose technology will show up in other handsets down the line. It’s likely that the first of these futuristic, flexible phones will:
There’s also wear and tear to consider on phones you repeatedly fold and bend. “[I] don’t see why I’d like my phone to bend and in fact, have put it in an OtterBox to protect it from the daily abuse it has to endure,” said Chris Schmandt, who directs the Living Mobile Group at MIT’s Media Lab.
It’s possible, too, that a new, more flexible design could affect the kind of hardware you can put into a device, say, a smaller battery than you can stick in a large, flat rectangle. It’s also likely that rigid parts, like circuit boards, will have to use a different internal configuration, or be made to slightly bend as well.
So if bendable and flexible phones aren’t guaranteed to be a smash hit, why would companies pour cash into R&D for phones that may not go mainstream for years, or even ever? The truth is, we can’t always accurately predict which trends will catch on and which will go thud.
LG’s G Flex 2 actually flexed when you pressed it down, but LG seems to have discontinued the line.
But there is a certain glory in innovating first, and there’s a distinct market advantage for companies that have the most experience if and when flexible and bendable gadgets take off.
(Samsung in particular might benefit here if it’s first to release its foldable electronics. “Samsung will likely take the ‘disruptive’ road back to the market,” said Wayne Lam, an analyst with IHS Markit, “And hopefully put the Note 7 fiasco behind them. “)
What excites me most, though, is that this type of innovation helps phone makers everywhere build on past discoveries to propel new ones. It is, after all, only through trial and error that the industry collectively figures out what works and what doesn’t. It’s the kind of development that will give us the next tech we can’t live without, the same way that the passion to miniaturize a desktop computer brought about the smartphone tucked into your pocket right now.

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Nintendo's Fils-Aime: The Switch won't oust the 3DS

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January 16, 2017

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. That Switch he’s holding in his hand is not actually a handheld. Not primarily anyway, he tells us.
Don’t call the new Nintendo Switch a tablet.
And don’t assume the shape-shifting device for gamers will replace the company’s popular 3DS handheld, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said in an interview with CNET.
With its latest gadget, Nintendo is playing to win the same game it has for decades: the one that takes place in your living room.
Revealing the $300 (£280 or AU$470) Switch on Thursday, the company hyped the modular device as part home console, part handheld and part tablet.
Leave the Switch Console holstered in the Switch Dock, hook up the two Joy-Con controllers with cables, and plug the whole setup into a TV. Voila: You can play on a big screen. Undock the Console — which boasts its own screen — and attach the Joy-Cons directly to it. There’s your handheld. Use the Console’s kickstand to prop it up like a tablet, then connect the controllers with cables. You’ve got a kind of portable, mini-TV setup.
With its morphing skills and ease of portability, the Switch seems primed to take over the handheld market, perhaps even biting into sales of Nintendo’s own 3DS. But Fils-Aime stressed that the Switch, due in early March, will be a home-oriented product first.
“The form factor may be that it looks like [a tablet],” he said. “But…it’s a home console that you can take with you and play anywhere with anyone. ”
Nintendo needs that message to resonate with consumers. The company’s most recent home console, 2012’s Wii U, never came close to the megahit success of the original Wii, released back in 2006. In the meantime, the company has continued to build a solid business on its 3DS portable platform, even as it’s experimented with releasing games like Pokemon Go, Miitomo and Super Mario Run on iOS and Android mobile devices.
To reassure 3DS owners that their beloved handheld isn’t doomed, Fils-Aime said Nintendo will still be creating games for the 3DS, with its spring and summer lineup set to be announced at the E3 gaming conference in June.
Besides, with the Switch, Nintendo is envisioning a different target audience.
Fils-Aime with an old pal.
Nintendo’s reputation as a family-friendly company has sometimes driven harder-core gamers to Microsoft’s Xbox One console or Sony’s PlayStation 4. Nintendo is betting on the Switch to bring those players back, with games that are more competitive and engaging.
Where the first ad for Nintendo’s Wii U device, in 2012, featured children and families , the first preview of the Switch had no children in it .
“With Zelda, with Kart, with Xenoblade, I think the initial consumer for Switch will be more young adults with disposable incomes, given the price points and the large library,” Fils-Aime said. That doesn’t mean Nintendo is ditching its core audience. The company will continue to skew toward a younger crowd with the 3DS.
“In the end, we want people of all ages engaging with Mario and Zelda and the content that’s available across both platforms,” Fils-Aime said.
Nintendo has announced only five launch titles for the Switch, three of which are third-party games. You’ll have to wait more than a month to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and you won’t get your hands on Super Mario Odyssey until the holiday season.
That pales in comparison to the Wii U’s 34 launch titles, or the Xbox One’s 22, or the 24 initial games for the PlayStation 4. But Nintendo is keeping the number low on purpose. The company found that the large number of launch titles for the Wii U didn’t do Nintendo any favors.
“Launch day is not the be-all and the end-all,” Fils-Aime said. “It really is the steady pacing of content that continually reinforces for the people who bought into the platform why they made a smart choice, as well as what compels people who might be sitting on the sidelines to jump in. ”
He said the Wii U lacked this reliable rhythm of game releases, pointing to titles like Pikmin 3 and Star Fox Zero that didn’t stay on schedule.
That’s why Nintendo is spacing out its heavy hitters for the Switch, tweeting out this tentative schedule on Friday:
“We feel we have this great ongoing march of content to motivate you to jump into the platform,” Fils-Aime said.
Even Fils-Aime admits Nintendo’s online gameplay doesn’t have the best reputation.
“People have taken shots at us for that,” he said. But a shift from a free to a subscription-based model for online play has the potential to change things.
Nintendo’s philosophy with online service has been that it’s part of the package and should be included at no cost. But with companies like Sony and Microsoft using a subscription-based approach, Nintendo realized it needed to follow suit.
“The reality is, the way that online experiences have progressed, it’s an expensive proposition,” Fils-Aime said. “The amount of servers we need to support Smash Brothers or Mario Kart — these big multiplayer games — is not a small investment. ”
Nintendo hasn’t released any details yet on how much you’ll have to pay, but the company is offering features like a matchmaking lobby system and voice chat. Subscribers will also get a different Nintendo Entertainment System title or Super NES game for free each month.
Connecting with friends will be on a case-by-case basis, but Nintendo is hoping to create a standardized experience. “There are no friend codes within what we’re doing,” Fils-Aime said, referencing the company’s past cumbersome system for adding contacts.
Fils-Aime stayed mum on how Virtual Console, Nintendo’s system for letting people play classic titles on newer devices, would work with the Switch. With the success of the NES Classic, Nintendo has a massive opportunity to bring back games from its previous eras. Fils-Aime said the company would provide details on the Virtual Console issue prior to the Switch’s release.
The tabletlike design of the Switch Console makes us wonder if it’ll have tabletlike features, such as the ability to stream shows and movies as well as browse the web. No word on that yet. And besides the price of the subscription service for online games, it’s not clear what kind of extras subscribers will get, or if downloaded games from the Wii U will transfer over.
Apparently with the Switch, Fils-Aime wants play a game or two of surprise.

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Download of the day: Google Earth

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January 16, 2017

Google Earth’s name is a little misleading these days, because in addition to modelling the entire world, it also enables you to explore bits of the moon and Mars.
It’s an astonishing technological feat, and its uses are almost endless: you can use it to explore far-flung places or see the ocean floor; you can see the effects of natural disasters or use it to identify places to visit when you’re travelling somewhere; you can use it as an educational tool or just load up on Sunny Delight, sit really close to the screen and imagine you can fly.
Maybe that last one is just us.
If you have children it’s a must-have app: it’s widely used in education and the ability to access all kinds of data and swoop and soar around the planet is just as exciting today as when we first experienced it just over a decade ago (and it’s much more realistic).
And if you don’t have children it’s just as useful: you can watch real-time traffic flows and explore the potential effects of earthquakes, see entire cities in 3D and virtually visit places like Mount Everest. How amazing is that?