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TECH COMPANIES AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITY

DIGITAL EDITION

MAY 2018

HOW TO KEEP YOUR KIDS’ TECH USE IN CHECK

CONTENTS MAY 2018

COVER STORY

HOW TO TELL IF YOU’RE A TECH ADDICT (AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT) A guide to defeating the endless scroll.

FEATURES THE TECH INDUSTRY RECKONS WITH ITS RESPONSIBILITY The ethics of how their products affect consumers and society.

REVIEWS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS Fitbit Versa Apple iPad (2018) Sony a7 III

HARDWARE Lenovo IdeaPad 720s Sony a7 III

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

SOFTWARE & APPS Adobe Illustrator CC Malwarebytes Free

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

Adobe Illustrator CC

WHAT’S NEW NOW FAST FORWARD Why Intel’s Diane Bryant Isn’t Afraid of AI

WHAT IS MAX-Q? An explainer

HOW VIRTUAL AVATARS HELP STROKE PATIENTS IMPROVE MOTOR FUNCTION IT WATCH Want to Speed Up Your Users’ Internet? Look at Your DNS Server

TOP GEAR What We Love Most This Month

COMMENTARY DAN COSTA First Word

READER INPUT TIM BAJARIN Alexa, Teach Me How to Talk to You

DOUG NEWCOMB

I’m asking what would happen to you—and your business—if the whole thing was taken offline .

Tesla’s Tussle With Feds Over Model X Accident Is a Fool’s Errand

JOHN C. DVORAK

BEN DICKSON 4 Reasons Not to Fear Deep Learning (Yet)

Last Word

TIPS & HOW TOS TIPS FOR KEEPING KIDS’ TECH USE IN CHECK They can help grownups, too.

HERE’S HOW THE EXTREMETECH STAFF STAYS BACKED UP And they really know what they’re doing.

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FIRST WORD DAN COSTA

hen Rob Marvin pitched me a feature story on tech addiction, I was skeptical. There’s been so much coverage of this topic already, and so much of it has been terrible. The headlines, the personal anecdotes, the fearmongering about new, poorly understood technologies; it’s all just a little too perfect for sensation-seeking news media. Was there anything original that we could add to this story?

W Tech Addiction Nation

Rob assured me there was. His report in this month’s PC Magazine Digital Edition proves he was right. Our human inability to master the technologies we have created is not new. Back in 1990, the New York Times reported: The proposition that television can be addictive is proving to be more than a glib PHWDSKRU 7KH PRVW LQWHQVLYH VFLHQWL¿F VWXGLHV RI SHRSOH¶V YLHZLQJ KDELWV DUH ¿QGLQJ that for the most frequent viewers, watching television has many of the marks of a dependency like alcoholism or other addictions. Although “Internet Addiction” was left out of the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), “Internet Gaming Disorder” was listed as a condition for further study. The symptoms of gaming addiction are well known to anyone who’s had a child in the last 20

@dancosta

years, and really, everyone who’s picked up a game controller. Even so, the American Psychiatric Association’s summary of the disorder is revealing: The “gamersâ€? play compulsively, to the exclusion of other interests, and their persistent and recurrent online activity UHVXOWV LQ FOLQLFDOO\ VLJQLÂżFDQW LPSDLUPHQW RU distress. People with this condition endanger their academic or job functioning because of the amount of time they spend playing. They experience symptoms of withdrawal when kept from gaming. That was written in 2013. Since then, technology KDV JDPLÂżHG RXW HQWLUH OLYHV *DPH GHVLJQHUV XVHG to create addictive experiences to be enjoyed with special hardware at home after work. Now we carry the hardware with us every day and never disconnect from a vast network of addictive digital feedbacks loops. News, texts, alerts, apps, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook... wait, is that a new email? There is no quarter. :KDW XVHG WR EH D SUREOHP IRU PLVÂżW JDPHUV KDV infected the whole culture. Apps, websites, and pretty much all digital interfaces are constantly being optimized to make the user feel good and increase usage. The online economy depends on selling your attention. (Well, and your data, but one problem at a time.) None of this is accidental. Trained professionals--designers, UX experts, psychologists, data scientists--constantly researching and optimizing for greater usage. They DUH E\ GHÂżQLWLRQ SXVKHUV %XW DW OHDVW WKH\ÂśUH human.

Perhaps the more pernicious technology threat is that the addiction process can be automated. It’s easy to wrap your head around the concept of A/B testing, EXW PRGHUQ WHFKQRORJ\ OHWV WKHVH V\VWHPV GR $ Â’ 3URJUDPPHUV FDQ WHVW DQ LQÂżQLWH YDULHW\ RI RSWLRQV WR ÂżQG WKH RQH WKDW LV PRVW HIIHFWLYH DQG DGGLFWLYH ,Q JDPH GHVLJQ WKLV NLQG RI $ Â’ WHVWLQJ LV FDOOHG color coding. As NYU marketing professor and author Adam Alter explains in our story: Color coding is where you’re trying to work out which of two versions of a mission works best,â€? said Alter. “You tag the code associated with one version of the mission red and the code associated with a different version yellow. Let’s say you’re wondering whether a quest is more engaging if \RXÂśUH WU\LQJ WR VDYH VRPHRQH YHUVXV WU\LQJ WR ÂżQG DQ DUWLIDFW 6R \RX UXQ DQ $ % WHVW UHOHDVLQJ YHUVLRQ $ WR ÂżYH PLOOLRQ SHRSOH DQG YHUVLRQ % WR ÂżYH million people. You measure different metrics, like how many people return to the mission more than once and how long they spend. If you discover version A works better, you go with the red code and put aside the yellow. And you keep doing that until you have the tenth, twentieth, or thirtieth generation of a game. The entire world is being color-coded. Is technology addiction real? Are you an addict? Is it a treatable condition? Who LV SURÂżWLQJ IURP WKLV" :KDW H[DFWO\ FDQ \RX GR DERXW LW" Step 1 is reading our story.

dan_costa@pcmag.com

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READER INPUT YOUR COMMENTS

Great article! Been feeling the same way about the data from my Fitbit Ionic I bought last year, especially the sleep data. The data is neat, but how does it really help me? —ChrisAN82

Fitness Trackers Changed My Life :HDUDEOHV DQDO\VW Victoria Song’s SHUVRQDO ¿WQHVV tracker story resonated with (most) readers.

Ms. Song: loved your article! Mainly, I admire your courage as you use yourself as the example RI VRPHRQH ¿QGLQJ VRPHWKLQJ XVHIXO LQ ¿WQHVV trackers. At the beginning, I wondered what thing all those trackers would reveal that you didn’t know. Then you described polycystic ovary syndrome, and the light bulb went on. Of course! Metrics from the tracker revealed that anomalous weight gain instead of loss couldn’t be the result of anything you did intentionally—it had to be something else. —Ted Thomas

These trackers are BS. I use a heart rate monitor with a strap for my running, biking, and rowing. That’s all you need to know where your zone is. —OrangeDeek

I enjoyed this article, hopefully not only because of the empathy I felt with another human trying to make the best of it in this life. I’ve never used one of these devices, as my willpower seems to VXI¿FH IRU QRZ :KR FDQ VD\ ZKDW LW ZLOO EH OLNH D year from now? I may have need in the future for

something of this sort. If you can get to a point in your life where your normal URXWLQH NHHSV \RX VXI¿FLHQWO\ KHDOWK\ DQG ¿W DQG NHHS LW XS \RX VKRXOG UHDS WKH EHQH¿WV +RZHYHU PHDQV \RX PDQDJH WKLV LV XS WR HDFK RI XV RI FRXUVH EXW VLQFH OLIH has a nasty habit of throwing curve balls, motivation and adaptability are key. It’s amazing how easy it is to distill this life philosophy down to several sentences; trying to live it is the real challenge. Strength to you. —Dave Brumley

Thanks for the insights. You’re not alone, as I know a few people wearing at least two different devices, me included. Sorry you had to go through that movie scare, bad HQRXJK WKH GRXJK \RX KDYH WR GURS DQG QRZ FUD]\ RQ WRS RI LW , OLNH WR WKLQN ¿WQHVV trackers help, because I can clearly see weeks that are great and not so great. If I FDWFK LW HDUO\ HQRXJK , FDQ XVXDOO\ WXUQ WKLQJV DURXQG E\ PDNLQJ VXUH , JHW D KDOI hour walk or hop on the bike. Looking forward to future tech of wearables. —TrailMixFan

The last FitBit I bought would record anywhere from 400 to 1000 steps on my drive to work. Kind of skewed the amount calories I was burning per day. —The Founder

Ask us a question!

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Have a question about a story in PC Magazine, one of the products we cover, or how to better use a tech product you own? Email us at letters@pcmag.com and we’ll respond to your question here. Questions may be edited slightly for content and clarity.

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WHAT’S NEW NOW FAST FORWARD

Fast Forward: Why Intel’s Diane Bryant Isn’t Afraid of AI

Fast Forward is a series of conversations with tech leaders hosted by Dan Costa, PCMag’s Editor-in-Chief. Diane Bryant is EVP and General Manager of ,QWHO¶V 'DWD &HQWHU *URXS 6KH DQG 'DQ VSRNH DERXW DUWL¿FLDO LQWHOOLJHQFH Dan Costa: Most people think data centers are kind of boring, but you can do incredible things with them. It’s also the most profitable division inside of Intel. People think of Intel as a chip company, but the data center business has exploded in recent years, and part of that is driving this AI revolution.

Diane Bryant: 5LJKW $EVROXWHO\ 7KH DUWL¿FLDO

LQWHOOLJHQFH« GLVFLSOLQH ZDV IRXQGHG LQ VR ZH¶UH WDONLQJ D ORQJ WLPH DJR $QG VR LW¶V FUD]\ WR QRZ WKLQN DERXW KRZ WKDW DUHD KDV VLPSO\ H[SORGHG DQG LV WUDQVIRUPLQJ OLWHUDOO\ DOO EXVLQHVVHV $QG LW¶OO WUDQVIRUP WKH ZD\ \RX DQG , HQJDJH ZLWK WKH ZRUOG 7KLV KDV DOO MXVW KDSSHQHG UHDOO\ LQ WKH V LW¶V MXVW UHDOO\ WDNHQ RII Artificial intelligence can be difficult to define. How do you define it?

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The data center business has exploded in recent years, and part of that is driving this AI revolution.

$EVROXWHO\ 7KHUH¶V WKH FRPSXWH DQG VWRUDJH WHFKQRORJ\ WKDW P\ RUJDQL]DWLRQ¶V UHVSRQVLEOH IRU GHOLYHULQJ WKH IXQGDPHQWDO WHFKQRORJ\ LQWR WKRVH V\VWHPV 7KHQ \RX QHHG WKH DOJRULWKPV WKRVH SUHGLFWLYH DOJRULWKPV ZKLFK LV D UDSLGO\ HYROYLQJ VSDFH UHDOO\ D IXQ VSDFH²ORWV DQG ORWV RI GDWD VFLHQWLVWV QHHGHG LQ RUGHU WR NHHS WKDW EHDW UDWH JRLQJ 7KHQ \RX¶UH ULJKW WKHUH¶V WKH VRIWZDUH DQG VHUYLFH RQ WRS RI LW ,W¶V DQ HQWLUH VROXWLRQ VHW WKDW QHHGV WR FRPH WRJHWKHU Intel plays in this solution set in multiple places.

:H GR $W RXU KHDUW ZH¶UH D WHFKQRORJ\ FRPSDQ\ $V \RX QRWHG LQ WKH ROG GD\V ZH ZHUH WKH 3& FRPSDQ\ WKDW¶V RXU URRWV RXU OHJDF\ In the old days, we were the PC Magazine.

There you go. Now we’re much more.

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Then you need the algorithms, those predictive algorithms, which is a rapidly evolving space.

Every business is becoming a technology business. You may be a retailer, but you need to not just use these tools, but use them to innovate.

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It seems like a lot of the promise of AI is to break through a lot of those constraints in all sorts of different industries.

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:HOO LW LV <RX WKLQN DERXW &KLQD DV D VWLOO GHYHORSLQJ QDWLRQ DQG \HW WKH\ DUH WKH ¿UVW WR HPEUDFH QH[W JHQHUDWLRQ WHFKQRORJ\ 7KH\ GRQ¶W KDYH WKH OHJDF\ LQ PDQ\ LQVWDQFHV 7KH\¶UH QRW FDUU\LQJ DURXQG WKH ZD\ ZH XVHG WR GR WKLQJV DQG KDYLQJ WR JR WKURXJK WKDW FKDQJH IDFWRU 7KH\¶UH DFWXDOO\ EULQJLQJ XS VROXWLRQV DV FRPSXWHU EDVHG $, VROXWLRQV See a video of the full interview and many more at pcmag.com/podcasts/fastforward.

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What is Nvidia Max-Q? BY MATTHEW BUZZI

raditionally, gaming laptops have been hulking machines with big screens and short battery lives. They were meant to stay put on a desk. The cooling systems required to run the discrete graphics cards have typically makes standard gaming laptops large and heavy.

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,Q RXU H[SHULHQFH ZLWK 0D[ 4 ODSWRSV ZH¶YH IRXQG WKDW WKH EHVW UHVXOWV FRPH IURP D FRPELQDWLRQ RI WKH JUDSKLFV SHUIRUPDQFH FDS DQG ZKROHVDOH IURP WKH JURXQG XS KDUGZDUH HQKDQFHPHQWV 7KH =HSK\UXV LV GHVLJQHG ZLWK FKDVVLV HQKDQFHPHQWV VXFK DV D SHUIRUDWHG NH\ERDUG GHFN DQG ERWWRP YHQWLODWLRQ ÀDSV WKDW RSHQ ZKHQ WKH VFUHHQ FODPVKHOO LV OLIWHG 7KRXJK WKH ÀDSV DUH D ELW ÀLPV\ the laptop runs coolly and quietly, which is impressive. 2Q WKH RWKHU HQG RI WKH VSHFWUXP LV WKH 06, *6 95 5* 6WHDOWK 3UR ZKLFK KDV D 0D[ 4 *7; EXLOW LQWR DQ H[LVWLQJ FKDVVLV IURP DQRWKHU 06, ODSWRS Yes it’s thin, but without any special design considerations, so it runs noticeably hot. 8QIRUWXQDWHO\ EDWWHU\ OLIH RQ WKH 0D[ 4 QRWHERRNV ZH¶YH WHVWHG KDV \HW WR IXOO\ PDWFK WKH WKLQ DQG OLJKW IRUP IDFWRU 7KH =HSK\UXV ODVWHG MXVW KRXUV DQG PLQXWHV RQ RXU UXQGRZQ WHVW 7KH 06, DQG 2ULJLQ 3& (92 6 DW 2ULJLQ 3& IDUH EHWWHU UXQQLQJ IRU DQG UHVSHFWLYHO\ EXW QHLWKHU DUH especially long. POWER VERSUS PORTABILITY :KHWKHU D 0D[ 4 ODSWRS LV ULJKW IRU \RX FRPHV GRZQ WR RQH WKLQJ $UH \RX ZLOOLQJ WR VDFUL¿FH SRZHU IRU WKLQQHVV DQG SRUWDELOLW\" ,I \RX¶UH PRUH FRQFHUQHG ZLWK SXVKLQJ DV PDQ\ SL[HOV DV SRVVLEOH DQG GRQ¶W SODQ WR PRYH \RXU ODSWRS RIWHQ 0D[ 4 SUREDEO\ LVQ¶W WKH VROXWLRQ IRU \RX ,I \RX WUDYHO IUHTXHQWO\ RU RIWHQ SOD\ JDPHV LQ PXOWLSOH ORFDWLRQV WKRXJK 0D[ 4 LV WKH EHVW PHWKRG ZH¶YH VHHQ IRU ¿WWLQJ WKH WRS WLHU JUDSKLFV FDUGV LQWR VOLP ODSWRS EXLOGV ,W ZRXOG EH LGHDO LI VOLP LQFK ODSWRSV FRXOG SDFN *7; FDUGV EXW WKH WHFKQRORJ\ VLPSO\ LVQ¶W WKHUH \HW ,I WKH LQLWLDO ZDYH RI 0D[ 4 ODSWRSV SURYH SRSXODU HQRXJK WR LWHUDWH XSRQ ZH¶OO OLNHO\ VHH VOLPPHU V\VWHPV ZLWK IHZHU FRQFHVVLRQV +RSHIXOO\ 1YLGLD FDQ FRQWLQXH WR WZHDN WKH 0D[ 4 IRUPXOD DQG IXWXUH JDPLQJ ODSWRSV ZLOO EH DEOH WR GHOLYHU HYHQ PRUH SRZHU ZLWK ORQJHU EDWWHU\ OLIH

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How Virtual Avatars Help Stroke Patients Improve Motor Function BY S.C. STUART

‘m hooked up to a 16-channel brain machine interface with 12 channels of EEG on my head and ears and four channels of electromyography (EMG) on my arms. An Oculus Rift VR headset occludes my vision. Two inertial measurement units (IMU) are stuck to my wrists and forearms, tracking the orientation of my arms, while the EMG monitors my electrical impulses and peripheral nerve activity.

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Dr. Sook-Lei Liew, Director of USC’s Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, and Julia Anglin, Research Lab Supervisor and Technician, wait to record my baseline activity and observe a monitor with a representation of my real arm and a virtual limb. I see the same image from inside the Rift. “Ready?” asks Dr. Liew. “Don’t move—or think.”

I stay still, close my eyes, and let my mind go blank. Anglin records my baseline activity, allowing the brainmachine interface to take signals from the EEG and EMG, alongside the IMU, and use that data to inform an algorithm that drives the virtual avatar hand. “Now just think about moving your arm to the avatar’s position,” says Dr. Liew. I don’t move a muscle, but I think about movement while I’m looking at the two arms on the screen. Suddenly, my virtual arm moves toward the avatar appendage inside the VR world.

I don’t move a muscle, but I think about movement while I’m looking at the two arms on the screen.

Something happened just because I thought about it! I’ve read tons of data on how this works, even seen other people do it, especially inside gaming environments, but it’s something else to experience it for yourself. “Very weird isn’t it?” says David Karchem, one of Dr. Liew’s trial patients. Karchem suffered a stroke while driving his car eight years ago, and he’s shown remarkable recovery using her system.

VR rehab at USC

VIRTUAL THERAPY The Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory’s missions is “to enhance neural plasticity in a wide population of individuals in order to improve their quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities.� (Photo: Nate Jensen) ne ni

“My stroke came out of the blue, and it was terrifying, because I suddenly couldn’t function. I managed to get my car through an intersection and call the paramedics. I don’t know how,â€? Karchem says. He gets around with a walking stick today and has relatively normal function on the right side of his body. But his left side is clearly damaged from the stroke. While talking, he unwraps surgical bandages and a splint from his left hand, crooked into his chest, to show Dr. Liew the progress since his last VR session. As a former software engineer, Karchem isn’t fazed by using advanced technology to aid the clinical process. “I quickly learned, in fact, that the more intellectual and physical stimulation you get, the faster you can recover as the EUDLQ VWDUWV WR ÂżUH ,ÂśP VRPHWKLQJ RI D ODE UDW QRZ DQG , ORYH LW ´ KH VD\V REINVENT YOURSELF Karchem is participating in Dr. Liew’s REINVENT (Rehabilitation Environment using the Integration of Neuromuscular-based Virtual Enhancements for Neural Training) project, funded by the American Heart Association, under a National Innovative Research Grant. It’s designed to help patients who have suffered strokes reconnect their brains to their bodies. VR rehab at USC (Photo: Nate Jensen)â€?My PhD in Occupational Science, with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience, focused on how experience changes brain networks,â€? explains Dr. Liew. “I continued this work as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health, before joining USC, in my current role, in 2015.

“Our main goal here is to enhance neural plasticity or neural recovery in individuals using noninvasive brain stimulation, brain-computer interfaces, and novel learning paradigms to improve patients’ quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities,” she says. Here’s the science bit: The human putative mirror neuron system (MNS) is a key motor network in the brain that’s active both when you perform an action, like moving your arm, and when you simply watch someone else—like a virtual avatar—perform that same action. Dr. Liew hypothesizes that for stroke patients who can’t move their arm, simply watching a virtual avatar that moves in response to their brain commands will activate the MNS and retrain damaged or neighboring motor regions of the brain to take over the role of motor performance. This should lead to improved motor function. “In previous occupational therapy sessions, we found many people with severe strokes got frustrated because they didn’t know if they were activating the right neural networks when we asked them to ‘think about moving’ while we physically helped them to do so,” Dr. Liew says. “If they can’t move at all, even if the right neurological signals are happening, they have no biological feedback to reinforce the learning and help them continue the physical therapy to recover.” For many people, the knowledge that there’s “intent before movement”—in that the brain has to “think” about moving before the body will do so, is news. We also contain a “body map” inside our heads that predicts our spacetime presence in the world (so we don’t bash into things all the time and know when something is wrong). Both of these brain-body elements face massive disruption after a stroke. The brain literally doesn’t know how to help the body move.

As a former software engineer, Karchem isn’t fazed by using advanced technology to aid the clinical process.

FROM THE CONFERENCE HALL TO THE LAB What Dr. Liew’s VR platform has done is show patients how this causal link works and aid speedier and less frustrating recovery in real life. She got the idea while geeking out in Northern California one day. “I went to the Experiential Technology Conference in San Francisco in 2015 and saw demos of intersections of neuroscience and technology, including EEG-based experiments, wearables, and so on. I could see the potential to help our clinical population by building a sensory-visual motor contingency between your own body and an avatar that you’re told is ‘you,’ which provides rewarding sensory feedback to reestablish brain-body signals. “Inside VR, you start to map the two together; it’s astonishing. It becomes an automatic process. We have seen that people who have had a stroke are able to ‘embody’ an avatar that does move, even though their own body, right now, cannot,” she says. Dr. Liew’s system is somewhat hacked together, in the best possible Maker Movement style; she built what GLGQ¶W H[LVW DQG PRGL¿HG ZKDW GLG WR KHU UHTXLUHPHQWV

We have seen that people who have had a stroke are able to ‘embody’ an avatar that does move, even though their own cannot.

“We wanted to keep costs low and build a working device that patients could actually afford to buy. We use Oculus for the [head-mounted display]. Then, while most EEG systems are $10,000 or more, we use an OpenBCI system to build our own, with EMG, for under $1,000. “We needed an EEG cap, but most EEG manufacturers wanted to charge us $200 or more. So, we decided to hack the rest of the system together, ordering a swim cap from Amazon, taking a mallet, and bashing holes in it to match up where the 12 positions on the head electrodes needed to be placed (within the 10-10 international EEG system). We also 3D print the EEG clips and IMU holders here at the lab. “For the EMG, we use off-the-shelf disposable sensors. This allows us to track the electromyography, if they do have trace muscular activity. In terms of the software platform, we coded custom elements in C# from Microsoft and implemented them in the Unity3D game engine.” Dr. Liew is very keen to bridge the gap between academia and the tech industry; she just submitted a new academic paper with the latest successful trial results from her work for publication. Last year, she spoke at SXSW 2017 about how VR affects the brain and debuted REINVENT at the conference’s VR Film Festival. It received a “Special Jury Recognition for Innovative Use of Virtual Reality in the Field of Health.” Going forward, Dr. Liew would like to bring her research to a wider audience: “I feel the future of brain-computer interfaces splits into adaptive, as with implanted electrodes, and rehabilitative, which is what we work on. What we hope to do with REINVENT is allow patients to use our system to re-train their neural pathways, [so they] eventually won’t need it, as they’ll have recovered. “We’re talking now about a commercial spinoff potential. We’re able to license the technology right now, but, as researchers, our focus, for the moment, is in IXUWKHULQJ WKLV ¿HOG DQG GHOLYHULQJ PRUH WULDO UHVXOWV LQ SXEOLVKHG SHHU UHYLHZHG papers. Once we have enough data, we can use machine learning to tailor the system precisely for each patient and share our results around the world.”

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Want to Speed Up Your Users’ Internet? Look at Your DNS Server BY WAYNE RASH

he Domain Name System (DNS) is crucial to how your users experience the internet. Each time users need to reach a website, their PCs need to translate whatever they type in the address bar into an IP address. Since most people can’t remember IP addresses, they type in the name of a website or other internet location.

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After someone types in something like “PCMag.com,” the computer sends that name out to a DNS server; it looks up the IP address and sends it back to the PC. Once the computer has the IP address, the user can navigate to the website.

THE DNS SLOWDOWN As you can imagine, it takes time for a DNS server to look up an IP address. It also takes time for the request to reach the server and for the address to travel back to the computer. This causes latency, and enough latency can cause users to swamp your helpdesk inbox with trouble tickets complaining of “slow internet.” Fortunately, a few DNS server operators are working on this problem by speeding up their part of the process, offering lookup services with as little latency as possible. In a move reminiscent of edge computing, these service providers are not only spreading out the computing load but are also putting their servers as close as possible to users, which means “travel time” latency is minimized. 2QH VXFK '16 VHUYLFH SURYLGHU LV &ORXGÀDUH '16 7KLV provider’s servers have the same IP address (1.1.1.1), ZKLFK \RXU URXWHU FDQ ¿QG RQ WKH LQWHUQHW E\ XVLQJ VHDUFK DOJRULWKPV WKDW FKRRVH WKH VKRUWHVW SDWK ¿UVW

Enough latency can cause users to swamp your helpdesk inbox with trouble tickets complaining of ‘slow internet.’

BETTER SECURITY $QRWKHU EHQHÂżW RI WKHVH QHZ VHUYLFHV LV D KLJKHU OHYHO RI VHFXULW\ EH\RQG W\SLFDO managed endpoint safeguards, because they encrypt DNS requests. This means that other services along the way, including a users’ internet service provider (ISP), can’t read what’s being requested. “Business or IT departments can update their routers and take advantage of ´ H[SODLQHG 0LFKHOOH =DWO\Q FRIRXQGHU DQG &KLHI 2SHUDWLQJ 2IÂżFHU &22 RI &ORXGĂ€DUH Âł:HÂśUH ZRUNLQJ ZLWK GLIIHUHQW ,63V WR PDNH LW HYHQ HDVLHU to access.â€? =DWO\Q VDLG WKDW WKHUHÂśV QR FKDUJH IRU DQ RUJDQL]DWLRQ WR XVH WKH &ORXGĂ€DUH '16 VHUYLFH DQG VKH VWUHVVHG WKH LPSRUWDQFH RI HQFU\SWLQJ WKH '16 UHTXHVWV Âł:HÂśUH D SULYDF\ ÂżUVW '16 UHVROYHU ´ VKH VDLG PHQWLRQLQJ WKDW &ORXGĂ€DUH LV ZRUNLQJ WR encourage widespread adoption, which is why there’s no charge. Still, while any EXVLQHVV FDQ XVH WKH &ORXGĂ€DUH '16 VHUYLFHV LW ZLOO ZRUN EHWWHU IRU VRPH WKDQ for others. “Some businesses have no idea who they’re getting DNS from,â€? Zatlyn said, ÂłZKLOH VRPH ZDQW DOO VRUWV RI ÂżOWHULQJ ´ 6KH VDLG WKDW DV LW FXUUHQWO\ VWDQGV WKH &ORXGĂ€DUH '16 LV SUREDEO\ QRW DSSURSULDWH IRU ODUJH EXVLQHVVHV WKDW GHPDQG D lot of control over which websites are resolved and which are not.

Âł:KDW ZH GR LQ RXU FRUH VHUYLFHV LV WKDW ZH SURYLGH D ODUJH VWUDWHJLF JOREDO network in 150 cities around the world—across the US, Canada, Europe, and PDLQODQG &KLQD ´ =DWO\Q VDLG Âł:HÂśUH YHU\ FORVH WR ZKHUH SHRSOH DUH FRQQHFWLQJ to the internet. Because we’re closer, we’re faster.â€? A GROWING NUMBER OF PLAYERS &ORXGĂ€DUH LVQÂśW WKH RQO\ FRPSDQ\ RIIHULQJ IDVW DQG VHFXUH '16 *RRJOH LV offering a public DNS service at IP addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. And Quad9 RIIHUV D VHUYLFH WKDWÂśV VLPLODU WR &ORXGĂ€DUHÂśV EXW WKDW DOVR EORFNV PDOLFLRXV websites. By doing so, Quad9 prevents malware from reaching its command and control servers, and it prevents coin-mining attacks into the bargain. Quad9 also has an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) DNS service that offers the same fast name resolution and security features. It also has an unsecure address IRU XVHUV ZKR ZDQW WKH IDVW QDPH UHVROXWLRQ EXW QRW WKH ÂżOWHULQJ /LNH WKH &ORXGĂ€DUH VHUYLFH 4XDG ZKLFK ZDV GHYHORSHG ZLWK WKH KHOS RI ,%0 LV IUHH Cisco offers OpenDNS, which is available for businesses of all sizes as well as for individual users. It’s free for individuals and very small businesses but there is a charge for other services. OpenDNS is part of the Cisco Umbrella offering, which provides a wide range of capabilities designed to secure business users. )RU ODUJHU FRPSDQLHV WKDW QHHG WKH ÂżOWHULQJ DQG RWKHU FDSDELOLWLHV WKDW =DWO\Q mentioned, this might be the answer. All three services are free to individual users, which means that you can try them out and see if they make sense for you. One potential difference is latency because, again, the farther you are from the service’s nearest DNS server, the greater the potential latency. Remember, latency is additive. Your total lost time to latency in your business is the sum of the latency for all users. And the lost time for each user is the sum of the delay for each website, each time a user visits it. Add this to the time it takes your other internet-connected devices to get name resolution each time they need it. Even a small change can make a big improvement.

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WHAT’S NEW NOW TOP GEAR

What We Love Most This Month BY CAROL MANGIS

IDOLCAM This innovative pocket-size camera combines a three-axis gimbal for stability, interchangeable lenses with a magnetic attachment system, beauty lighting (like that used by fashion photography), and a 180-degree flippable touchscreen into a compact and easyto-use device, created to take excellent video on the go. Starts at $350.00; www.kickstarter.com

GOOGLE’S PROJECT SOLI Imagine your hands are the only interface you need. That’s the promise of Project Soli, a purpose-built interaction sensor in a compact chip that uses radar for motion-tracking hands. At the core of how it works is a concept called Virtual Tools, which are similar to real-word tools such as buttons, dials, and sliders. TBD; https://atap.google.com/soli

AURA FITNESS BAND This fitness wearable plans to take the category to the next level by getting really specific with data. It tracks your body composition, hydration levels, heart rate, and activity using bioimpedance, which creates a low-voltage electrical signal that measures your body tissues’ resistance. The Aura also lets you send data directly to your insurance company, fitness center, or doctor. Starts at $99; www.kickstarter.com

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Tim Bajari

COMMENTARY

Alexa, Teach Me How to Talk to You KHQ $SSOH LQWURGXFHG LWV ¿UVW personal digital assistant (PDA), the Newton, in 1992, it was clear from the start that it was not long for this world. As a concept, the Newton was a head-turner, but its design and functions were weak, to say the least.

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The Newton’s biggest problem was the deeply ÀDZHG KDQGZULWLQJ UHFRJQLWLRQ WHFKQRORJ\ 7KH mobile processors available at the time were incapable of handling this task with any level of accuracy or precision, while the software was poorly executed. , UHPHPEHU À\LQJ WR &KLFDJR IRU WKH ODXQFK RI WKH 1HZWRQ DW WKH UHTXHVW RI WKHQ $SSOH &(2 -RKQ Sculley, who had driven the project from the beginning. But during the onstage demo, the handwriting recognition failed repeatedly. We were told it was an early version of the software, but I had a strong sense that Apple was overpromising. During the early years of the Newton, Palm &RPSXWLQJ IRXQGHU -HII +DZNLQV EHJDQ ZRUNLQJ on his own version of a PDA. While that device ZDV VWLOO LQ GHYHORSPHQW +DZNLQV LQYLWHG PH WR KLV RI¿FH WR VHH D PRFNXS ZKLFK ZDV D ZRRGHQ block sculpted to look like what would eventually became the PalmPilot.

Tim Bajarin is the president of Creative Strategies and a consultant, analyst, and futurist covering personal computers and consumer technology.

Tim Bajari

, DVNHG +DZNLQV ZK\ KH WKRXJKW WKH 1HZWRQ KDG IDLOHG +H SRLQWHG WR KLV WLPH DW *ULG 6\VWHPV ZKLFK LQWURGXFHG WKH ÂżUVW UHDO SHQ FRPSXWLQJ ODSWRS LQ WKH *ULG3DG ,W WRR KDG D ORZ OHYHO &38 DQG ZDV QRW DEOH WR KDQGOH WUXH FKDUDFWHU UHFRJQLWLRQ %XW LW WDXJKW +DZNLQV WKDW ZKHQ LW came to pen input and character recognition, one needed to follow an exact formula and write the characters as stated in the manual. 7KDWÂśV ZK\ WKH 3DOP3LORW LQFOXGHG WKH *UDIÂżWL writing system, which taught a user how to write D QXPEHU OHWWHU RI WKH DOSKDEHW DQG VSHFLÂżF characters (such as # and $) in ways the 3DOP3LORW FRXOG XQGHUVWDQG , ZDV RQH RI WKH ÂżUVW WR WHVW D 3DOP3LORW DQG , IRXQG *UDIÂżWL WR EH YHU\ LQWXLWLYH 2QH FRXOG FDOO WKLV D IRUP RI UHYHUVH programming, since the machine was teaching me how to use it in the language it understood. Fast forward to today, and I believe we have a VLPLODU WKLQJ JRLQJ RQ ZLWK GLJLWDO DVVLVWDQWV 2QH big difference this time around is that processing power along with AI and machine learning makes these digital assistants much smarter—but they’re not always accurate. ,Q ZKDW , WKLQN RI DV D *UDIÂżWL OLNH PRYH $PD]RQ VHQGV PH ZHHNO\ HPDLOV WKDW LQFOXGH RYHU D GR]HQ new questions Alexa can answer. This is also reverse programming of a kind, as it teaches me to ask Alexa the proper questions. From a recent email, here are some of the new things Alexa can respond to: “Alexa, what’s on your mind?â€?

@Bajarin

Tim Bajari

“Alexa, what’s another word for ‘happy?’â€? “Alexa, what can I make with chicken and spinach?â€? “Alexa, call Mom.â€? “Alexa, test my spelling skills.â€? “Alexa, wake me up in the morning.â€? “Alexa, how long is the movie Black Panther?â€? “Alexa, speak in iambic pentameter.â€? “Alexa, how many days until Memorial Day?â€? 7KHVH ZHHNO\ SURPSWV DOORZ PH DQG RWKHU (FKR owners to understand the proper way to ask Alexa D TXHVWLRQ DQG WKH\ EXLOG XS RXU FRQÂżGHQFH LQ interacting with the platform. I have no doubt that as faster processors, machine learning, and AI are applied to digital assistants, they will get smarter. But I suspect that more and more companies that create digital DVVLVWDQWV ZLOO DOVR VWDUW XVLQJ $PD]RQÂśV PRGHO RI teaching people how to ask questions that are more in line with how their digital assistants want a query to be stated. tim_bajarin@pcmag.com

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These weekly prompts allow me and other Echo owners to understand the proper way to ask Alexa a question.

Doug Newcom

COMMENTARY

Tesla’s Tussle With Feds Over Model X Accident Is a Fool’s Errand

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ilicon Valley trailblazers have reshaped our lives with their innovations. But the same irrepressible attitude and disregard for traditional rules that drive idiosyncratic individuals and iconic company founders including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Uber’s Travis Kalanick, Tesla’s Elon Musk, and Apple’s Steve Jobs also often lead to clashes with lawmakers. Zuckerberg’s testimony last week on Capitol Hill, where he was grilled over user privacy, is evidence of the “beg for forgiveness, not permission” approach. But at least Zuck issued a mea culpa before Congress and took DFFRXQWDELOLW\ IRU WKH &DPEULGJH $QDO\WLFD ¿DVFR Contrast that with Tesla’s tit for tat with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The agency is investigating a fatal Model X crash in California involving Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot feature, with which it has played fast and loose compared to more conservative automakers. The Model X accident was within days of another death involving an Uber selfdriving vehicle.

Car tech expert Doug Newcomb has written for Popular Mechanics, Road & Track, and other publications, and is the author of Car Audio for Dummies.

Doug Newcom

It’s just the latest example of Silicon Valley’s disdain for following the rules of the road. When *RRJOH ÂżUVW UHYHDOHG LQ ODWH WKDW LWV VHOI GULYLQJ FDUV KDG ORJJHG PRUH WKDQ PLOHV in California, there were no laws against testing autonomous cars on public roads in the company’s home state. But Google was aware it was pushing the legal limits. “Keeping the project quiet enabled Google to test under the radar of public opinion and lawmakers,â€? recalls Seval Oz, who at the time headed business development for the company’s self-driving car project. “We just didn’t want the program to slow down for any reason.â€? Silicon Valley has since become the epicenter of self-driving technology, and the area’s “move fast and break thingsâ€? ethos has extended to autonomous vehicle testing. A large part of Uber’s VWUDWHJ\ ÂżUVW ZLWK LWV ULGH VKDULQJ EXVLQHVV DQG later with its autonomous technology, involved skirting rules. The war of words between Tesla and the NTSB VWDUWHG DIWHU D 0DUFK FUDVK WKDW NLOOHG :DOWHU Huang, who struck the center divider on a Northern California highway while behind the wheel of a Model X. A week after the accident, Tesla revealed that the vehicle’s Autopilot semi-autonomous feature was turned on, that Huang didn’t have his hands on the steering wheel for six seconds prior to the crash, and he failed to take evasive action.

@dougnewcomb

Doug Newcom

The release of this information—and blaming the driver before the investigation was complete, which can take months—violates an DJUHHPHQW WR NHHS DFFLGHQW GDWD FRQ¿GHQWLDO XQWLO WKH 176% LV UHDG\ WR release it. On Wednesday, Tesla withdrew from the investigation “because it requires that we not release information about Autopilot to the public, a requirement which we believe fundamentally affects public safety negatively.” But following what Bloomberg described as a tense phone call late Wednesday between NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt and Elon Musk, the agency took the unusual step of removing Tesla from the investigation. In a statement on Thursday, the agency said that “releases of incomplete information often lead to speculation and incorrect assumptions about the probable cause of a crash.” Sumwalt added that “it is unfortunate that Tesla, by its actions, did not abide by the party agreement.” Later the same day, Tesla insisted it severed ties on the investigation with the NTSB, not the other way around. And took a jab at the agency: “It’s been clear in our conversations with the NTSB that they’re more concerned with press headlines than actually promoting safety,” Tesla said in a statement. As of press time, the tiff between Tesla and NTSB is still playing out. Tesla will reportedly still provide data to the agency, which investigates accidents and makes safety recommendations but does not set policy, but will not be a formal party to the probe. Coming on the heels of the Uber autonomous car fatality, the Tesla accident—and the company’s combative approach to the investigation— OLNHO\ ZRQ¶W LQVSLUH FRRSHUDWLRQ RU KHOS LQVWLOO FRQ¿GHQFH LQ SXEOLF RI¿FLDOV ZKR DUH JURZLQJ PRUH FLUFXPVSHFW DERXW VHOI GULYLQJ technology. It also smacks of Silicon arrogance on Tesla’s part and could not only cost progress on self-driving policy but also lives. doug_newcomb@pcmag.com

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Ben Dickso

COMMENTARY

4 Reasons Not to Fear Deep Learning (Yet) ack n 2012, a group of scientists from the University of Toronto made an imageFODVVL¿FDWLRQ EUHDNWKURXJK $W ,PDJH1HW DQ DQQXDO DUWL¿FLDO LQWHOOLJHQFH $, FRPSHWLWLRQ in which contestants vie to create the most DFFXUDWH LPDJH FODVVL¿FDWLRQ DOJRULWKP WKH 7RURQWR WHDP GHEXWHG $OH[1HW ³ZKLFK EHDW WKH ¿HOG E\ D ZKRSSLQJ SHUFHQWDJH SRLQW PDUJLQ SHUFHQW EHWWHU WKDQ WKH QH[W EHVW ´ DFFRUGLQJ WR 4XDUW]

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'HHS OHDUQLQJ WKH PHWKRG XVHG E\ WKH WHDP ZDV a radical improvement over previous approaches WR $, DQG XVKHUHG LQ D QHZ HUD RI LQQRYDWLRQ ,W has since found its way into education, KHDOWKFDUH F\EHUVHFXULW\ ERDUG JDPHV DQG WUDQVODWLRQ DQG KDV SLFNHG XS ELOOLRQV RI GROODUV LQ 6LOLFRQ 9DOOH\ LQYHVWPHQWV Many have praised deep learning and its superset, machine learning, as the general-purpose technology of our era and more profound than HOHFWULFLW\ DQG ¿UH 2WKHUV WKRXJK ZDUQ WKDW GHHS OHDUQLQJ ZLOO HYHQWXDOO\ EHVW KXPDQV DW HYHU\ WDVN DQG EHFRPH WKH XOWLPDWH MRE NLOOHU $QG WKH H[SORVLRQ RI DSSOLFDWLRQV DQG VHUYLFHV SRZHUHG E\ GHHS OHDUQLQJ KDV UHLJQLWHG IHDUV RI DQ $, DSRFDO\SVH LQ ZKLFK VXSHU LQWHOOLJHQW computers conquer the planet and drive humans LQWR VODYHU\ RU H[WLQFWLRQ

Ben Dickson is a software engineer who writes about disruptive tech trends, including artificial intelligence, VR and AR, the IoT, and blockchain. Ben also runs the blog Tech Talks.

Ben Dickso

%XW GHVSLWH WKH K\SH GHHS OHDUQLQJ KDV VRPH ÀDZV that may prevent it from realizing some of its SURPLVH²ERWK SRVLWLYH DQG QHJDWLYH DEEP LEARNING RELIES TOO MUCH ON DATA Deep learning and deep neural networks, which comprise its underlying structure, are often FRPSDUHG WR WKH KXPDQ EUDLQ %XW RXU PLQGV FDQ learn concepts and make decisions with very little data; deep learning requires tons of samples to SHUIRUP WKH VLPSOHVW WDVN $W LWV FRUH GHHS OHDUQLQJ LV D FRPSOH[ WHFKQLTXH WKDW PDSV LQSXWV WR RXWSXWV E\ ¿QGLQJ FRPPRQ SDWWHUQV LQ ODEHOHG GDWD DQG XVLQJ WKH NQRZOHGJH WR FDWHJRUL]H RWKHU GDWD VDPSOHV )RU LQVWDQFH JLYH D deep-learning application enough pictures of cats, DQG LW ZLOO EH DEOH WR GHWHFW ZKHWKHU D SKRWR FRQWDLQV D FDW /LNHZLVH ZKHQ D GHHS OHDUQLQJ DOJRULWKP ingests enough sound samples of different words DQG SKUDVHV LW FDQ UHFRJQL]H DQG WUDQVFULEH VSHHFK But this approach is effective only when you have a ORW RI TXDOLW\ GDWD WR IHHG \RXU DOJRULWKPV 2WKHUZLVH GHHS OHDUQLQJ DOJRULWKPV FDQ PDNH ZLOG PLVWDNHV OLNH PLVWDNLQJ D ULÀH IRU D KHOLFRSWHU When their data is not inclusive and diverse, deeplearning algorithms have even displayed racist and VH[LVW EHKDYLRU Reliance on data also causes a centralization SUREOHP %HFDXVH WKH\ KDYH DFFHVV WR YDVW DPRXQWV RI GDWD FRPSDQLHV VXFK DV *RRJOH DQG $PD]RQ DUH LQ D EHWWHU SRVLWLRQ WR GHYHORS KLJKO\ HI¿FLHQW GHHS learning applications than startups with fewer UHVRXUFHV 7KH FHQWUDOL]DWLRQ RI $, LQ D IHZ companies could hamper innovation and give those FRPSDQLHV WRR PXFK VZD\ RYHU WKHLU XVHUV

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Many have praised deep learning and its superset, machine learning, as the generalpurpose technology of our era.

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REVIEWS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Fitbit Versa: Right Features, Right Price For its second smartwatch, Fitbit is taking a more casual approach. As its name implies, the Versa has versatile design, with myriad customizable clock faces, straps, and color EDITORS’ CHOICE options. It’s versatile in functionality as well, FDSDEOH RI WUDFNLQJ DOO RI \RXU W\SLFDO ¿WQHVV PHWULFV DV ZHOO DV ¿HOGLQJ \RXU WH[WV FDOOV DQG DSS QRWL¿FDWLRQV ,W even has its own solid app library. And at $199.95, the 9HUVD LV RQH RI WKH PRUH DIIRUGDEOH ¿WQHVV WUDFNHU smartwatch hybrids on the market. Although you’ll have to wait for some of its more intriguing features to be available—such as female health tracking—the Versa is already quite solid and is our Editors’ Choice for smartwatches.

Fitbit Versa $199.95 L L L l m

SLEEK AND CHIC You’d be forgiven for thinking the Versa is the Apple :DWFK DW ¿UVW JODQFH )URP WKH ³VTXLUFOH´ GLVSOD\ WR WKH modular straps, the resemblance is uncanny—and that’s a good thing. Where the Fitbit Ionic’s blocky design leans toward the sporty, the Versa’s rounded corners make for a sleeker, friendlier look and feel. It’s waterproof up to 50 meters, or 5 ATM, meaning it’s safe for both the pool and shower. The Versa is available in a single size with three default case and silicone strap combinations: a black aluminum case with a black strap, a rose gold aluminum case with a peach strap, and a silver aluminum case with a gray strap. For $229.95, you can get the Fitbit Versa Special Edition, which features woven straps in charcoal or lavender. In terms of accessories, Fitbit is offering everything from classic silicone bands to leather and metal mesh options, ranging from $29.95 to $99.95. , RSWHG IRU WKH URVH JROG DQG SHDFK FRPELQDWLRQ ,W¶V an attractive look, and I appreciate the ability to choose a feminine color palette. Too often, smartwatches are geared toward a strictly male audience, resulting in products that don’t look or feel right on female wrists.

Fitbit Versa PROS Sleek, lightweight design with lots of style options. Accurate fitness tracking. Guided workouts with Fitbit Coach. Stores music on-device. Long battery life. Will support female health tracking. CONS Swapping straps isn’t easy. Thick bezel. Some features not yet available.

I also tried a black mesh strap, and I like how it dresses the watch up. But (unlike the silicone bands, which have KROHV IRU HDVLO\ ¿QGLQJ \RXU VL]H WR DGMXVW WKH PHVK EDQG \RX KDYH WR ¿UVW RSHQ WKH FODVS 7KHQ \RX QHHG D ÀDWKHDG VFUHZGULYHU WR SXOO XS WKH ODWFK EHIRUH \RX FDQ tighten or loosen the strap. I love the variety of available bands, but swapping between them is a little tricky. The straps are secured via ball pins, which you have to pinch to remove. While it’s easy enough to take straps off, it’s a bit trickier to SXW WKHP RQ ,W¶V GRDEOH EXW ¿QLFN\ HQRXJK WKDW , wouldn’t want to have to change straps frequently. With the Apple Watch, you simply press a latch and slide the straps into place. The Fitbit Ionic also uses a simpler latch mechanism. The square display is crisp, bright, and clear. It measures about 0.95 on each side and has a resolution RI E\ SL[HOV %XW OLNH WKH ,RQLF LW KDV D UDWKHU thick bezel. It’s less noticeable on the Versa, but don’t H[SHFW DQ HGJH WR HGJH GLVSOD\ OLNH WKH $SSOH :DWFK¶V There are three buttons, one on the left side of the case and two on the right. Pressing the left button brings up PXVLF FRQWUROV WKH WRS ULJKW EXWWRQ WRJJOHV WKH H[HUFLVH app, and the bottom right button is for the alarm. These functions can be changed to your liking. Inside, the Versa packs an impressive array of sensors IRU WKH SULFH ,Q DGGLWLRQ WR WKH W\SLFDO WKUHH D[LV accelerometer and gyroscope, it has an altimeter, an ambient light sensor, optical heart rate monitor, and 6S2 VHQVRU IRU PHDVXULQJ SHULSKHUDO FDSLOODU\ R[\JHQ VDWXUDWLRQ DQ HVWLPDWH RI WKH DPRXQW RI R[\JHQ LQ \RXU EORRG 7KH 9HUVD VXSSRUWV %OXHWRRWK DQG E J Q :L )L 7KH 6SHFLDO (GLWLRQ DOVR KDV 1)& FRQQHFWLYLW\ for contactless payments.

Where the Fitbit Ionic’s blocky design leans toward the sporty, the Versa’s rounded corners make for a sleeker look and feel.

Battery life is estimated at over four days; charging from zero to 100 percent takes about two hours. As of this writing, I’ve worn the Versa for two and a half days and still have 55 percent battery left. That’s much better than your average WRXFK VFUHHQ VPDUWZDWFK ZKLFK W\SLFDOO\ JHWV VRPHZKHUH EHWZHHQ WR hours of battery life. It also enables the Versa to track sleep, as you don’t have to take it off every night to charge. Speaking of charging, it’s a little disappointing that the Versa comes with a bulky proprietary charger. It’s not ideal for stowing in your bag, and if you lose or break it, you’ll have to buy a new one. A STRONGER ECOSYSTEM One of our main issues with the Ionic was the lack of apps for Fitbit OS at launch. That’s still somewhat true—both Apple and Google have a wider VHOHFWLRQ RI WKLUG SDUW\ DSSV %XW )LWELW LV FDWFKLQJ XS ,WV $SS *DOOHU\ QRZ offers over 550 apps and clock faces, including Deezer, Pandora, Philips Hue, 6WDUEXFNV DQG <HOS $GGLWLRQDOO\ )LWELW KDV D VHULHV RI ³H[SHULPHQWDO´ DSSV WKDW are part of its Fitbit Labs. Fitbit also announced that it would bring female health tracking to its platform ODWHU WKLV \HDU :KLOH RWKHU VPDUWZDWFK HFRV\VWHPV RIIHU SHULRG WUDFNLQJ DSSV WKH\¶UH QRW EXLOW LQWR WKH PDLQ 26 H[SHULHQFH )LWELW 26 FXUUHQWO\ VXSSRUWV WKH WKLUG SDUW\ &OXH DSS D SRSXODU F\FOH WUDFNLQJ DSS EXW ZH¶UH ORRNLQJ IRUZDUG WR WHVWLQJ WKLV IHDWXUH ZKHQ LW ODXQFKHV LQ 0D\ $OVR H[SHFWHG DW WKDW WLPH LV TXLFN UHSO\ UHVSRQVHV IRU WH[WV RQ $QGURLG SKRQHV

Like the Ionic, the Versa supports onboard music storage (you can listen to PXVLF WKURXJK D SDLU RI FRQQHFWHG %OXHWRRWK KHDGSKRQHV <RX FDQ ORDG XS WR VRQJV RU SRGFDVWV IRU RQ GHYLFH SOD\EDFN OHWWLQJ \RX OHDYH \RXU SKRQH DW KRPH <RX FDQ DOVR GRZQORDG VWDWLRQV RU SOD\OLVWV WR SOD\ RIÀLQH IURP 'HH]HU RU Pandora (new Fitbit subscribers can get three months free from Deezer and one PRQWK IURP 3DQGRUD Other features and interface elements are similar to what you get on the Ionic. 7R DFFHVV \RXU SKRQH QRWL¿FDWLRQV LQFOXGLQJ WH[W FDOO FDOHQGDU DQG DSS QRWL¿FDWLRQV VLPSO\ VZLSH GRZQ IURP WKH FORFN IDFH VFUHHQ 6ZLSLQJ XS WDNHV you to a quick summary of your daily steps, movement, and heart rate. To view apps, swipe left. There are four apps to a screen, and you can swipe left and right to browse through all of them. Loading apps can be a bit slow, but it’s noticeably improved since the Ionic launched last summer. FITNESS FEATURES 7KH 9HUVD KDV D OHJ XS RQ WKH VPDUWZDWFK FRPSHWLWLRQ ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR ¿WQHVV WUDFNLQJ ,Q D FRQWUROOHG RQH PLOH WUHDGPLOO ZDON DW PLOHV SHU KRXU LW ORJJHG VWHSV %\ FRPSDULVRQ D <DPD[ 6: 'LJL :DONHU D SHGRPHWHU RIWHQ used in clinical studies, recorded 2,172 steps on the same walk, for a difference RI MXVW SHUFHQW 2Q D RQH PLOH UXQ DW PSK WKH 9HUVD WUDFNHG VWHSV WR WKH <DPD[¶V IRU D GLIIHUHQFH RI SHUFHQW 7KHVH DUH H[FHOOHQW UHVXOWV )RU GLVWDQFH WKH 9HUVD XQGHUUHSRUWHG P\ RQH PLOH ZDON DV PLOH ,W IDUHG EHWWHU RQ P\ UXQ ORJJLQJ DQ H[FHOOHQW PLOH 7KLV VOLJKW GLVSDULW\ LVQ¶W WRR VXUSULVLQJ DV WKH 9HUVD GRHVQ¶W KDYH *36 DV WKH PRUH H[SHQVLYH ,RQLF GRHV This won’t be a big deal for indoor runners, but it means you may want to use your phone’s GPS for distance when you take it outdoors. 7KH 9HUVD FDQ WUDFN SOHQW\ RI RWKHU DFWLYLWLHV DV ZHOO 7KH ([HUFLVH DSS KDV options for biking, intervals, swimming, weights, and a general workout option. And if you play tennis, you can download a Fitbit Labs Tennis app. <RX DOVR JHW WKH RSWLRQ RI JXLGHG RQ GHYLFH ZRUNRXWV WKURXJK WKH )LWELW &RDFK DSS 2XW RI WKH ER[ DUH WKUHH ZRUNRXWV ZLWK VWHS E\ VWHS LQVWUXFWLRQV DQG \RX can receive personalized or recommended workouts by downloading the Fitbit Coach app.

TESTING THE TRACKING The Versa achieved excellent results in our fitness tracking test. In a one-mile treadmill walk at 3.5 miles per hour, it logged 2,122 steps. By comparison, a Yamax SW-200 Digi-Walker recorded 2,172 steps on the same walk, for a difference of just 2.3 percent.

The Versa proved reliable when it comes to heart rate monitoring. During my tests, it was always within 5 to 10 beats per minute of the Polar H10 chest strap (chest straps use electrical signals to measure your heart rate and are generally PRUH DFFXUDWH WKDQ WKHLU RSWLFDO FRXQWHUSDUWV ,W DOVR ORJJHG P\ VOHHS ZLWK accuracy. And like Fitbit’s other trackers, it offers detailed insight into sleeping habits and patterns. A TRUE HYBRID 7KH 9HUVD KDV D PDMRU HGJH RQ WKH VPDUWZDWFK FRPSHWLWLRQ ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR battery life, and unlike the Apple Watch, it works with both Android and iOS SKRQHV 7KH )LWELW ,RQLF RIIHUV *36 1)& DQG D VOLJKWO\ ODUJHU GLVSOD\ EXW ZH strongly prefer the Versa’s design and the fact that it’s $100 less. ,I \RX¶UH ORRNLQJ IRU WKH EHVW DSS VHOHFWLRQ DQG \RX¶UH DQ L3KRQH XVHU JHW DQ $SSOH :DWFK ,I \RX¶UH IRFXVHG RQ ¿WQHVV WKHUH DUH PDQ\ JRRG WUDFNHUV RQ WKH market. But if you want the best of both worlds, look no further than the Fitbit Versa. It combines the good looks and some of the app selection of the Apple :DWFK ZLWK WKH ¿WQHVV WUDFNLQJ FDSDELOLWLHV )LWELW LV NQRZQ IRU $W \RX¶UH getting a ton of functionality for the price. Add in future support for female health tracking, and you get our Editors’ Choice for smartwatches. VICTORIA SONG

REVIEWS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Apple iPad (2018): Best Midrange Tablet Apple’s sixth-generation iPad is still the best tablet value. For $329 ( $299 for students), you get a light, high-quality tablet with millions of apps—now with a faster processor EDITORS’ CHOICE and Apple Pencil support. It’s great for content consumption and creative work. But Apple wants to compete with laptops and chromebooks in schools, and that requires adding expensive accessories WKDW VLJQL¿FDQWO\ UDLVH WKH SULFH

Apple iPad (2018) $329.99 L L L l m

There are two ways to look at the new iPad: the way most people would look at it and the way Apple wants us to look at it. If we were just handed a new iPad, we’d say, hey, it’s a great all-purpose tablet with cool creative features. Last year’s iPad was our no-brainer recommendation for anyone who wanted a tablet in its price range, and the same goes for this one, too, so it’s our Editors’ Choice. But Apple set itself a harder challenge with this device. It was introduced at an event in a high school and promoted as Apple’s answer to chromebooks’ conquest of schools. That puts the iPad in a different light: Is it better for schools than cheap, rugged, cloud-based laptops? For all but the most ambitious educators, we don’t think so.

A FAMILIAR LOOK 7KH VL[WK JHQHUDWLRQ L3DG ORRNV H[DFWO\ OLNH WKH ÂżIWK JHQ PRGHO WR WKH SRLQW ZKHUH LW ÂżWV LQ DOO RI WKH VDPH cases and accessories. The two generations of tablets are exactly the same size and weight: 9.4 by 6.6 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and 1.03 pounds for the Wi-Fi model and 1.05 pounds for the cellular unit.

Apple iPad (2018) PROS Terrific performance for the price. Elegant, highquality apps. Supports Apple Pencil. CONS Neither rugged nor waterproof. Keyboard and Pencil accessories increase the price.

The tablet isn’t formally ruggedized or water-resistant. It has no IP rating (ingress protection), although Apple says it’s “tough.â€? Compared with some of the tough chromebooks, such as CTL’s models for schools and the new Lenovo 100e/300e/500e, it’s still breakable, though. A lot of that is just the iPad’s slippery nature and the fact that its glass face doesn’t have a clamshell to protect it—it’s Gorilla Glass, but it’s still glass. That’s part of why Apple suggests a new $99 Logitech rugged keyboard case for using this iPad in schools. The case physically attaches a keyboard and protects the tablet, but it also boosts the price. Of course, you can get cheaper cases—and we do suggest you use a case. The least-expensive decent ones tend to cost $10 to $15, but they don’t include the NH\ERDUG WKDW VFKRROV ZLOO ZDQW WR XVH IRU ÂżOOLQJ IRUPV and writing assignments. The iPad’s form factor should be familiar to you by now: ,WÂśV D VODE RI JODVV DQG PHWDO ZLWK D 7RXFK ,' ÂżQJHUSULQW sensor/home button below the screen. Unlike with recent iPhone models, Apple has kept the headphone jack on the iPad. That’s a good choice. The tablet comes in gold, gray, or silver. AUGMENTING THE IPAD’S REALITY The iPad uses an A10 processor, the same as in the iPhone 7. That’s a step up from the A9 LQ WKH ÂżIWK JHQHUDWLRQ L3DG DQG LW UHDOO\ shows on benchmarks: On Geekbench 4, we got 3,512 single-core and 5,934 multicore, as compared with 2,548/4,435 on WKH ÂżIWK JHQ PRGHO 7KDWÂśV VWLOO VKRUW RI the results we get on iPad Pro devices, which have an even more powerful A10X processor.

Unlike with recent iPhone models, Apple has kept the headphone jack on the iPad. That’s a good choice.

The faster processor doesn’t change the speed of the basic UI; apps launch and VZDS DW DERXW WKH VDPH VSHHG RQ ERWK WDEOHWV %XW ZH FDQ GH¿QLWHO\ VHH WKH difference between the A9 and A10 when running augmented reality (AR) apps. 2Q WKH ¿IWK JHQ L3DG $5 DSSV VXFK DV ,NHD 3ODFH DQG WKH JDPH 6WDFN $5 DV well as more ambitious educational AR apps, tend to stutter and judder a little. On the sixth-generation iPad, those apps run much more smoothly. The A10 may also be needed to process Apple Pencil input with the smooth, ODJOHVV SUHFLVLRQ WKDW ZH VHH RQ WKLV WDEOHW 7KH ¿IWK JHQ L3DG GRHVQ¶W KDYH Pencil support at all. We didn’t see a clearly visible performance advantage in lower-powered applications such as basic drawing or word-processing apps. Apple’s APIs are DOVR UHDOO\ JRRG DW KDQGOLQJ JDPHV DQG ZH ZHUHQ¶W DEOH WR ¿QG PDQ\ WKDW FRXOG push the limits of this hardware—yet. /LNH DOO L3DGV JRLQJ EDFN WR WKH ¿YH \HDU ROG L3DG $LU WKH VL[WK JHQ L3DG UXQV L26 :H KDYH D IXOO UHYLHZ RI L26 KHUH PENCIL PUSHING The Apple Pencil is still, functionally, the best stylus for any midrange tablet. The $99 Pencil ($89 for schools) is just as accurate and lagless on the new iPad as it is on the iPad Pro. Apple says that while the new iPad has only a 60Hz display, as compared with the iPad Pro’s 120Hz ProMotion display, the Pencil tracking still runs at 240Hz—faster than the screen can update. The Pencil’s pressure and tilt support are excellent. Apple’s iWork apps have been updated with stylus support, with the ability to do handwritten markups on Pages documents that move around with the main content coming soon.

But the design and price of the Pencil, which haven’t changed in two years, need help. A perfect cylinder, the Pencil rolls off a table much too easily. It’s too long for small hands to use comfortably. Charging is awkward: The male Lightning port can snap off, and you can lose the removable cap while it’s charging. Replacements are really expensive. The Pencil also needs an eraser. When we had an enthusiastic sixth-grade artist try the new iPad, she complained about all of these things (and lost the Pencil under a table at one point). The $49 Logitech Crayon is a potential solution to a lot of these problems, but it will be available only through education sales channels. We tried the Crayon for a few PLQXWHV DW $SSOHœV ODXQFK HYHQW ,WœV ÀDWWHU WKDQ WKH Pencil, so it doesn’t roll. The cap is attached, and the female Lightning port is more rugged than the Pencil’s port. But it has the same sensitivity, including touch and tilt, and the same narrow tip. That said, there aren’t a lot of other good pen-enabled solutions available at this price. We have not been impressed with stylus support on chromebooks so far: It’s there, but it’s a bit laggy and is not compatible with D ORW RI DSSV 6DPVXQJœV VW\OXV VXSSRUWLQJ $QGURLG SRZHUHG *DOD[\ 7DE 6 VWDUWV DW ZH OLNH WKH 6DPVXQJ 6 3HQ H[SHULHQFH EXW LWœV KDUG IRU XV WR recommend high-end Android tablets any longer, when it looks like even Google has given up on that market. Acer’s chromebook Tab 10 tablet looks intriguing, but we haven’t tested it yet. 7KH &UD\RQ GH¿QLWHO\ EHDWV WKH 3HQFLO LQ RXU PLQGV and both beat using capacitive stylii on devices that don’t have a dedicated touch layer. We just wish Apple licensed the technology to more third parties to create a wider range of options.

Charging is awkward: The male Lightning port can snap off, and you can lose the removable cap while it’s charging.

The 9.7-inch iPad comes in two storage capacities, 32GB and 128GB, and Wi-Fi and cellular models. That’s an 8MP camera on the back.

SAME AS IT EVER WAS The iPad still comes in 32GB and 128GB models, both Wi-Fi-only and cellular. The $329 base price goes up by $100 for the 128GB model, and another $120 IRU FHOOXODU 7KH *% PRGHO LV ¿QH IRU EDVLF XVH DQG IRU GRLQJ WKLQJV OLNH FORXG EDVHG RI¿FH DQG HGXFDWLRQ DSSOLFDWLRQV $V LW KDV QR PHPRU\ FDUG VORW \RX¶OO want the 128GB model if you plan to record a lot of video or download more than about 20 or so apps. The 8-megapixel, f/2.4 main camera and 1.2-megapixel, f/2.2 front-facing camera still haven’t changed. They’re still very good for tablets although not up to the standards of leading phone cameras. The main camera captures 1080p video as well as 120fps slow motion at 720p; the front-facing camera captures S YLGHR 7KH PDLQ FDPHUD ZRUNV ¿QH LQ VWDQGDUG LQGRRU OLJKWLQJ DOWKRXJK images are noisy. This is important because, beyond taking snapshots, it’s now the gateway to all those AR experiences. The dual speakers, at the bottom, are the same volume and quality as on the ¿IWK JHQ L3DG %OXHWRRWK LV VWLOO 9HUVLRQ DQG :L )L DF *36 DQG DOO FDUULHU FRPSDWLEOH &'0$ *60 /7( FHOOXODU PRGHPV RSHUDWH WKH VDPH DV WKH\ do in that model. %DWWHU\ OLIH LV DOVR WKH VDPH %RWK WKH ¿IWK DQG VL[WK JHQ L3DGV JRW DERXW hours, 40 minutes in our intensive battery test, which involves streaming a fullscreen video at full brightness. That translates to more than 10 hours of use at half brightness, just what Apple promises.

6LQFH WKH 3HQFLO QRZ ZRUNV RQ WKH L3DG LV WKHUH DQ\ UHDVRQ WR EX\ D inch iPad Pro? Only if you’re a really picky, high-end creative type. The Pro has a more powerful processor than the $329 iPad, and a few extra features that cosset the eyes and ears of the creative crowd. The display is slightly larger. Its 120Hz ProMotion nature smooths scrolling, and its TrueTone color matching balances white levels to the room you’re in. Quad speakers are louder and richer WKDQ WKH L3DG¶V ERWWRP VSHDNHU 6WRUDJH OHYHOV JR XS WR *% ZKLOH WKH L3DG maxes out at 128GB. That all speaks to a tablet for people who are doing serious movie-making and the like, primarily on their iPads. Honestly, though, I have never met any of these people in person. If you’re a serious creative using an iPad as a full laptop replacement, go with the Pro. But if you’re a serious creative, we really recommend you go with a Mac or Windows PC rather than an iPad anyway. SHINY AND CHROME Apple is promoting an extensive, creative school curriculum around the particular powers of the iPad—focusing, of course, on the ways it’s superior to chromebooks. Most chromebooks don’t have cameras, most have weak PXOWLPHGLD FUHDWLRQ DSSV DQG WKHLU VW\OLL DUHQ¶W DV VOLFN DV WKH 3HQFLO 6R $SSOH is promoting a lot of hands-on, creative learning with augmented reality art galleries, assembling video poems about math, building ebooks about science, and drawing doodles in the margins of Pages reports.

I’m not going to disparage doodling on your school reports (my kid doodled on every one of her math worksheets for years). But the sort of creative learning that requires an iPad rather than a chromebook, is in relatively short shrift in our nation’s underfunded schools. As a truly empowered iPad for schools costs about $299 for the tablet, $99 for the case, and another $49 to $99 for the stylus, schools that choose iPads over cheaper chromebooks should do so as part of a move to creative, progressive lesson plans. That’s an ambitious lift for underfunded school districts and overworked teachers who are judged by their state test scores. Chromebooks are inexpensive, durable, and rugged, and they have keyboards. They’re good for collaborative work, and their cloud-based software (which also runs on iPads) runs on PCs at home. They’re a great example of the “good enoughâ€? phenomenon—they don’t do everything an iPad does, but they do what American schools need them to do. CONCLUSIONS Who’s buying this iPad? If you’re a traditional tablet user looking to play games, watch or create videos, or draw, this iPad is a worthy upgrade over the previous PRGHO ,WÂśV D WHUULÂżF IDPLO\ FRPSDQLRQ DQG PRUH FDSDEOH WKDQ DQ\ $QGURLG RU Windows tablet in this price range, thanks to its bright, sharp screen and range of fast, capable apps (while Windows is a more powerful operating system, you aren’t going to get this kind of snappiness in a $329 Windows detachable). If you just want to play videos for kids, get an Amazon Fire HD 10. If you want to do more, get this iPad. It’s easily our Editor’s Choice for midrange tablets. But Apple also wants the iPad to be part of a comprehensive solution for schools, and I don’t think American schools are ready for or in need of what the iPad delivers. Yes, there will be some elite public and private schools where the teachers have the time and energy to come up with creative lessons, and the kids create complicated videos about gravity and write music about math. Those are good schools and good applications for the iPad. But most of our teachers are just trying to make it to the next state test and drilling their kids on math DQG (QJOLVK &KHDS UXJJHG PDQDJHDEOH FKURPHERRNV GR MXVW ÂżQH IRU WKDW NLQG of education. SASCHA SEGAN

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Sony a7 III: A Groundbreaking Full-Frame Camera It didn’t take long for Sony to reuse the body design it introduced with last year’s highresolution, pro-grade a7R III in an entry-level model. But despite a friendly (for full-frame) EDITORS’ CHOICE price, the a7 III is anything but entry-level when it comes to its feature set. Its BSI CMOS sensor excels in all types of light and offers incredible dynamic range. It can shoot at 10fps and has an autofocus system that covers almost the entirety of the image sensor. And the a7R III has serious video chops too, recording smooth, sharp footage at 4K and slow-motion at 1080p. It run circles around competing models in this price range, and is our Editors’ Choice for entrylevel full-frame shoppers.

Sony a7 III Body only, $1,998.00 L L L l l

DESIGN The a7 III measures 3.9 by 5.0 by 2.5 inches (HWD) without a lens, and weighs about 1.4 pounds. Its grip and body design are the same as you get with the a7R ,,, , ÂżQG LW TXLWH FRPIRUWDEOH WR KROG HYHQ ZLWK D ODUJHU zoom, such as the FE 100-400mm. The body is protected against dust and splashes, as are all Sony FE lenses. The EV dial is on top, along with programmable C1 and C2 buttons and a Mode dial (not a locking dial like the one on the a7R III). The shutter release is on top of the handgrip, slightly lower than the rest of the top plate, and set at an angle. The On/Off switch surrounds it. The grip has a command dial, accessible using your ULJKW LQGH[ ÂżQJHU ,WV UHDU FRXQWHUSDUW LV VOLJKWO\ RIIVHW from the EV dial and is easily turned with your right thumb. As for rear controls, the programmable C3 button and Menu button are above the rear LCD, just to the left of the EVF eyecup. To the right, still running along the WRS \RX ÂżQG 5HFRUG $) 21 DQG $(/ %HORZ WKHP nestled between the rear thumb rest and LCD are the focus point selector joystick and Fn button.

Sony a7 III PROS 24MP fullframe BSI sensor. 10fps with tracking. 5-axis stabilization. 4K HDR video. Silent shooting available. Tilting touch LCD. Dual SD slots. Vastly improved battery. Focus joystick. Flat profiles available. CONS Screen not true vari-angle. Only one card slot is UHS-II. No in-body flash. Accessory required for time-lapse. Shooting buffer must clear to start video. Dense menu system. Omits PC sync socket.

7KH ÀDW UHDU FRPPDQG GLDO LV QH[W GRZQ LQ WKH FROXPQ it has a button at its center and directional presses to adjust Display, ISO, and the Drive mode. The dial itself has deep ridges so you can turn it comfortably, and the turning motion feels much better than the similar dial on the a7 II—there’s more resistance, and the dial is physically larger so the button presses offer better tactile feedback. Rounding out the rear controls are the Play and Delete buttons. The latter doubles as the programmable C4 button when in shooting mode. By default, it toggles the touch sensitivity of the rear display. The touch functions are a bit limited: You can’t navigate through menus via touch. But you can tap on the screen to set a focus point.

Speaking of menus, Sony has long been criticized for its lengthy, complex menu system. The a7 III includes VRPH WRROV WR KHOS UHGXFH WKH VWUHVV RI WU\LQJ WR ¿QG WKH VHWWLQJ \RX ZDQW WR DGMXVW ZKHQ \RX¶UH ÀLSSLQJ WKURXJK dozens of pages of options. My Menu is fully customizable, so a setting you often adjust can be added WR LW IRU TXLFN DFFHVV

You can’t navigate through menus via touch. But you can tap on the screen to set a focus point.

Upgrading owners of the a7 and a7 II will notice that the apps section is gone. The a7 III doesn’t support PlayMemories Mobile camera apps. That’s not a JUHDW ORVV²GRZQORDGLQJ DSSV WR H[WHQG WKH FDPHUDÂśV FDSDELOLWLHV ZDV D Ă€DZHG concept, especially without support for third-party developers. But some IXQFWLRQV WKDW ZHUH DYDLODEOH LQ 3OD\0HPRULHV VXFK WKH DELOLW\ WR ÂżUH WKH shutter using the EVF eye sensor and time-lapse capture, haven’t been LQWHJUDWHG LQWR WKH D ,,,ÂśV ÂżUPZDUH ,I \RX DUH D WLPH ODSVH SHUVRQ RU VRPHRQH who loves to shoot long exposures, consider picking up a wired remote control accessory, like the $50 Vello ShutterBoss II, to make up the shortcomings. The rear display is a 3-inch LCD with touch input support. It’s a step back from the one used on the a7 II, which is a 1,228k-dot design with “white pixelsâ€? to cut through sun glare on bright days. This one is a more pedestrian 921k-dot GHVLJQ (YHQ VR , VKRW ZLWK LW XQGHU WKH KDUVK VXQ LQ WKH 1HYDGD GHVHUW DQG KDG no problems seeing the screen. The screen tilts up and down, but it doesn’t swing out from the body to face forward like a true vari-angle display. This limits the ability of vloggers to set up shots and record video while keeping an eye on framing. The EVF is a 0.78x PDJQLÂżFDWLRQ 2/(' ZLWK N GRWV POWER AND CONNECTIVITY The a7 III uses the Z battery, introduced in the a9 and also used by the a7R III. It’s good for 710 shots per CIPA ratings with the a7 III, as its power UHTXLUHPHQWV DUH OHVV WKDQ WKH D RU D 5 ,,, ERWK UDWHG IRU LPDJHV SHU charge. The bigger battery is a boon to enthusiasts who don’t want to buy a ton RI VSDUHV DQG WR SURV DOLNH $ JULS LV DYDLODEOH LW DOORZV WKH FDPHUD WR XVH WZR batteries, effectively doubling its life.

Sony doesn’t include an external charger with the a7 III, but you can recharge via USB and an included USB-toAC adapter in-camera. I recommend a wall charger for travelers and pros, especially those who have multiple Z batteries to recharge at the end of a long day of shooting. The camera has two USB ports (one USB-C and one micro USB), as well as micro HDMI, a 3.5mm microphone input, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. And there are two memory card slots. Slot 1, toward the bottom of the camera, supports SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory at UHS-II speeds. Slot 2, above it, works with all SD formats at slower UHS-I speeds, but also supports Sony Memory Stick media. In addition to wired connectivity, the a7 III includes %OXHWRRWK 1)& DQG :L )L 7KLV DOORZV WKH FDPHUD WR connect to an Android or iOS device running the free Sony PlayMemories Mobile app to transfer images and video to your phone for social sharing. You can also use your phone as a wireless remote control. PERFORMANCE AND AUTOFOCUS 7KH D ,,, VWDUWV IRFXVHV DQG ¿UHV LQ DERXW VHFRQGV That’s one area where it’s slower than competing SLRs. %XW LWV DXWRIRFXV V\VWHP LV TXLWH VSHHG\ ORFNLQJ RQ LQ 0.05-second in bright light and an average of 0.4-second in very dim conditions. I tested the burst speed using a Lexar 300MBps memory card in the UHS-II slot. The camera manages 10fps in its fastest burst mode. The amount of shots you can take EHIRUH WKH FDPHUD VWDOOV YDULHV EDVHG RQ WKH ¿OH IRUPDW you use. Recovery time—the time it takes for the buffer to fully clear to the memory card—also varies based on ¿OH IRUPDW ,I \RX¶UH VKRRWLQJ 5DZ -3* HLWKHU IRUPDW expect to wait about 24 seconds, but only about 14 seconds for Raw alone.

Sony doesn’t include an external charger, but you can recharge via USB and an included USBto-AC adapter.

PORTS The Sony A7 III has two USB ports (one USB-C and one micro USB), as well as micro HDMI, a 3.5mm microphone input, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Continuous autofocus is also available at 10fps. Our standard focus test, in which I shoot a target that moves directly toward or away from the lens, netted almost all shots in focus at 10fps. There were a few slight misses here and there, but nothing worth getting worked up about. The focus system not only supports face detection but goes further, with Sony’s EyeAF system. It can lock on to a human eye, prioritizing the one closest to the active focus point. It’s a great tool for portraits, and it works when focusing continuously, so a model can feel free to adjust a pose and you won’t have to worry about losing crisp focus on their eyes. ,Q ¿HOG WHVWLQJ WKH DXWRIRFXV V\VWHP SHUIRUPHG VXSHUEO\ 6KRW DIWHU VKRW ZDV sharp and crisp, even when tracking moving targets at 10fps. Of course, there were occasional misses, but even the best autofocus systems miss from time to WLPH 1R RWKHU IXOO IUDPH FDPHUD DW WKLV SULFH SRLQW FDQ KLW ISV OHW DORQH ZLWK such a wide coverage of autofocus. IMAGE QUALITY The a7 III uses a new sensor, a stacked design that puts memory right on the chip in order to deliver instant readout and its 20fps capture capability. It’s a BSI—Back Side Illumination—design, like the a9 and high-resolution a7R III. This type of sensor cuts the distance between its surface and light-sensitive area. 7KH SUDFWLFDO HIIHFW LV WKDW \RX JHW VXSHULRU KLJK ,62 TXDOLW\ FRPSDUHG ZLWK sensors that put put circuitry in front of the light-gathering area rather than behind it.

It’s not all about high ISO photography, though: At lower ISOs, the a7 III GHOLYHUV WKH LPDJH TXDOLW\ \RX H[SHFW IURP D 03 IXOO IUDPH LPDJH VHQVRU <RX KDYH H[WUHPH FRQWURO RYHU GHSWK RI ¿HOG ZKHQ ZRUNLQJ ZLWK D IDVW OHQV DQG while you don’t get as much resolution or detail as you do from the a7R III ZKLFK XVHV D 03 VHQVRU ZLWKRXW DQ RSWLFDO ORZ SDVV ¿OWHU \RX ZRQ¶W KDYH any complaints when making prints or viewing photos at a pixel level. 6RPH UHYLHZHUV KDYH QRWHG DQ LVVXH ZLWK ÀDUH 8QGHU FHUWDLQ FRQGLWLRQV RGG banding can show in subjects that are strongly backlit. It’s typically visible only when you’re shooting at f/2 or wider with a very strong light source entering the lens directly, and it appears only toward the edge of the frame. The banding shows up as single pixel straight lines, matching the position of the on-sensor SKDVH GHWHFWLRQ SL[HOV ,W¶V QRW DQ H[FOXVLYH LVVXH SKRWRJUDSKHUV KDYH REVHUYHG the effect in other cameras with on-sensor phase detection. I’ve shot with a number of cameras with on-sensor phase detection points over the years and have not found this to be an issue in my images, but I tend to stop a lens down a bit when incorporating the sun or other bright source in the EDFNJURXQG WR JHW D VWDUEXUVW ÀDUH HIIHFW ,I \RX¶UH PRUH RI D ZLGH RSHQ VKRRWHU and love the backlit portrait look, you may encounter it from time to time. VIDEO Canon SLRs with Dual Pixel AF have caught up to mirrorless in terms of focus speed, but there are still big advantages to using a mirrorless system with onsensor autofocus to capture video. The entire Sony a7 series has solid video chops—particularly the specialized a7S II. Despite entry-level positioning, the a7 III doesn’t skimp on features.

,W VXSSRUWV . FDSWXUH DW RU 0ESV XVLQJ WKH ;$9& 6 . FRGHF DW \RXU choice of 24 or 30fps. The 24fps video uses the full width of the frame (with the VHQVRU FURSSHG WR WKH UDWLR EXW WKHUH LV D PRGHVW FURS DSSOLHG ZKHQ shooting at 30fps. Dropping down to 1080p gives you 50 or 100Mbs options at RU S DQG WKHUH LV DQ LQ FDPHUD VORZ PRWLRQ RSWLRQ DW RU 0ESV and 120fps. , VKRW RXU . WHVW YLGHR DW ISV DQG 0ESV XVLQJ WKH 6WDQGDUG YLGHR SUR¿OH It was cut together in Premiere Pro, but no grading was done. I did remove audio from some clips, as copyrighted music was playing at our location, but clips with audio use the in-camera microphone. As we’ve seen with other a7 models, the combination of body and lens stabilization removes jitter from footage. There’s some shake visible in shots captured from a helicopter, but it’s a lot less bumpy than what I experienced in real life. CONCLUSIONS The Sony a7 III looks a lot like the a7 II, but the upgrades inside are palpable. Its sensor offers the same resolution, but the BSI design improves high ISO performance. The autofocus system is vastly improved, with much wider coverage and 10fps capture. And a high-capacity battery keeps the camera shooting for much longer than previous a7 models. I have a few small complaints. I’m not sure why Sony doesn’t use dual UHS-II memory slots—if you want to record images to two cards simultaneously, the slower UHS-I slot can slow write times when shooting—nor why it doesn’t build time-lapse into the camera. The camera menu has a lot of options, but the FDPHUD GRHV D ORW RI VWXII 6WLOO WKH PHQX FRXOG EH EHWWHU RUJDQL]HG \RX¶OO ZDQW to spend some time customizing the My Menu page before doing any serious work with the a7 III. Any picayune gripes are overshadowed by the a7 III’s all-around performance. ,W JRHV ZHOO EH\RQG ZKDW VLPLODUO\ SULFHG 6/5V IURP &DQRQ DQG 1LNRQ RIIHU You don’t get in-body stabilization with either competing system, nor do they support 4K video capture, and their autofocus systems don’t shoot nearly as fast or cover such a large area of the frame. The a7 III is a lot more camera than we’re used to seeing at this price point. Instead of cutting out features to push buyers to a higher-end model, the a7 III

inherits a lot of tech from the a9 and a7R III. We’re used to seeing features from high-end options trickle down to more affordable camera over a period of years, but the a9 has only been on the market for about a year and the a7R III for about half that duration. We’re making the a7 III our Editors’ Choice for full-frame mirrorless cameras, and we don’t hesitate in recommending it over its closest competition in the 6/5 ZRUOG 7KH 1LNRQ ' LV DJLQJ DQG WKRXJK LW VWLOO GHOLYHUV VWURQJ LPDJH TXDOLW\ LWV YLGHR IHDWXUHV DUH GDWHG 7KH &DQRQ (26 ' 0DUN ,, ZDV D ELW underwhelming upon its release and seems even more so now that the a7 III is available. It compares well against pro models, too. The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV has a bit more resolution (30MP), but shoots 4K video only with a crop factor DQG GRHVQœW PDWFK WKH D ,,,œV DXWRIRFXV V\VWHP 7KH 1LNRQ ' WKH EHVW 6/5 today, is in a different class as terms of resolution—its 45MP image sensor is a marvel—but suffers from slower autofocus when shooting video. Both sell for more than $3,000. On the Sony front, you can still buy the a7 II, and at $1,400, it remains a solid bargain for budget shoppers. The original a7, still available for $800, doesn’t offer in-body stabilization, but it’s the least expensive point of entry into any full-frame system. Moving to higher-end options, the 42MP a7R II delivers a lot more resolution for a little more money, but it isn’t a great choice for tracking fast action. The a7R III gives you both resolution and speed but is a lot more expensive. On the highest end is the a9, a 24MP model but one that can shoot and track action at 20fps, without any sort of blackout. And some very capable cameras out there have smaller image sensors. We just ORRNHG DW WKH EHVW $36 & PLUURUOHVV FDPHUD ZHœYH VHHQ WKH )XML¿OP ; + DQG WKH 1LNRQ ' LV RXU IDYRULWH KLJK HQG $36 & 6/5 7KHUH DUH UHDVRQV WR RSW for a smaller sensor, especially if you like to use long telephoto lenses to snap shots of sports and wildlife, but for many photographers, there’s no substitute for a sensor that matches 35mm in size. In this price range, the a7 III is the best you can get. JIM FISHER

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Lenovo IdeaPad 720s: Thin, Light, and Customizable Offered in several different screen sizes and ZLWK GR]HQV RI FRPSRQHQW FRQ¿JXUDWLRQV WKH /HQRYR ,GHD3DG V KDV VRPHWKLQJ WR RIIHU IRU QHDUO\ HYHU\ 3& XVHU (YHQ EHWWHU PRVW RI EDITORS’ CHOICE WKH FRQ¿JXUDWLRQV DUH ZDOOHW IULHQGO\ HYHQ WKRVH WKDW LQFOXGH VSHFLDOL]HG IHDWXUHV VXFK DV GLVFUHWH *38V DQG LQFK GLVSOD\V :H WHVWHG D PDLQVWUHDP LQFK YHUVLRQ RI WKH V ZLWK D IXOO +' GLVSOD\ WKDW FORVHO\ UHVHPEOHV WKH 'HOO ;36 ZKLFK UHWDLQV RXU (GLWRUV¶ &KRLFH IRU EHVW XOWUDSRUWDEOH ODSWRS IRU LWV VOLJKWO\ EHWWHU SHUIRUPDQFH DQG PRUH DWWUDFWLYH VW\OLQJ 6WLOO WKH ,GHD3DG LV D VROLG DOWHUQDWLYH DQG ZRUWK D VSRW RQ \RXU VKRUW OLVW

Lenovo IdeaPad 720s (13-Inch) Starts at $999.99; $1,299 as tested L L L l m

THIN BORDERS, WELL-PLACED CAMERA $W MXVW E\ E\ LQFKHV +:' DQG SRXQGV WKH V LV DPRQJ WKH PRVW FRPSDFW DQG OLJKWHVW LQFK ODSWRSV ZH¶YH WHVWHG 7KH $SSOH 0DF%RRN $LU ZKLFK UHYROXWLRQL]HG WKLQ DQG OLJKW ODSWRSV LV EORDWHG E\ FRPSDULVRQ PHDVXULQJ E\ E\ LQFKHV DQG ZHLJKLQJ SRXQGV (YHQ WKH IDU PRUH PRGHUQ +3 6SHFWUH LV D ELW KHDYLHU DW SRXQGV ZHLJKHG GRZQ E\ SUHPLXP PDWHULDOV LQFOXGLQJ *RULOOD *ODVV DQG FDUERQ ¿EHU 7KH V PHDQZKLOH KDV D JUD\ DOXPLQXP ¿QLVK <RX FDQ¶W JHW WKDW WKLQ DQG OLJKW ZLWKRXW WULPPLQJ WKH EH]HOV ERUGHUV DURXQG WKH VFUHHQ 7KH\¶UH UD]HU WKLQ RQ WKH V JLYLQJ WKH ODSWRS D FXWWLQJ HGJH ORRN WKDW PDNHV VLPLODUO\ SULFHG FRPSHWLWRUV VXFK DV WKH 0DF%RRN $LU DSSHDU EXON\ DQG DQFLHQW E\ FRPSDULVRQ 7KH VOLP EH]HOV DUH XQLTXH WR WKH LQFK PRGHO RI WKH V WKRXJK 7KH LQFK RU LQFK YHUVLRQV KDYH D PXFK PRUH WUDGLWLRQDO ORRN ZLWK WKLFN ERUGHUV DURXQG WKH VFUHHQ

Lenovo IdeaPad 720s (13-Inch) PROS Very customizable. Thin and light. Sturdy keyboard. Excellent full HD matte display. Thunderbolt support. Inexpensive. CONS No touch screen. Touchpad feels flimsy. Muddy sound.

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The webcam is located in the bottom center, where it mainly captures a view of your knuckles when you’re typing during a Skype call.

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PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION

I SUBSCRIBE I

MAY 2018

No matter your use scenario, you’re likely to find a configuration of the 720s that you’ll be happy you brought home.

REVIEWS HARDWARE

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Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ $35.00 L L L l h

RASPBIAN OS AND EXPOSED CIRCUITS $W ¿UVW JODQFH WKH 5DVSEHUU\ 3L 0RGHO % LV UHDOO\ little more than a circuit board with a few components EROWHG RQ PHDVXULQJ MXVW E\ E\ LQFKHV +:' ,I WKH 0RGHO % LV \RXU ¿UVW IRUD\ LQWR WKH ZRUOG RI WLQ\ 3&V \RX PLJKW EH WDNHQ DEDFN ZKHQ \RX ¿UVW RSHQ WKH SDFNDJH (YHU\WKLQJ LV YLVLEOH IURP WKH *+] $50 EDVHG %URDGFRP SURFHVVRU WR WKH SLQ JHQHUDO SXUSRVH LQSXW RXWSXW *3,2 FRQQHFWRU ZKLFK FDQ VHUYH D YDVW DUUD\ RI SXUSRVHV²IURP DFFHSWLQJ UHDGLQJV IURP D WKHUPRPHWHU WR SRZHULQJ D VPDOO '& PRWRU 7KHUH DUH D ORW RI IDPLOLDU FRPSRQHQWV WRR LQFOXGLQJ IRXU 86% SRUWV DQ (WKHUQHW SRUW DQ +'0, SRUW D PP DXGLR RXWSXW D PLFUR 86% FRQQHFWRU DQG D PLFUR 6' FDUG VORW

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Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ PROS A usable Linux PC for $35. Easy to set up. Extremely customizable. CONS Ethernet port can’t reach theoretical maximum speed of 1Gbps. Heat problems under heavy computing loads.

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Raspbian also comes with LibreOffice and more than a dozen other opensource apps preinstalled.

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Heat sinks and fans are all but required if you plan on using the Raspberry Pi to do anything unique or complex.

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For those who love to tinker or have a child who’s interested in coding, the Model B+ is a delightful next step for the Raspberry Pi. IT CAN’T DO EVERYTHING 3HUKDSV WKH RQO\ WKLQJ WKH 5DVSEHUU\ 3L 0RGHO % LVQ¶W JRRG DW LV VHUYLQJ DV D VXEVWLWXWH IRU D WUDGLWLRQDO GHVNWRS RU VWUHDPLQJ VWLFN ,I \RX¶UH LQ WKH PDUNHW IRU D ZDOOHW IULHQGO\ FRQVXPHU 3& WKDW ZLOO ZRUN RXW RI WKH ER[ ZLWK QR WLQNHULQJ \RX VKRXOG VWLFN ZLWK D EXGJHW GHVNWRS /LNHZLVH LI \RX MXVW ZDQW D VLPSOH VROXWLRQ IRU EHDPLQJ LQWHUQHW YLGHR WR \RXU 79 RU PRQLWRULQJ \RXU KRPH ZKLOH \RX¶UH RQ YDFDWLRQ \RX¶OO ZDQW WR FRQVLGHU D VWUHDPLQJ VWLFN RU FDPHUD WKDW¶V GHVLJQHG IRU VXFK WDVNV %XW IRU WKRVH ZKR ORYH WR WLQNHU RU KDYH D FKLOG ZKR¶V LQWHUHVWHG LQ FRGLQJ WKH 0RGHO % LV D GHOLJKWIXO QH[W VWHS IRU WKH 5DVSEHUU\ 3L TOM BRANT

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Adobe Illustrator CC: New Features for 2018 Adobe Illustrator has reigned over vector drawing applications since its release in 1987, quickly becoming one of Adobe’s trifecta of industry-standard graphic design tools EDITORS’ CHOICE alongside Photoshop and InDesign. Adding to the software’s already-excellent collection of FDSDELOLWLHV $GREHœV VLJQL¿FDQW UHOHDVH LQWURGXFHV several new features and enhancements that are sure to delight creatives. Highlights include the improved Properties panel, the Puppet Warp tool, custom sizing for anchor points, and performance improvements.

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WHAT’S NEW IN ILLUSTRATOR? Illustrator’s latest additions and tweaks do not disappoint. Here are a few of the most compelling highlights, some of which merit further discussion later in this review:

• The Properties Panel now gives context-sensitive info and options about the currently selected object. • You can now increase the size of on-screen controls, including anchor points, handles, and bounding boxes, which makes them a lot easier to adjust. • For users who have ever wanted to tweak or rotate a portion of an illustration without distorting the whole thing, the new Puppet Warp tool gives you the power to do so in an intuitive and natural-looking way. • Move over PostScript (PS): Multiple Master (MM), TrueType (TT), OpenType (OT), and Variable (var) fonts are here! • The app now supports Microsoft’s Surface Dial. • It also adds support for CSV and XML in the Variables Panel. • You can now import multipage PDFs in one operation. • <RX FDQ XVH WKH VRIWZDUH WR EURZVH 'URSER[ ¿OHV without downloading them. PRICE AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Adobe Illustrator CC is available only through a Creative Cloud subscription; Illustrator as a standalone app costs $19.99 per month with an annual FRPPLWPHQW RU RQ D PRQWK WR PRQWK EDVLV The full Adobe suite, including InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and the rest, costs $49.99 per month. A free seven-day trial lets you test the software out with no commitment (and requires no credit card information).

Adobe Illustrator CC PROS Killer vector design abilities. Excellent Touch Type feature. Simplified Free Transform tool. Powerful new Puppet Warp feature allows transformation of select portions of illustrations. Many improvements to existing features. CONS Can’t buy a single, perpetual license. No uniformity of key commands with Photoshop and InDesign.

Illustrator is compatible with both Windows (7 SP1, 8.1, DQG :LQGRZV DQG PDF26 DQG ODWHU )RU either platform, you need a reliable internet connection to download and register the programs. You can work RIĂ€LQH EXW \RX QHHG WR EH RQOLQH IRU PHPEHUVKLS validation and access to some services.

Highlights include the improved Properties panel, the Puppet Warp If you’re thinking of leaving Adobe behind because it tool, custom has gotten rid of the single perpetual license option, sizing for anchor CorelDraw Graphics Suite ($499; or $198 per year for a points, and subscription) is the alternative to explore. It’s for performance Windows only, though. improvements. IS CREATIVE CLOUD A GOOD DEAL? All things considered Creative Cloud is an excellent deal. While I understand the reluctance to getting locked into software subscriptions, membership has its advantages. In return for your annual payment for full Creative Cloud, you get access to all Adobe’s everexpanding collection of pro applications (and even some betas). This inspires me to keep up my knowledge of emerging trends, technology, and capabilities.

Even if some apps included with my subscription are built for work (and play) outside my expertise, I get to fool around and discover fascinating new tools. :LWK QHDUO\ DSSV IRU YLGHR DXGLR DQG PRWLRQ JUDSKLFV ZHE GHVLJQ ' DQG 3D compositing, game design, and the new UI/UX prototype and design tool called Adobe XD, there is plenty to sate the most curious explorer. And instant updates are yours with just a click—no more agonizing decisions between saving money but falling behind on the latest features and being wiped out by an annual thousand-dollar purchase that allows you to stay current. VECTOR VS. RASTER For the uninitiated, let’s identify the key differences between vector and raster JUDSKLFV 9HFWRU JUDSKLFV GH¿QHG E\ SRLQWV OLQHV DQG %RROHDQ FXUYHV DUH DGYDQWDJHRXV LQ WKDW \RX FDQ HQODUJH WKHP LQ¿QLWHO\ ZLWKRXW ORVV RI UHVROXWLRQ This is key when you are designing a huge billboard or other large graphics where scalability is a requisite for success. A second advantage of designing with YHFWRUV LV WKDW ¿OHV WHQG WR EH PXFK VPDOOHU WKDQ WKHLU UDVWHU FRXQWHUSDUWV 5DVWHU EDVHG DUWZRUN OLNH WKDW FUHDWHG LQ 3KRWRVKRS LV GH¿QHG E\ SL[HOV :KHQ you enlarge or zoom in on raster art, the pixels enlarge too, resulting in visible pixelation, or chunkiness with ragged edges. Also, large raster artwork produces HQRUPRXV ¿OHV When your work includes logo design, typography, or illustration, Adobe Illustrator is a must in your arsenal. It’s the tool for creating simple drawings, maps, complex technical illustrations, iconography, interesting charts and GLDJUDPV LQIRUPDWLRQ JUDSKLFV ¿QH W\SRJUDSK\²DQG HYHQ EXVLQHVV FDUG RU LQYLWDWLRQ OD\RXWV DQG PHFKDQLFDO DUW :KDW¶V PRUH \RX FDQ H[SRUW \RXU ¿OHV LQ a variety of formats intended for use in print, web, mobile, interactive, app design, and video projects.

This image shows the difference between vector graphics (left inset) and raster graphics (right inset).

WORKSPACE AND TOOLS If you’ve worked with InDesign or Photoshop, Illustrator’s environment (robust toolbars and panels, and contextual menus) should be reasonably familiar. You FDQ FXVWRPL]H WKH UHFHQWO\ PRGHUQL]HG ÀDWWHQHG LQWHUIDFH ZLWK RSWLRQV IURP GDUN WR OLJKW JUD\ 3DOHWWHV DQG PHQXV VQDS WR DQ\ FRQ¿JXUDWLRQ WKDW SOHDVHV you. When you have your screen perfectly composed with your favorite preferences, defaults, menu organization, and positions, it’s good to know that you can save your workspace and later clean up palette clutter by returning to WKDW H[DFW FRQ¿JXUDWLRQ ZKHQHYHU \RX OLNH I appreciate that the software lets you assign custom key commands, which DOORZV \RX WR IXUWKHU RSWLPL]H \RXU ZRUNÀRZ IRU DQ\ NLQG RI SURMHFW ,Q IDFW ,OOXVWUDWRU VKLSV ZLWK FXVWRPL]HG ZRUNVSDFH RSWLRQV VSHFL¿FDOO\ VXLWHG WR GLVFLSOLQHV VXFK DV OD\RXW SULQWLQJ DQG SURR¿QJ W\SRJUDSK\ DQG ZHE DQG D QHZ (VVHQWLDOV VSDFH WKDW KLJKOLJKWV WKH HQKDQFHPHQWV DQG DGGLWLRQV Fear not—you can still access the previous Essentials setup. Illustrator supports multiple repositionable pages, which are called artboards. You can size these using Illustrator’s myriad presets, cut them down to size with WKH &URS WRRO RU GH¿QH WKH ZLGWK DQG KHLJKW YDOXHV \RXUVHOI :LWK WKH version, you have more artboard control than ever before with enhancements to positioning and arranging, as well as an increase in the maximum number of boards allowed. APPEARANCE AND NEW PROPERTIES PANELS Although it’s mixed in with other, less powerful tools, the unassuming Appearance panel constitutes the backbone and muscle of your workspace. Appearance is arguably the most underappreciated of Illustrator’s default panels—but I consider this tool my information control tower. With the Appearance Panel, you have full command over every aspect of an object’s or JURXS¶V DWWULEXWHV LQFOXGLQJ EDVLF ¿OOV VWURNH FRORU DQG VL]H RSDFLW\ DQG EOHQGLQJ PRGH %XW WKH SDQHO UHDOO\ LPSUHVVHV ZKHQ \RX ZRUN ZLWK FRPSOH[ operations such as creating multiple strokes, adjusting Illustrator Effects (such as glows, feathers, and drop shadows), and reordering or toggling effects layers. The New Properties Panel appears in the Essentials workspace and when you choose Properties from the Window menu. It shows frequently needed tools

based on the current context, meaning it changes what it displays depending on what you select. It’s a nice touch, and I could see it being useful for designers; but if you would rather stick with your tried-and-true approach, you can switch back to the Essentials Classic workspace. TOOLSETS PANEL In addition to the Appearance panel, Adobe has stocked the tools panel with everything you expect in a professional drawing application, as well as some unique goodies. The eight tool categories allow you to get the job done, and they inspire exploration, too. I recommend beginners do just that—explore the tools and their submenus before embarking on a project that’s due tomorrow. This PDQ\ VSHFLDOW\ WRROV DQG VXEWRROV FDQ EH GDXQWLQJ DW ¿UVW JODQFH %\ GHIDXOW ,OOXVWUDWRU VKRZV ¿YH VHOHFWLRQ WRROV HDFK GHVLJQHG WR FKRRVH VSHFL¿F W\SHV RI REMHFWV JURXSV SDWKV DQG SRLQWV²DQG \RX FDQ JHW HYHQ PRUH precise control via the Preferences menu. A dream-come-true for hard-working eyeballs is the preferences addition of custom sizing for anchor points and KDQGOHV 8QWLO QRZ QR PDWWHU KRZ KLJK \RX PDJQL¿HG \RXU YLHZ WKH DQFKRU points remained painfully small. The program’s 18 drawing tools are sure to satisfy. Among them is the invaluable new Pixel Perfect tool, which aids in creating crisp web-destined JUDSKLFV ZLWK SL[HOV WKDW DOLJQ DORQJ D JULG 1HZ LQ WKH UHOHDVH LV WKH Puppet Warp tool, which gives you a way to make minor adjustments without having to select lots of points and move each separately. The tool allows for more holistic complex-shape editing by creating a triangulated mesh envelope around your selection that allows you to lock certain zones while manipulating adjacent areas, rather than having to do so point by point.

Illustrator CC’s new Puppet Warp tool lets you easily and convincingly reshape a vector graphic without a lot of fussy point manipulation.

Working with complex typography is a pleasure with six type tools, including the revolutionary Touch Type tool, which allows repositioning, rotation, and scaling of individual letters within live text blocks. Now typographers can assign OpenType alternate styles to a text block. Artists will enjoy playing with eight paint tools, such as WKH /LYH 3DLQW WRRO ZKLFK ¿OOV WKH QHHG IRU WKH FXUUHQW FRORULQJ ERRN FUD]H E\ DOORZLQJ XVHUV WR FRORU ¿OO VKDSHV VLPSO\ E\ FOLFNLQJ LQ WKHP 7KH %UXVK WRRO DOORZV \RX WR create custom brushes (Pattern, Art, Scatter, &DOOLJUDSKLF RU %ULVWOH D IHDWXUH WKDW EHFRPHV HYHQ more awesome when you realize that you can create unexpected shapes by replacing polygon and ellipse strokes with a custom brush. Related to the paint tools is the delightful Symbol Sprayer tool with its seven variants. You can assign a symbol you created—say, a star—to become the paint, and the tool sprays stars. With the Sprayer’s sub-tools, you can control the density of spray, randomness, color variation, size variation, and individual rotation of the stars with the aptly named Styler, Shifter, Scruncher, Screener, Sizer, Spinner, and Stain tools. Illustrator promises power, and the reshaping and transformation tools feel quite satisfying as you manipulate your work in every way imaginable: shape blending, morphing, warping, twisting, shearing, WZHDNLQJ SXFNHULQJ DQG EORDWLQJ :LWK ¿YH VOLFLQJ DQG FXWWLQJ WRROV \RX JHW XOWUD ¿QH FRQWURO RYHU OLQHV DQG VKDSHV ZLWK WKH 3DWK¿QGHU WDE ZKLFK SHUIRUPV operations like unite, exclude, intersect, merge, and divide. Try experimenting with these different functions for often-unexpected results.

The Brush tool allows you to create custom brushes (Pattern, Art, Scatter, Calligraphic or Bristle).

Considering the popularity of data visualization and information graphics, Illustrator offers nine graphing tools that allow you to get down to business. It lets you transform your data with an adequate variety of graph types, including the more common bar and pie charts and also scatter and radar charts. I’m eager to see whether anyone comes up with scripts to help create unconventional graphs, like tree maps, network diagrams or bubble maps, which are more adept at displaying complex data. HOTTEST FEATURES FOR WORK, FUN, AND EXPERIMENTATION Precision Drawing. Illustrator was born for this more than for its other abilities. Amenities like perspective grids scaffold the foundation of perspective drawing and create dimensional lettering effects, while axonometric angle constraints save time and minimize frustration. Layers help organize and isolate components of your illustration for easy access when making edits or for variable overlays. Finally, although it takes a bit of practice to master, the Pen WRRO LV \RXU JR WR IRU FUHDWLQJ EHDXWLIXO YHFWRU SDWKV %H]LHU FXUYHV GH¿QLQJ anchor points, and coaxing handles. Copy & Paste and File Export. With so many potential asset destinations within

HDFK SURMHFW \RX JHW WKH EHVW ¿QDO SURGXFW RQO\ ZKHQ \RX VXSSO\ WKH RSWLPXP ¿OH W\SH WR \RXU FROOHDJXHV DQG YHQGRUV 2I FRXUVH ZLWK RWKHU && DSSV RQ \RXU GHVNWRS \RX FDQ FRS\ DQG SDVWH LQWR DQG RXW RI ,OOXVWUDWRU²RU HYHQ GUDJ %XW , HQMR\ EHLQJ DEOH WR WUXVW ,OOXVWUDWRU¶V ZLGH UDQJH RI ¿OH W\SH FRQYHUVLRQV ZKLFK LQFOXGH H[SRUW IRU SULQW ZHE DQG PRELOH LQ IRUPDWV VXFK DV $XWR&$' %03 CSS, JPEG, PDF, PNG, SVG, TIFF, and more.

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Illustrator—especially now that Adobe has integrated InDesign’s easy OpenType JO\SK FKRRVHU SRS GRZQ 1HZ LQ ,OOXVWUDWRU \RX FDQ DVVLJQ DOWHUQDWHV WR entire text blocks rather than having to assign glyphs one character at a time: Just highlight a character and select from the alternates options pop-down. For example, if you highlight the numeral 5 (depending on the typeface), you can choose from superscript, subscript, tabular, old style, denominator, numerator, case sensitive, small caps, and more. Illustrator also borrows from InDesign’s professional character and paragraph formatting options. The addition of Touch Type tool, described above, a Glyphs window, and support for Asian (horizontal and vertical), Indic, Arabic, and Hebrew languages makes working with type in Illustrator a stellar experience. The only type-related disappointment is an anemic spellchecker. $QRWKHU KDSS\ FDSDELOLW\ IRU LV YDULDEOH W\SH ZKLFK IHHOV OLNH D VPDUW QHZ buildout of Adobe’s Multiple Master technology of yore. Six typefaces in the new YDU IRUPDW FRPH LQVWDOOHG LQ WKH XSJUDGH $FXPLQ 0LQLRQ 0\ULDG Source code, Source Sans, and Source Serif. What’s great about variable fonts is that in Illustrator, you can precisely control width (condensed or extended), weight (thin to black) and slant with the software’s new sliders—it’s like getting IRQWV LQ RQH W\SHIDFH 6RPHWKLQJ WR QRWH KHUH LV WKDW WKH VODQW LV OLNH DQ oblique and is not a true italic. Automation. Graphic Styles in Illustrator are akin to Photoshop’s Styles—they

are one-click mechanisms that automate the application of attributes to an object or type. In Illustrator, these attributes can be something as simple as a slight drop shadow or as complex as a seven-layer stroke with offsets, feathering and an inner glow, for example. Note that in Illustrator, shadows and glows are made from stepped gradations of solid colors that simulate a blur. A great way to understand building and using Graphic Styles is to select an object with a Graphic Style applied to it and examine the Appearance Panel. There, you’ll see each of the attribute layers that combine to generate the Graphic Style’s effect. To further automate your process, you can deploy a bounty of Photoshop-style Action presets or make your own.

Libraries in Adobe Illustrator CC help you organize, share, and collaborate on design projects.

In terms of convenience, automatically having assets wherever you need them is great. In CC Libraries, users now have access to their palettes, styles, and even blocks of copy from whichever CC application they are using. LIBRARIES AND MOBILE APPS Creative Cloud Libraries keep your project assets from CC desktop apps and CC PRELOH DSSV DW \RXU ¿QJHUWLSV IRU HDV\ LQWHJUDWLRQ EHWZHHQ WKH DSSV 1HZ LQ && LV WKH DELOLW\ WR NHHS KDQG\ RIWHQ XVHG WH[W EORFNV VXFK DV WDJOLQHV RU disclaimers. Integration with Adobe mobile app cousins—including Capture CC, Illustrator Draw CC, and Sketch CC—is a treat. These iOS apps are surprisingly simple to use, and worth a serious look. For instance, you can be on the train and create a custom brush on your iPhone by taking a snap of anything interesting and let Capture do its magic. Once you get to work and open Illustrator on your desktop, that brush you made on the train awaits in your CC Library, ready to use in any project. (YHU\RQH EHQH¿WV IURP D VWUHDPOLQHG SURIHVVLRQDO SURFHVV ZLWK &UHDWLYH &ORXG collaboration with team members and clients is easy with shared and private assets and libraries. Also with your subscription comes Typekit, Adobe’s wellpopulated library of typeface families for print and web. In addition to the goodies above, with CC for Teams, your enterprise gets a team ZHEVLWH SUHPLXP IRQWV *% RI FORXG VWRUDJH IRU FROODERUDWLRQ GHGLFDWHG WHFKQLFDO VXSSRUW VKDUHG $GREH 6WRFN SODQV VWUHDPOLQHG PDQDJHPHQW WKH DELOLW\ WR UHDVVLJQ OLFHQVHV WKLV LV IDQWDVWLF IRU G\QDPLF VWDI¿QJ VLWXDWLRQV a web-based admin console, consolidated billing, and purchase orders. There are also targeted plans for students, teachers, schools, and universities.

DESIGN WISH LIST No software is perfect—even Adobe Illustrator fans hope for a variety of new or enhanced features. Here are some of my wishes for built-in features (a few of which are met by the plugins mentioned above): Numeric handle adjustments would be a nice touch, along with the ability to symmetrically synchronize movement of more than two point handles. +DYLQJ D K\EULG URWDWH DQG UHÀHFW WRRO ZLWK D YDULDEOH D[LV QXPEHU ZRXOG EH awesome for making interesting patterns and shapes including mandalas, VQRZÀDNHV DQG LQWHUORFNLQJ VKDSH URWDWLRQ OLNH WKRVH \RX VHH LQ PDQ\ -DSDQHVH IDPLO\ FUHVWV 7DNLQJ WKH URWDWH DQG UHÀHFW LGHD D OLWWOH IXUWKHU IRU complex geometric pattern making (think of the stunning Islamic tessellations), a way to draw precise complex geometric multi-symmetries and polygons with user-determined angle measurements. These features could be part of a new, more robust pattern-making tool that incorporates the 17 types of symmetry! As I mentioned, with the popularity of graphing big data, we are seeing many LQWHUHVWLQJ QHZ ZD\V WR YLVXDOL]H LQIRUPDWLRQ %XW ELJ GDWD UHTXLUHV WKH ELJ FRPSXWLQJ SRZHU RI DOJRULWKPV $W WKH OHDVW ,¶G OLNH D PRUH ÀH[LEOH WRRO IRU making inventive graphs and data images. And while I appreciate Adobe’s efforts, a lot of folks would be pleased to have uniform key commands for Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. Speaking of Photoshop, it would be great if Illustrator had a similar history panel that let you hop back to a certain state. QUEEN OF THE VECTOR Adobe Illustrator CC is essential for any serious designer’s or artist’s software collection—with it, you can create vector solutions for any challenge. What’s more, by being curious and taking advantage of Illustrator’s generous expansion capability, you can turn the application into a personalized digital dream world. With steady use and inquisitive inspection, the multitude of tools, menus, palettes, pull-downs, and features become second nature, and Illustrator feels like an unconscious extension of your mind. Adobe Illustrator is the clear PCMag Editors’ Choice for vector graphics design. SHELBY PUTNAM TUPPER

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Malwarebytes Free: Keep It in Your Toolbox o software is perfect; that’s why we have patches and updates. Antivirus software is no exception. Sometimes a brand-new attack gets past your antivirus; the worst of these can disable or damage your security software. And if malware has already set up shop in your unprotected PC, it may prevent the installation of a traditional antivirus. That’s where Malwarebytes Free comes in: Its speedy scan seeks out attackers that got past your main defenses. Note, though, that in some cases, such as ransomware, cleanup after the fact is pointless.

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Malwarebytes Free L L L l m

With the release of version 3.0 a couple of years ago, Malwarebytes rolled exploit and ransomware detection into Malwarebytes 3.0 Premium. The Premium edition is a suitable replacement for standard antivirus, though it’s designed to work alongside more traditional antivirus tools. The free edition, reviewed here, doesn’t include any real-time protection. It does just one thing; it cleans up existing malware problems. This product’s current version is 3.4; the company doesn’t wildly make whole-digit version number FKDQJHV XQOHVV WKHUHœV D VLJQL¿FDQW QHZ WHFKQRORJ\ ,W GRHVQœW ORRN VLJQL¿FDQWO\ GLIIHUHQW VLQFH P\ ODVW UHYLHZ As before, a simple menu runs down the left, a panel on the right reports scan and protection status, and the middle panel lets you launch a scan or purchase an update to Premium. Premium features appear in the status panel, disabled and marked Premium Only. When you install the free edition, you get a 14-day trial of all the Premium features. If you just let the trial H[SLUH \RXœOO ¿QG WKDW \RX ORVH TXLWH D ELW 7KH SURJUDP is full of subtle and not-so-subtle suggestions to spring for that upgrade.

Malwarebytes Free PROS Very fast scan. Removed many malware samples. Free. CONS No real-time protection. Missed some malware samples in testing.

LAB RESULTS ARE UNINFORMATIVE Simple signature-based malware detection isn’t much use in the modern world of zero-day attacks and polymorphic malware; every successful antivirus adds heuristic detection, behavior-based detection, and other non-signature protection layers. Malwarebytes goes further than most. My contact at the company explained that it maintains signatures only for malware that’s currently prevalent and that signatures play a part LQ OHVV WKDQ ¿YH SHUFHQW RI DOO GHWHFWLRQV E\ WKH premium edition. In the Premium edition, machine learning and detection of anomalous behavior catch many malware samples. Exploit protection watches attack vectors and heads off exploits. The anti-ransomware engine (available separately as Malwarebytes AntiRansomware Beta) strictly uses behavioral detection. And so on. This emphasis on active, prevalent threats and advanced detection methods makes testing Malwarebytes tough. A lab test that uses outdated samples could make the product look bad even as it protects against the very latest attacks. Malwarebytes deliberately refrains from participating with most of the labs whose reports I follow. :HVW &RDVW /DEV KDV DZDUGHG FKHFNPDUN FHUWL¿FDWLRQ to Malwarebytes Premium, though not to the free edition. Note that this lab works with vendors who don’t SDVV FHUWL¿FDWLRQ VR WKDW WKH\ DOO HYHQWXDOO\ VXFFHHG It’s a different model from the labs that assign ratings to SURGXFWV EDVHG RQ WKHLU VXFFHVV UDWH LQ D VSHFL¿F WHVW 05* (I¿WDV GLG SXW 0DOZDUHE\WHV )UHH XS DJDLQVW D 360-degree malware protection test, but it was a poor

Signaturebased malware detection isn’t much use in the modern world of zero-day attacks and polymorphic malware.

¿W 7R JHW /HYHO FHUWL¿FDWLRQ D SURGXFW PXVW SUHYHQW HYHU\ VLQJOH VDPSOH IURP installing on the test system. For products like Malwarebytes that don’t include UHDO WLPH SURWHFWLRQ /HYHO FHUWL¿FDWLRQ PHDQV WKDW WKH RQ GHPDQG VFDQ completely remediated the malware infestation. A product that lets some samples install but remediates almost all of them within 24 hours gets Level 2 FHUWL¿FDWLRQ Avira, Avast, Bitdefender, ESET, and Kaspersky Anti-Virus managed Level 1 FHUWL¿FDWLRQ LQ WKH PRVW UHFHQW WHVW $QRWKHU QLQH SURGXFWV LQFOXGLQJ 0LFURVRIW :LQGRZV 'HIHQGHU 6HFXULW\ &HQWHU PDQDJHG /HYHO FHUWL¿FDWLRQ 2I WKH IRXU FOHDQXS RQO\ SURGXFWV RQO\ 6XUI5LJKW +LWPDQ3UR HDUQHG FHUWL¿FDWLRQ Malwarebytes was one of the three that didn’t make the cut. However, this one test just doesn’t yield enough information for me to calculate an aggregate lab test score. All four of the labs that I follow include Kaspersky in their test sets, and my aggregate score algorithm gives it 10 of 10 possible points. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus has typically been very close to Kaspersky, but a recent so-so test result dragged it down to 8.9. The next closest four-lab aggregate score goes to Avast, with 9.0 points. ESET, tested by three of the labs, managed a 9.3 aggregate score. THE RANSOMWARE CONUNDRUM With the rise of ransomware attacks on businesses, governments, and individuals, ransomware protection is more important than ever. But ransomware is intrinsically different from other kinds of malware. Most types of malware want to use your resources, for purposes from mining bitcoins to launching DDoS attacks to simply stealing your personal data. Typically, they aim to avoid notice, which includes avoiding any permanent harm to the computer. A post-infestation antivirus cleanup can winkle the malware out of your computer’s crannies and crevices, restoring it to a safe, secure state. 5DQVRPZDUH RQ WKH RWKHU KDQG VWD\V TXLHW RQO\ XQWLO LW KDV GRQH LWV GLUW\ GHHG²ORFNLQJ \RXU LPSRUWDQW ¿OHV LQ XQUHDGDEOH HQFU\SWHG IRUP 2QFH ¿QLVKHG LW GLVSOD\V LWV UDQVRP WHUPV 5HPRYLQJ WKH UDQVRPZDUH DW WKLV SRLQW GRHVQ¶W KHOS LW FRXOG HYHQ LQWHUIHUH ZLWK \RXU DELOLW\ WR JHW \RXU ¿OHV GHFU\SWHG should you decide to pay the ransom. Malwarebytes Premium protects against ransomware; Malwarebytes Free can’t do a darn thing for you.

NOT EXACTLY MALWARE PROTECTION Usually I test malware protection by challenging an antivirus utility to prevent LQVWDOODWLRQ RI P\ PDOZDUH VDPSOH FROOHFWLRQ %XW WKDW UHTXLUHV UHDO WLPH protection, which is something Malwarebytes Free lacks. Even so, with no help IURP WKH ODEV , KDG WR ¿QG VRPH ZD\ WR VHH WKH SURGXFW LQ DFWLRQ 6R RPLWWLQJ WKH UDQVRPZDUH , ODXQFKHG P\ VDPSOHV IRXU DW D WLPH JDYH WKHP WLPH WR ¿QLVK installing, and challenged Malwarebytes to clean up the mess. Some years ago, I used to maintain a dozen malware-infested virtual machines IRU WHVWLQJ 0\ QRWHV IURP EDFN WKHQ LQGLFDWH WKDW 0DOZDUHE\WHV GLG D TXLFN WKRURXJK MRE RI FOHDQLQJ RXW WKH LQIHVWDWLRQV ,W¶V VWLOO TXLFN ¿QLVKLQJ LQ DERXW minutes, but seems not as thorough as it once was. $W WKH HQG RI HYHU\ VFDQ 0DOZDUHE\WHV GLVSOD\HG LWV ¿QGLQJV , XVHG WKHVH details to identify exactly which of the samples it detected. In every case, I told it WR TXDUDQWLQH HYHU\WKLQJ DQG LQ HYHU\ FDVH LW UHTXHVWHG D UHERRW WR ¿QLVK WKH process. After reboot, I ran a tool that reports on any leftover malware traces. 7KH UHVXOWV ZHUH GLVDSSRLQWLQJ 7KH VFDQ GHWHFWHG MXVW SHUFHQW RI WKH samples. In some cases, it didn’t remove all executable malware components. It’s conceivable that the skipped components did not themselves contain malware code, but antivirus tools with real-time protection tend to prevent installation of all components.

Not only are my results for other products based on real-time protection, I have tested only two other products with this particular batch of malware samples. IObit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate detected 89 percent of the samples and scored 8.7 of 10 possible points. Malwarebytes Premium, which scans programs just as they try to execute, detected 86 percent and scored 8.4 points. Tested using my previous sample set, Symantec Norton AntiVirus Basic, Webroot, and Emsisoft detected every single sample. Norton and Webroot earned a perfect 10 points. Also tested using an earlier sample set, Avast Free $QWLYLUXV DQG $9* $QWL9LUXV )UHH ERWK GLG TXLWH D ELW EHWWHU WKDQ Malwarebytes. Both managed 97 percent detection. Admittedly, my hands-on test doesn’t precisely simulate real-world malware ¿JKWLQJ 1RUPDOO\ \RXœG EULQJ LQ 0DOZDUHE\WHV WR KDQGOH DQ DWWDFN WKDW HOXGHG your existing antivirus or that put up roadblocks to installation of a more traditional antivirus. The high-tech behaviors and technologies that such an LQIHVWDWLRQ UHTXLUHV ZRXOG EH D UHG ÀDJ IRU 0DOZDUHE\WHV $ 3RWHQWLDOO\ Unwanted Program (PUP) or other less-risky sample actively launched by the user may not raise the same concerns. KEEP IT IN YOUR TOOLBOX Malwarebytes Free remains a very useful tool, despite some issues I encountered in testing. If you carry a thumb drive full of security tools, do include Malwarebytes. But remember, it offers no real-time protection. In particular, it can’t help you with ransomware. Use it along with Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus, or another antivirus that provides real-time protection. Bring out Malwarebytes when your regular antivirus slips up, or consider upgrading to Malwarebytes Premium. With ransomware on the rise, a cleanup-only antivirus tool like Malwarebytes )UHH FDQœW SRVVLEO\ EH \RXU ¿UVW OLQH RI PDOZDUH GHIHQVH <RX QHHG PXOWLSOH layers of real-time protection. I no longer declare an Editors’ Choice in the cleanup-only category, but Malwarebytes remains my top choice. NEIL J. RUBENKING

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MAY 2018

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rian was cleaning his bedroom when he came across an old iPhone. The screen was cracked, but he found a charger, plugged the smartphone in, and turned it on. The college junior told himself it was just for nostalgia’s sake. Then he discovered an old tablet, too. He started WDSSLQJ RQ DSSV DQG VRRQ ¿JXUHG RXW KRZ WR JHW D :L )L KRWVSRW ZRUNLQJ VR he could get around the blocks on his home router. Brian’s current phone and laptop had blocks on them too, but these old devices didn’t. He was online.

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Brian caught up on YouTube videos, scrolled through subreddits, and played a few old games. Soon he fell back into a comfortable internet routine that he’d been repeating for years. A couple nights later, Brian fell asleep just before sunrise, after spending hours playing a mindlessly fun tower defense game. He ZRNH XS WR ¿QG KLV SDUHQWV KDG FRQ¿VFDWHG WKH ROG L3KRQH ZKLFK KH¶G OHIW RXW on his bed. His mom found and took the iPad in his baseball bag the next day. Brian is a tech addict. He’s recounting his recent relapse in a session at the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction (CITA) in Hartford, Connecticut. Brian is in his sixth week of treatment since taking a leave of absence from college, where he’s an engineering student. (Brian consented to having PCMag to sit in; his name has been changed to protect his privacy.) 'U 'DYLG *UHHQ¿HOG VLWV FDOPO\ DW KLV GHVN GXULQJ WKH VHVVLRQ +H¶V VXUURXQGHG E\ VWDFNV RI SDWLHQW ¿OHV EUDLQ DQG QHXURWUDQVPLWWHU GLDJUDPV KDQJ RQ WKH ZDOO EHKLQG KLP *UHHQ¿HOG IRXQGHG WKH &,7$ DURXQG WKH WXUQ RI WKH PLOOHQQLXP GXULQJ WKH ¿UVW LQWHUQHW ERRP +H VWDUWHG RXW DV DQ HOHFWURQLFV WHFKQLFLDQ WR SXW KLPVHOI WKURXJK PHG VFKRRO ¿[LQJ SHRSOH¶V 79V DQG VWHUHRV 7KDW IDVFLQDWLRQ with technology, combined with his work in addiction, came to a head one night in the late 90s, after he’d spent hours in front of his computer on AOL and GLDO XS LQWHUQHW 'U *UHHQ¿HOG KDV EHHQ VWXG\LQJ EHKDYLRUDO DGGLFWLRQ DQG WKH psychology of tech use for more than two decades since. ,Q WKLV VHVVLRQ 'U *UHHQ¿HOG LV WU\LQJ WR KHOS %ULDQ ¿QG ZKDW VSDUNHG KLV UHFHQW GHYLFH ELQJH E\ EUHDNLQJ down the behavioral progression that followed.

“This relapse you had, was there any emotional trigger? Any psychological WULJJHU"´ 'U *UHHQÂżHOG DVNV Âł:KHQ \RX ÂżUHG XS <RX7XEH DQG VWDUWHG ZDWFKLQJ YLGHRV DJDLQÂŤ $IWHU \RX ÂżJXUHG RXW D ZD\ WR JHW LQ WKH EDFNGRRUV what was that like?â€? Brian is a loquacious, articulate young man with a tendency to go off on WDQJHQWV :KLOH KLV SULPDU\ DGGLFWLRQ LV JDPLQJ KHÂśV DOVR D FRPSXOVLYH LQWHUQHW user with a predilection for Reddit, Twitch, and YouTube. At home and isolated, KH WHOOV 'U *UHHQÂżHOG KH IHOW OLNH KH ZDV ÂłG\LQJ D OLWWOH ELW LQVLGH IURP WKH WHFK withdrawalâ€? when he went digging for old devices. Brian explains: “I think part of it had to do with being at home, not having a job, and not really having too many people to interact with. I didn’t have that many KLJK VFKRRO IULHQGV DQG WKH\ ZHUHQÂśW DURXQG 8VXDOO\ , ZRXOG KDYH ÂżOOHG WKDW absence with video games, but since that wasn’t there, it’s sort of like, what the hell do I do with my day? So when I typed YouTube into the search bar, I was excited. It’s not that I beat the system, but that I get to see what I’ve missed.â€? +H GRHVQÂśW NQRZ ZKHUH WKH ROG L3KRQH DQG WDEOHW DUH +H WHOOV 'U *UHHQÂżHOG he’s relieved they’re “out of my hands now.â€? Patients like Brian, who seek treatment for behavioral addictions to technology, are at the extreme end of a spectrum. But the ubiquity of digital devices and unfettered 24/7 internet access has changed how all of us spend our time. 6HYHQW\ VHYHQ SHUFHQW RI $PHULFDQV JR RQOLQH GDLO\ DQG SHUFHQW DUH RQOLQH “almost constantly,â€? according to the latest Pew Research Center survey. 3&0DJÂśV RZQ VXUYH\ RI PRUH WKDQ UHDGHUVÂś WHFK KDELWV IRXQG WKDW DSSUR[LPDWHO\ SHUFHQW RI UHVSRQGHQWV VRPHWLPHV RU RIWHQ IHHO WKH\ÂśUH XVLQJ WKHLU VPDUWSKRQH WRR PXFK 6L[W\ VL[ SHUFHQW VOHHS ZLWK LW ZLWKLQ UHDFK RI WKHLU beds. Tech has changed how we talk to each other, how we engage with the world, and how we think. 7KHUH DUH FRXQWOHVV ZD\V WKLV KDV WUDQVIRUPHG RXU OLYHV IRU WKH EHWWHU :HÂśUH PRUH FRQQHFWHG WR RQH DQRWKHU :HÂśUH PRUH RUJDQL]HG DQG HIÂżFLHQW DW ZRUN DQG HOVHZKHUH :H NQRZ VR PXFK PRUH WKDQ ZH XVHG WR DV GR WKH FRPSDQLHV ZKRVH businesses rest on the data users grant them). And if we don’t know something, the answer is just a quick search away.

Apps, games, touch screens, and websites are designed to be as intuitive and enjoyable as possible, smoothing our pathway to continual tech usage. As we spend more of our time looking at screens and immersed in digital experiences, it’s worth questioning what’s happening in our brains when we starting tapping and scrolling on a smartphone. How are the feedback loops in apps, devices, games, and social media designed to keep users engaged? How does tech use affect our attention, sleep, and habits? :KDW VHSDUDWHV KHDOWK\ WHFK XVH IURP DGGLFWLRQ DQG how is it treated? This story is about how technology habits escalate into addiction, and how addicts are treated at recovery facilities like the CITA. But it’s also about understanding how technology affects the way we all think and behave. :H VSRNH WR SV\FKRORJLVWVP UHVHDUFKHUV 8; GHVLJQHUV DQG HYHU\GD\ XVHUV DERXW KRZ WHFK LQÀXHQFHV RXU EHKDYLRU :H DOVR VSRNH WR WKH WHFK LQGXVWU\ LWVHOI EXW that turned into a whole other story (following this one: ³7KH 7HFK ,QGXVWU\ 5HFNRQV :LWK ,WV 5HVSRQVLELOLW\´ 1RQH RI RXU VRXUFHV DUH DQWL WHFKQRORJ\ RQ WKH contrary, most agree that cutting technology out of your OLIH HQWLUHO\ LQ RXU K\SHU FRQQHFWHG ZRUOG LV XQUHDOLVWLF But consumers should modulate tech use and encourage healthy habits—particularly for the children growing up with devices in their hands. 2QFH \RX UHFRJQL]H WKH XQLYHUVDO EHKDYLRUV DQG psychological forces at play behind our screens, it’s easier to introduce proactive strategies into your life to balance them. One of the most pervasive dangers in our digital world is also built into its design: the frictionless ease of passively consuming technology without a second thought.

How are the feedback loops in apps, devices, games, and social media designed to keep users engaged?

WHAT IS TECH ADDICTION? People shy away from the word addiction. It’s a loaded term, as psychologist and New York University professor Adam Alter acknowledges, but he believes that it’s appropriate. Alter is the author of Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. The book breaks down what addiction is and how our environments and cues, both physical and virtual, play a large part in engineering the circumstances that breed it.

PROFESSOR ADAM ALTER Photo: Rob Marvin

7KH $PHULFDQ 6RFLHW\ RI $GGLFWLRQ 0HGLFLQH $6$0 FKDUDFWHUL]HV DGGLFWLRQ E\ ¿YH IDFWRUV UHJDUGOHVV RI ZKHWKHU LW¶V EHKDYLRUDO RU VXEVWDQFH UHODWHG 1. The inability to consistently abstain 2. Impairment in behavioral control 3. Craving 4. 'LPLQLVKHG UHFRJQLWLRQ RI VLJQL¿FDQW EHKDYLRU DQG LQWHUSHUVRQDO UHODWLRQVKLS problems A dysfunctional emotional response *LYHQ WKH VWLJPD RI DGGLFWLRQ WKRXJK $OWHU SUHIHUV D VLPSOHU GH¿QLWLRQ ,W¶V DQ experience you return to compulsively. It feels positive in the short term, but RYHU WLPH LW XQGHUPLQHV \RXU ZHOO EHLQJ²HPRWLRQDO ¿QDQFLDO SK\VLFDO psychological, or social, and often, a combination of those. One of the points Alter makes in Irresistible is that we’re all just one product or experience away from developing behavioral addictions, if something strikes the right neurological note.

“There’s a myth that there’s something different about people with addictions from people without addictions,â€? Alter told me. “Right now, if you are a person who doesn’t have an addiction, does that make you in some qualitative or categorical way different from people who GR" 7KH PRUH ,ÂśYH VWXGLHG WKLV WKH PRUH , UHDOL]HG WKDW just isn’t true.â€? It’s also important to distinguish how addiction relates to obsession and compulsion. Alter said an obsession is mental. It can exist purely inside your head and involve no behavior at all. Compulsion is the uncontrollable impulse to do something. Addiction involves both to varying degrees, resulting in behaviors you repeat over and over again.

If you are a person who doesn’t have an addiction, does that make you in some... way different from people who do?

Dr. Larry Rosen also warned against using the terms addiction, obsession, and compulsion interchangeably, but he said they can all stem from anxiety. Dr. Rosen, a professor and psychologist at California State University, has been researching the psychology of technology for more than three decades. His latest book is The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World, which untangles what’s happening in our prefrontal cortexes when we’re texting, tweeting, posting, snapping, and scrolling.

DR. LARRY ROSEN

Rosen and his colleague, Dr. Nancy Cheever, have researched compulsive tech use and smartphone anxiety in several studies, mostly among college students. One of Dr. Cheever’s experiments, “Out of sight is not out of mind,â€? looked at how separation from your smartphone affects your anxiety. (Some call this “nomophobiaâ€?—no mobile phobia—irrational anxiety or distress when you can’t use your phone.) Cheever brought two groups of students into a room and either turned off their phones or took the phones away, as they sat in the lecture hall with a busywork assignment. Cheever measured the students’ anxiety at various points within an hour. All participants showed increased anxiety over time, but Cheever was able to split the group into light, moderate, and heavy tech users based on the changes in WKHLU DQ[LHW\ OHYHOV :KHWKHU WKH SKRQHV ZHUH WXUQHG RII RU WDNHQ RXW RI WKH room didn’t matter much, though; it was simply that participants were disconnected. Âł:KHQ ZH JUDE RXU SKRQH ZH VWDUW WR IHHO OHVV DQ[LRXV ,WÂśV D OHDUQHG EHKDYLRU over time,â€? said Rosen. In another recurring study of Rosen’s, groups of students installed an app called Instant on their phones, which tallies the number of times they unlock their phone and the amount of time spent with it unlocked. Rosen tested whether students’ tech use could serve as a predictor of their course performance—but different patterns emerged. +H IRXQG WKDW D W\SLFDO \HDU ROG XQORFNHG WKHLU SKRQH WLPHV D GD\ ZLWK DQ average usage time of 220 minutes per day. That’s just shy of 4 minutes per XQORFN $ \HDU ODWHU D VLPLODU JURXS XQORFNHG RQO\ DERXW WLPHV D GD\ EXW VSHQW DQ DYHUDJH RI PLQXWHV SHU GD\ XVLQJ WKH SKRQH “Time spent jumped so much in a year that we asked them about different social media accounts,â€? said Rosen.“The typical student had highly active accounts on six social media sites. That’s a big commitment. One WKLQJ ZH UHDOL]HG ZDV GLIIHUHQW EHWZHHQ WKH ÂżUVW WLPH ZH PHDVXUHG LW LQ DQG WKH VHFRQG WLPH ZH PHDVXUHG LW in 2017 was the explosion of Instagram and Snapchat.â€?

Smartphone anxiety and spending more time on devices are not addiction alone, but they create an environment for it. The line is crossed when that behavior begins to take away from other areas of your life. Âł:KDW UHVHDUFK VKRZV LV WKDW ZKHQ \RX JHW DQ DOHUW RU QRWLÂżFDWLRQ DQG \RXÂśUH QRW DOORZHG WR DFFHVV LW immediately, there is a jump in your neurochemistry. That jump is anxiety,â€? said Rosen. On a recent 60 Minutes segment called “Brain Hacking,â€? Cheever and Rosen monitored Anderson Cooper’s cortisol levels; FRUWLVRO LV WKH ³¿JKW RU Ă€LJKW´ KRUPRQH PRVW FORVHO\ linked to stress. Cooper’s cortisol spiked every time he got a text he couldn’t check. “The symptoms are pretty straightforward when they expand to smartphones and social media,â€? said Rosen. Âł<RX ÂżQG \RX QHHG WR GR PRUH DQG PRUH RI WKH DFWLYLW\ to feel the same amount of pleasure. You lie about your use of a technology. You deny it. You hide it. It interferes with your relationship with your spouse, your IDPLO\ \RXU IULHQGV $OO RI WKRVH ÂżW WHFKQRORJ\ RU internet addiction.â€? Not everyone agrees that technology is inherently addictive. There’s a wide spectrum of behavior from simply being dependent upon technology to using it compulsively. But psychologists are already on a path to UHFRJQL]H WHFK DGGLFWLRQ IRUPDOO\ '60 WKH $PHULFDQ 3V\FKLDWULF $VVRFLDWLRQÂśV PRVW recent diagnostic manual released in 2013, includes a provisional diagnosis for Internet Gaming Disorder. In -DQXDU\ WKH :RUOG +HDOWK 2UJDQL]DWLRQ :+2 DOVR FODVVLÂżHG JDPLQJ DGGLFWLRQ DV D GLVRUGHU $QG IRU WKH ÂżUVW WLPH HYHU WKH 86 1DWLRQDO ,QVWLWXWHV RI +HDOWK (NIH) is studying internet addiction. Conducted at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, the

There’s a wide spectrum of behavior from simply being dependent upon technology to using it compulsively.

federally funded study (which began in 2017 and will UXQ WKURXJK QH[W \HDU LV ORRNLQJ VSHFL¿FDOO\ DW RQOLQH gaming addiction in adolescents ages 13 to 18. It’s led by Dr. Nancy Petry, who was part of the APA’s Substance Use and Related Disorders workgroup, which added the SURYLVLRQDO JDPLQJ GLDJQRVLV WR WKH '60 7KH 1,+ research could open a path to list internet gaming DGGLFWLRQ DW OHDVW DV DQ RI¿FLDO GLVRUGHU 'U *UHHQ¿HOG EHOLHYHV ZHœOO VHH D GLDJQRVLV IRU EURDGHU tech and internet use in the next DSM, whether it’s FODVVL¿HG DV DGGLFWLRQ FRPSXOVLRQ GLVWUDFWLRQ RU VRPHWKLQJ HOVH ,Q KH UDQ WKH ¿UVW ODUJH VFDOH study on internet use with ABC News, surveying 17,000 people. The results became the basis of his book Virtual Addiction. *UHHQ¿HOGœV ZRUN DW WKH &,7$ IRFXVHV RQ education, research, and treatment around why digital technologies are abused, the neurobiology of FRPSXOVLYH WHFK XVH DQG KRZ WR ¿QG D OLIH EDODQFH

The NIH research could open a path to list internet gaming addiction, at least, as an official disorder.

He’s been treating people for internet and tech issues since the late 90s, long before there was any kind of RI¿FLDO GLDJQRVLV ³,I SDWLHQWV VKRZ XS LQ \RXU RI¿FH with a problem, you don’t say come back when we’ve got a diagnosis, we can’t treat you. If they have a problem, you treat it,� he said.

THE CENTER FOR INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY ADDICTION Photo: Rob Marvin

$OWHU DJUHHV Âł, WKLQN D ORW RI WKH GHÂżQLWLRQDO GHEDWHV DUH D OLWWOH ELW EHVLGH WKH point, whether you call something A or B, obsession or addiction or compulsion. :KHQ SHRSOH ZDQW WR DUJXH ZLWK PH DERXW LW , VD\ OHWÂśV ORRN DW WKH DFWXDO FRQFUHWH GRZQ WR HDUWK EHKDYLRUV ZHÂśUH WDONLQJ DERXW 'R WKHVH FRQFHUQ \RX" Most of those people say, ‘Yeah, I guess they do.’â€? HOW TECH PULLS YOU IN Âł3XW DGGLFWLRQ DVLGH ´ 'U *UHHQÂżHOG VDLG Âł:KDW LI \RXÂśUH MXVW WRR ZLUHG DQG LWÂśV MXVW VWUHVVLQJ \RX RXW" :HÂśUH ORVLQJ VOHHS RU JDLQLQJ ZHLJKW 0D\EH LWÂśV LPSDFWLQJ RXU UHODWLRQVKLSV DQG LQWLPDF\ :H IHHO FRQVWDQWO\ RYHUZKHOPHG because we’re hypervigilant in responding to a million channels of information and communication, all of which emanate out of a device that we hold in our hands that’s with us 24/7. You would no sooner leave your house without your phone than you would leave without your underwear or your belt. It’s become an accessory to our life in a way that we’ve never seen before; it’s a conduit through which we function and experience our lives. That has never existed in the history of humankind.â€? 'U *UHHQÂżHOG XVHV DQ DQDORJ\ WKDW WKH LQWHUQHW LV WKH ZRUOGÂśV ODUJHVW VORW machine, and the smartphone is the smallest. The analogy comes from psychologist Natasha Dow SchĂźll, also an NYU professor. Adam Alter writes about her research in Irresistible. SchĂźll spent 13 years studying gamblers and VORW PDFKLQHV LQ /DV 9HJDV DQG GHYHORSHG D WHUP DV D UHVXOW ludic loop, the ]RQH RI FRPIRUW \RX HQWHU ZKHQ HQJDJHG LQ D UHSHWLWLYH DFWLYLW\ WKDW JLYHV \RX occasional rewards. SchĂźll interviewed slot machine players and found that it wasn’t necessarily the burst of dopamine they got from winning that kept them playing. Rather, it was a lulled feeling, like “being enveloped by a warm blanket,â€? as Alter described it; sitting for hours pulling levers and hitting buttons. SchĂźll later wrote a book called Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas.

Ludic loops occur when you pick up a smartphone and VWDUW VFUROOLQJ <RX ÀLFN WKURXJK )DFHERRN RU 7ZLWWHU read some posts, check your email or Slack, watch a few Instagram stories, send a Snap or two, reply to a text, and end up back on Twitter to see what you’ve missed. Before you know it, 20 or 30 minutes has gone by; often longer. These experiences are designed to be as intuitive as possible; you can open and start using them without VSHQGLQJ WRR PXFK WLPH ¿JXULQJ RXW WKH\ LW ZRUN

Software engineers and UX designers drive user engagement by “That’s what’s going on for a lot of us,â€? Alter explained. introducing “That’s also why these companies, once they get you in small changes that state, can get you to continue to play. There’s so much over time to inertia there that it’s such an easy thing to keep doing.â€? remove friction. Most products are created the same way: You build version one, test it in the market, tweak, and release an XSGDWHG SURGXFW :LWK GLJLWDO SURGXFWV WKLV SURFHVV FDQ occur exponentially faster. Often it’s a small change; say, a QHZ OD\RXW RQ DQ $PD]RQ VKRSSLQJ SDJH RU WKDW OLNHV DQG retweets in your Twitter feed can update in real time as you scroll. Each new version of Android and iOS rolls out features and improvements. $W FRPSDQLHV OLNH $SSOH $PD]RQ *RRJOH )DFHERRN 7ZLWWHU DQG 6QDSFKDW VRIWZDUH HQJLQHHUV DQG 8; designers drive user engagement by introducing small changes over time to remove friction. They build in feedback and reward systems (likes or retweets, for H[DPSOH H[WHUQDO FXHV QRWLÂżFDWLRQV DQG HOHPHQWV DV simple as watching those blinking dots as you’re waiting for an iMessage reply.

7KLQN DERXW KRZ WKH DGYHQW RI WKH /LNH EXWWRQ FKDQJHG )DFHERRN XVH )RU WKH ÂżUVW IHZ \HDUV RI WKH VRFLDO QHWZRUNÂśV H[LVWHQFH )DFHERRN ZDV MXVW D SODFH ZKHUH you could peruse information and share things about yourself. “[Likes] introduced a whole new level of bidirectional feedback where I could post something and then you could tell me what you thought of it. That seems WULYLDO EXW LWÂśV WKH ZD\ KXPDQV ZRUN ´ VDLG $OWHU Âł:H DUH HQGOHVVO\ IDVFLQDWHG E\ KRZ RWKHU SHRSOH IHHO DERXW XV 2Q )DFHERRN DQG ,QVWDJUDP DQG 6QDSFKDW and Twitter, you’re creating content and waiting for feedback. Some of it will be the kind of feedback you’re seeking and some of it won’t. But the thrill of getting exactly the kind of feedback you want is so appealing that we just keep returning to the experience over and over again.â€? :KDW )DFHERRN GLG DQG ZKDW KDV QRZ EHFRPH D PDLQVWD\ RI KRZ ZH RIWHQ LQWHUDFW RQOLQH LV FUHDWH D VHOI SHUSHWXDWLQJ VRFLDO IHHGEDFN HQJLQH :KHQ 1DSVWHU FUHDWRU DQG )DFHERRN FRIRXQGHU 6HDQ 3DUNHU PDGH KHDGOLQHV ODVW \HDU ZLWK FRPPHQWV DERXW )DFHERRN H[SORLWLQJ D YXOQHUDELOLW\ LQ KXPDQ SV\FKRORJ\ RQH RI WKH FRQFHSWV KH PHQWLRQHG ZDV WKH ÂłVRFLDO YDOLGDWLRQ IHHGEDFN ORRS ´ 8VHU EHKDYLRU GDWD KHOSV PDNH WKHVH H[SHULHQFHV HYHQ PRUH LPPHUVLYH RU ÂłVWLFNLHU ´ *DPH DQG 8; GHVLJQHUV FDQ UHPRYH ZKDW XVHUV GRQÂśW OLNH DQG GRXEOH down on what they do. Alter explained that when you have billions of data points and people compulsively using a product, you can throw everything at WKH ZDOO 7HFK FRPSDQLHV FDQ PDNH LQÂżQLWH WZHDNV DQG VHH KRZ PLOOLRQV RI users respond to them instantaneously. One way to do this is color coding, a SURFHVV SHUIHFWHG LQ KLJKO\ HQJDJLQJ JDPHV VXFK DV :RUOG RI :DUFUDIW “Color coding is where you’re trying to work out which of two versions of a mission works best,â€? said Alter. “You tag the code associated with one version of the mission red and the code associated with a different version yellow. Let’s say you’re wondering whether a quest is more engaging if you’re trying to save VRPHRQH YHUVXV WU\LQJ WR ÂżQG DQ DUWLIDFW 6R \RX UXQ DQ $ % WHVW UHOHDVLQJ YHUVLRQ $ WR ÂżYH PLOOLRQ SHRSOH DQG YHUVLRQ % WR ÂżYH PLOOLRQ SHRSOH <RX measure different metrics, like how many people return to the mission more than once and how long they spend. If you discover version A works better, you go with the red code and put aside the yellow. And you keep doing that until you have the tenth, twentieth, or thirtieth generation of a game.â€?

2QFH XVHUV DUH LQ WKDW RSWLPL]HG ORRS EHKDYLRUDO feedback engines and reward cycles keep us not only motivated but also having fun. THE HOOK MODEL Nir Eyal, the author of Hooked: How to Build HabitForming Products, has an interesting background. In the late ‘00s, he ran a startup called AdNectar, which worked in the advertising and online games spaces to KHOS DSSV DQG VRFLDO QHWZRUNV PRQHWL]H YLUWXDO JRRGV WKLQN )DUP9LOOH DQG RWKHU )DFHERRN JDPHV 7KLV ZDV LQ the early days of the iPhone, before mobile games were NLQJ ,Q DSS SXUFKDVHV ZHUH D ERRPLQJ LQGXVWU\ RQ VRFLDO SODWIRUP JDPHV XQWLO )DFHERRN FKDQJHG LWV UXOHV and essentially collapsed it.

NIR EYAL

AdNectar was acquired in 2011, but the experience taught Eyal how products are designed to manipulate behavior. He began researching the way digital experiences use behavioral design to form user habits, and he wrote Hooked to “make that psychology around habit design something you could actually use as a product maker, and hopefully use it for good,� he said.

7KH FRUH RI (\DOÂśV ERRN LV ZKDW KH FDOOV WKH +RRN 0RGHO 7KLV LV D IRXU VWHS F\FOH that deconstructs how digital products keep users engaged: The four steps are 7ULJJHU ! $FWLRQ ! 9DULDEOH 5HZDUG ! ,QYHVWPHQW ,WÂśV D F\FOH IRU ZKDW (\DO FDOOV “manufacturing desire.â€?

Copyright: Nir Eyal

Nir Eyal’s Hook Model is “designed to build products that create habit-forming behavior in users via a looping cycle.�

Once you know how to spot the triggers and feedback mechanisms, the Hook Model can break down how users engage with essentially any app, game, social network, or online experience. Eyal pointed out how the Hook Model works with a social app. Âł7KH H[WHUQDO WULJJHU ZRXOG EH VRPH NLQG RI QRWLÂżFDWLRQ D SLQJ D GLQJ Something that tells you what to do next,â€? Eyal explained. “The action is to open the app and start scrolling the feed... You see variable rewards or intermittent reinforcement. It’s a slot machine–type effect. Some content is interesting, some isn’t. “Then the investment is every time you like or comment on something, post or upload something, friend somebody, you’re investing in the service and making it better and better with use. Through successive cycles of these hooks, the company no longer requires the external triggers, because people are internally triggered. Meaning when I’m feeling lonely, when I’m seeking connection, when I’m in some kind of uncomfortable emotional state, I look for satisfaction in the app.â€?

Eyal said it’s not up to product designers to create that LWFK RU LQWHUQDO WULJJHU EXW WR ÂżQG D KXPDQ QHHG DQG EXLOG DURXQG LW 7KH XOWLPDWH JRDO RI D KDELW IRUPLQJ product is to be something that we use with little or QR FRQVFLRXV WKRXJKW ,W MXVW EHFRPHV SDUW RI RXU GD\ WR GD\ OLYHV Eyal believes, for the most part, that this is good. It’s how your grandmother, who never used a computer EHIRUH FDQ MXVW SLFN XS DQ L3DG DQG ÂżJXUH RXW KRZ LW ZRUNV 7RGD\ (\DO ZRUNV DV D 8; FRQVXOWDQW EXW KH won’t work with companies that don’t pass what he calls the “Regret Testâ€?: If your product is something users would regret using, you shouldn’t build it. “I work with companies that are looking for ways to persuade their users, not coerce their users. It’s a big difference,â€? he said. “Persuasion is helping people do things they want to do. Coercion is making people do things they don’t want to do. Coercion is unethical, and I don’t work with any companies that would do that.â€? )RU XVHUV WKRXJK UHJUHW FDQ VWHP VLPSO\ IURP RYHUXVH Aside from the hooks and feedback loops, maybe the most important aspect of digital experiences for users to be aware of is the lack of mechanisms or rules that tell you it’s time to stop. $OWHU GHÂżQHV D stopping cue as a moment that suggests it’s time to move onto a new experience—like the end of D ERRN FKDSWHU RU 79 HSLVRGH 7KH HQGOHVVO\ VFUROOLQJ LQIRUPDWLRQ LQ D VRFLDO IHHG LV VLPLODU WR HQGOHVV UXQQHU JDPHV VXFK DV )ODSS\ %LUG DQG 7HPSOH 5XQ 7KH\ KDYH QR VWRSSLQJ FXHV :KHQ \RXÂśUH WDSSLQJ IURP DSS WR DSS on a smartphone or tablet, life happening around you or sheer willpower may be all that causes you to look up.

The ultimate goal of a habitforming product is to be something that we use with little or no conscious thought.

%LQJH ZDWFKLQJ ZRUNV WKH VDPH ZD\ ,Q 1HWĂ€L[ LQWURGXFHG D IHDWXUH FDOOHG 3RVW 3OD\ ZKLFK VWDUWV WKH QH[W HSLVRGH DXWRPDWLFDOO\ ZKHQ \RX ÂżQLVK D show, rather than forcing you to manually press Continue. The company removed a stopping cue to make the experience more engaging. Users can GLVDEOH 3RVW 3OD\ EXW PRVW GRQÂśW ,WÂśV FRQYHQLHQW In concert, all the behavioral mechanisms built into modern internet and technology experiences—intuitiveness, hooks and triggers, feedback loops and rewards, lack of stopping cues—can allow our brains to coast along in comfortable autopilot. It’s an effect Alter has dubbed automatic mindlessness. “The endlessness of a game or the bottomlessness of a feed is consciously built into these programs and platforms,â€? according to Alter. He said it’s up to users WR FUHDWH WKHLU RZQ VWRSSLQJ FXHV 8VLQJ 1HWĂ€L[ DV DQ H[DPSOH RQH WKLQJ KH recommends is to set an alarm on your smartphone. Then move the phone far DZD\ IURP \RX ,I \RX ZDQW WR VLW GRZQ DQG ZDWFK WZR PLQXWH HSLVRGHV RI D show, set your alarm for an hour and a half, so you need to get up and turn it off before you can keep watching. “I could, of course, turn off the alarm and keep watching. But the point is, I’ve created a barrier. That barrier makes it less likely that I’ll mindlessly continue,â€? said Alter. “If I do continue, I’m doing it mindfully, which is much better.â€? TREATING TECH ADDICTION 7KH ÂżUVW WHFK GHYLFH %ULDQ RZQHG ZDV D 1LQWHQGR *DPHER\ 7KHQ KH JRW D 6RQ\ 363 DQG DIWHU WKDW D 0LFURVRIW ;ER[ 7KH &DOO RI 'XW\ VHULHV LQWURGXFHG him to multiplayer gaming, and that soon brought gaming PCs into his life. Games were an escape for Brian; he didn’t have to work as hard to form social connections as he did in the small, cliquey classes at the private schools he attended. Throughout middle and high school, Brian was able to keep up good grades and a relatively active social life, but he was spending more and more time online. The real stumbling blocks appeared when he started college. He had to meet new people, in a new setting, with a lot less parental oversight. Pastimes became routines, and impulses turned into hours online.

“I was cutting everything down to the wire. It was, you know, I can probably get one game of this in. I can watch one video. I can probably run to class in DERXW WKUHH PLQXWHV OHW PH ÂżQLVK WKLV 7KHQ WKH QH[W WKLQJ , NQRZ DQRWKHU video is starting.â€? By the time Brian got to junior year in college, his tech habits had accelerated into an unsustainable pattern. He took a medical leave of absence from school DW KLV SDUHQWVÂś EHKHVW WR JHW WUHDWPHQW DW WKH &,7$ $IWHU D ÂżYH GD\ ÂłLQWHQVLYH´ SURJUDP WR KHOS KLP GHWR[ DQG EHJLQ UHWUDLQLQJ KLV PLQG WKH EORFNV DQG ÂżOWHUV were installed on his devices and home router. He says they’ve helped, despite his recent relapse. Brian’s been returning to the CITA for sessions once or twice a week. The CITA is focused on treating his addictive behaviors and rebuilding his social skills. Brian had lied by omission in his previous session, though, He had gotten back online with his old devices, but he didn’t bring up the relapse until this week, after he’d been caught. He admits he has the capacity to lie a lot, where his tech use is concerned. $IWHU WDONLQJ DERXW WKH UHODSVH 'U *UHHQÂżHOG KDV %ULDQ WDNH KLP WKURXJK WKH whole sequence of events again and how he felt during the experience—but this time, he monitors Brian’s neurophysiological feedback. He turns Brian’s chair DURXQG WRZDUG WKH (\H 0RYHPHQW 'HVHQVLWL]DWLRQ DQG 5HSURFHVVLQJ (0'5 PDFKLQH VLWWLQJ DORQJ WKH EDFN ZDOO RI WKH WKH RIÂżFH

THE CITA’S EMDR MACHINE Photo: Rob Marvin

The doctor is hooking Brian up to two machines, actually. The EMDR machine is about bilateral sensory stimulation. It consists of a light board in front of Brian with illuminated dots roving back and forth in an almost soothing pattern. He also puts on a pair of headphones emitting steady rhythmic sounds. EMDR therapy is designed to focus your mind on external stimuli to make it easier to process images and memories that might be traumatic. It’s used most FRPPRQO\ LQ WUHDWLQJ SRVW WUDXPDWLF VWUHVV GLVRUGHU 376' EXW 'U *UHHQÂżHOG has been using it for 20 years to treat behavioral addictions. The other machine is one he added recently for something called “heart FRKHUHQFH WKHUDS\´ RU SRO\YDJDO WUHDWPHQW 'U *UHHQÂżHOG SXWV D IHZ YLWDO sensors on Brian’s ears to monitor his vagal nerve (a part of the autonomic and sympathetic nervous systems) and heart rate. The goal is to gather data to indicate Brian’s coherence level—how his parasympathetic or sympathetic nervous system is functioning. Âł:KDW ZH ZDQW LV PRUH FRKHUHQFH DQG OHVV KHDUW UDWH YDULDELOLW\ ZKLFK LQGLFDWHV D VPRRWKHU WRQH LQ KLV QHUYRXV V\VWHP ´ 'U *UHHQÂżHOG H[SODLQV 7KH coherence data is just another tool to help him make sense of what’s happening in the minds of his tech addiction patients. %ULDQ LV KRRNHG XS Âł, ZDQW WR JR EDFN WR PRPHQW WKDW \RX VDZ WKDW ÂżUVW GHYLFH 5HPHPEHU WKDW" %ULQJ XS DQ LPDJH RI WKDW WKH IHHOLQJ RI LW ´ 'U *UHHQÂżHOG says. The dashboard on his screen begins showing Brian’s vitals as his eyes move back and forth with the EMDR. “Sort of like a tingling sensation in my chest, you know, puts a smile on my face. And makes me feel happy,â€? Brian responds. 'U *UHHQÂżHOG H[SODLQHG WKDW WKH JRDO RI WKLV SURFHVV LV WR KHOS %ULDQ DFWLYDWH the resources in his mind for managing those triggers when they occur, while decreasing anxiety responses. Brian has gone through some variation of this process for the past six weeks.

THE INTENSIVE :KHQ KH ÂżUVW WRRN D OHDYH RI DEVHQFH IURP VFKRRO DQG KLV SDUHQWV VRXJKW RXW WKH &,7$ IRU WUHDWPHQW %ULDQ VWDUWHG ZLWK D ÂżYH GD\ ÂłLQWHQVLYH ´ VKRUW IRU Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program (IOTP). The center offers a number of different treatment options, and an intensive is the most drastic program. 7KH DFFHOHUDWHG WUHDWPHQW FDQ EH GRQH LQ HLWKHU D ÂżYH GD\ SURJUDP IRXU KRXUV RI WUHDWPHQW SHU GD\ RU D WZR GD\ SURJUDP KRXUV SHU GD\ IRU SDWLHQWV dealing with internet, gaming, online gambling, social media, porn, or personal GHYLFH DGGLFWLRQV ,QWHQVLYHV DUH D WLPH VHQVLWLYH RSWLRQ IRU SHRSOH ZKR GRQÂśW have the option of doing a full residential treatment program, or, as in Brian’s case, they’re an initial shock to the system followed by regular sessions. The way 'U *UHHQÂżHOG WUHDWV WHFK DGGLFWLRQ LV URRWHG LQ EUHDNLQJ GRZQ EHKDYLRU patterns and then retraining your mind. The treatment plan depends on the patient’s needs. It starts with identifying addiction patterns and underlying issues and why they’re harmful, then helping the patient gain an understanding of the hormonal and neurochemical cycles EHKLQG WKRVH WULJJHUV 'XULQJ WKH VHVVLRQ ZLWK %ULDQ 'U *UHHQÂżHOG RIWHQ mentioned dopamine. That neurotransmitter is most often associated with feeling pleasure but in actuality is part of far more complicated motivation and UHZDUGV F\FOHV XQGHUSLQQLQJ WHFK XVH *UHHQÂżHOG OLNHV WR UHIHU WR VPDUWSKRQHV as “portable dopamine pumps.â€? Once a level of awareness and understanding is established, the goal is to GHVHQVLWL]H WKRVH WULJJHUV RIWHQ E\ SXWWLQJ EORFNV DQG ÂżOWHUV RQ LQWHUQHW XVH LQ SODFH 'U *UHHQÂżHOG DOVR XVHV D FRXQVHOLQJ PHWKRG FDOOHG PRWLYDWLRQDO interviewing to assess how ready a patient is to change their behavior. The goal, he said, is to “gently cajoleâ€? them into higher levels of motivation for managing emotions and feelings such as anxiety, boredom, fear, frustration, pride, and accomplishment, without the need for technology. Âł7KH PHWKRGV , XVH IRU WUHDWLQJ LQWHUQHW DGGLFWLRQ DUH QRW WKDW IDU DÂżHOG IURP treating any addiction, because you’re involving the same reward circuitry in WKH EUDLQ ´ VDLG *UHHQÂżHOG

'U *UHHQÂżHOG WUHDWV ERWK IDPLOLHV DQG LQGLYLGXDOV +H VDLG WKH W\SLFDO WUHDWPHQW LV VRPHZKHUH EHWZHHQ DQG PRQWKV RIWHQ VWDUWLQJ ZLWK DQ LQWHQVLYH DQG FRQWLQXLQJ IRU VHYHUDO PRQWKV ZLWK UHJXODU IROORZ XSV $W WKH PRPHQW WKH &,7$ GRHVQÂśW GR LQSDWLHQW DQG ORQJ WHUP UHVLGHQWLDO WUHDWPHQW IRU internet and tech addiction, but a few other centers do. 2QH LV D GD\ LQSDWLHQW LQWHUQHW DGGLFWLRQ WUHDWPHQW DQG UHFRYHU\ SURJUDP DW Bradford Regional Medical Center in Pennsylvania run by Dr. Kimberly Young, ZKR IRXQGHG KHU RZQ &HQWHU IRU ,QWHUQHW $GGLFWLRQ EDFN LQ 7KH %UDGIRUG SURJUDP ODXQFKHG LQ LV WKH ÂżUVW LQ WKH 86 RIIHULQJ FRJQLWLYH EHKDYLRUDO therapy (CBT) and harm reduction therapy (HRT) treatment for tech addiction. The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery has also begun offering residential treatment for internet and video game addictions. The other major treatment center is reSTART Life, located outside of Seattle. ReSTART has been treating problematic gaming and internet use since 2009. Programs last 8 to 12 weeks for an intensive program and 9 to 12 months for its “sustainable therapeuticâ€? extended care program. The center also offers a variety of additional services, including counseling sessions and family and parental coaching. Adam Alter visited reSTART while researching Irresistible and spoke to founders Cosette Rae and Hilarie Cash about the center’s treatment plan, which takes a very different approach to the CITA’s. Rae told Alter she prefers not to use the word addiction because of its negative connotation; she prefers the concept of “technology sustainabilityâ€? instead. ReSTART offers two programs: one for adolescents ages 13 to 18 and another for adults ages 18 to 30. The reSTART treatment plan works in groups instead of individual therapy. It starts with a complete tech detox phase lasting about three weeks, followed by a few more weeks living together in the rustic locale. Patients cook, clean, exercise and hike, play games, and manage their emotions away from technology. The next phase of reSTART’s treatment sees patients move into halfway houses nearby. They get jobs or go back to school while returning to the center for UHJXODU FKHFN LQV ,Q WKH ÂżQDO SKDVH WKH\ UHWXUQ WR QRUPDO OLIH $OWHU VDLG PDQ\ stay in the area, away from the old environments that help breed their gaming or internet addictions.

One important caveat to these treatments is the cost. Gaming, internet, and other tech addictions are not UHFRJQL]HG DV FOLQLFDO GLVRUGHUV PHDQLQJ IDFLOLWLHV OLNH the CITA and reSTART are not covered by insurance. Prices vary depending on the type and duration of treatment, but programs can cost many thousands of dollars, particularly for residential treatment. As for the &,7$ 'U *UHHQ¿HOG VDLG WKH VPDOO IDFLOLW\ RI ¿YH employees simply can’t afford the low insurance reimbursements the center would get. ³:HœUH D VPDOO EXVLQHVV DQG ZH RSHUDWH RQ D YHU\ ORZ overhead. If you crunch those numbers and look at the overhead that we have, it would just not be sustainable,� he said. In the United States, only a few treatment centers employ a variety of different approaches, but tech addiction is a global issue. In other countries, including Australia, China, Japan, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, and 7DLZDQ WHFK DGGLFWLRQ LV UHFRJQL]HG DV DQ RI¿FLDO GLVRUGHU DQG DGGUHVVHG WKURXJK JRYHUQPHQW IXQGHG treatment initiatives. Treatment approaches differ around the world, but in China and South Korea, the methods can be quite VHULRXV DQG VRPHWLPHV UDGLFDO &KLQD FODVVL¿HG LQWHUQHW addiction as a clinical disorder way back in 2008, and 2014 state estimates said approximately 24 million Chinese children and teens were suffering from gaming or internet addictions. The country has opened a QXPEHU RI PLOLWDU\ VW\OH ERRW FDPSV WR FXUE WKH behaviors, using exercise, drills, regular brain scans, and medication. The controversial methods used in these boot camps have led to several deaths, including DQ \HDU ROG ZKR GLHG ODVW \HDU DV D UHVXOW RI DOOHJHG beating. His parents had dropped him off at the camp only two days before.

Treatment approaches differ, but in China and South Korea, the methods can be serious and sometimes radical.

South Korea designated internet addiction as a public health crisis a few years back, and it funds rehab centers across the country. The facilities offer stress reduction classes and counseling services, and they encourage a YDULHW\ RI QRQ WHFK DFWLYLWLHV 8OWLPDWHO\ WKHUH DUH VR many different approaches because tech addiction treatment—like the evolving devices and digital experiences it treats—is still in its collective infancy. RETRAINING OUR MINDS Brian is sitting with Michael Shelby, the CITA’s IT consultant. As part of Brian’s detox and treatment process, Shelby installed blocking and monitoring software on Brian’s smartphone and laptop using the Qustodio parental control app and on the family’s home URXWHU WKURXJK WKH &LUFOH :LWK 'LVQH\ VHFXULW\ DSSOLDQFH $IWHU KLV VHVVLRQ ZLWK 'U *UHHQ¿HOG HQGHG Brian met with Shelby to work out a few kinks with the blocks. On his desktop screen, Brian still can see icons for all his apps and games, even though they’re blocked. He said it helps to see the Steam logo and know he’s not going to open it.

6KHOE\ VDLG WKH EORFNV DQG PRQLWRULQJ DUH VSHFLDOL]HG GHSHQGLQJ RQ WKH SDWLHQW In Brian’s case, it’s games and sites like Reddit and YouTube. The patient always has a “gatekeeperâ€? to monitor their usage; Brian’s parents serve in that role for him. Shelby shows the gatekeepers how to allow or block sites with Qustodio and Circle and also how to disavow a new device on a network. Brian suspects that’s how his parents might’ve known about that second device hidden in his baseball bag. “The blocks are not a moat; they not an impenetrable wall. They’re a speed EXPS ´ H[SODLQHG 6KHOE\ Âł,I VRPHRQH LV WUXO\ GHWHUPLQHG WR ÂżJXUH RXW D ZD\ WR get around it, they will. There has to be a certain degree of internal motivation where they understand that there’s a problem. [Brian] made things easy, but I’d VD\ ZLWK RU SHUFHQW RI WKH FDVHV ZH VHH SDWLHQWV FRPH LQ NLFNLQJ DQG screaming and clutching their machines.â€? 6KHOE\ KDV ZRUNHG ZLWK 'U *UHHQÂżHOG IRU WKH SDVW \HDUV DQG DOVR UXQV KLV RZQ WHFK ÂżUP ZKLFK GRHV QHWZRUN GHVLJQ SHQHWUDWLRQ WHVWLQJ VHFXULW\ training, and traditional IT support. He’s blunt and straightforward, joking with Brian as they look at his laptop. He said most patients keep the blocks on for about a year, but in some cases it can be a lot longer. The other important aspect of the monitoring software is giving patients a detailed breakdown of how much time they’re spending on different apps and websites, since tech use can often create a sense of dissociation in how much time you’ve spent looking at a screen. The monitoring aspect of the CITA’s treatment is a feedback mechanism to counter that thinking. “This digital detox we assist with helps the person rewire or sort of rebuild the neural pathways that have been hijacked by this behavior that’s done without WKLQNLQJ ´ VDLG 6KHOE\ Âł:H ZDQW WKH SHUVRQ WR UHJDLQ FRQWURO RYHU WKH GHFLVLRQ PDNLQJ SURFHVV VR LWÂśV QR ORQJHU D NQHH MHUN UHVSRQVH ,WÂśV QR ORQJHU DXWRPDWLF it’s conscious.â€? That idea of a tech break or a digital detox comes up often in tech addiction treatment, but it’s a useful strategy for any tech user who’s feeling overloaded by apps and devices. That might mean putting your phone away for an hour at GLQQHU OHDYLQJ LW LQ WKH FDU DQG WDNLQJ D ZDON WXUQLQJ QRWLÂżFDWLRQV RII RQ WKH weekend, or taking a physical break from your devices for days or longer.

'U *UHHQÂżHOG DOVR VDLG ZHÂśYH EHFRPH D ÂłERUHGRP LQWROHUDQW FXOWXUH ´ XVLQJ WHFK WR ÂżOO HYHU\ ZDNLQJ moment—sometimes at the expense of organic creativity RU FRQQHFWLQJ ZLWK VRPHRQH HOVH LQ D URRP :KHQ ZDV the last time you took public transportation or sat in a waiting room without pulling out a smartphone? “The new normal is mindful, sustainable use of our WHFKQRORJ\ ´ VDLG 'U *UHHQÂżHOG Âł6LQFH LWÂśV QRW JRLQJ anywhere, the goal is to have conscious awareness of when we’re using it, how we’re using it, and how and when not to use it.â€? TAKING BACK CONTROL Adam Alter spoke of the concept of behavioral architecture. It’s about designing the space around you to consciously change how you interact with technology. Using behavioral architecture, you arrange your digital DQG SK\VLFDO VSDFH WR PD[LPL]H WKH OLNHOLKRRG RI GHVLUDEOH EHKDYLRUV DQG PLQLPL]H XQGHVLUDEOH RQHV An easy example is thinking about how physically close \RXU VPDUWSKRQH LV WR \RX )RU PRVW RI XV LWÂśV SUREDEO\ within reach at any given moment. Alter said for at least several hours a day, you should purposely keep your phone farther away.

Dr. GreenďŹ eld also said we’ve become a ‘boredomintolerant culture,’ using tech to ďŹ ll every waking moment.

The Center for Humane Technology recommends taking control of your digital environment in the same way. The CHT suggests, for example, turning off all \RXU DSS QRWL¿FDWLRQV H[FHSW IRU WKRVH FRQFHUQLQJ SHRSOH DQG NHHSLQJ RQO\ utility apps and tool icons on your home screen. Another tip is to use the search bar to access an app rather than tapping on it without thinking about it. Even that small change in behavioral architecture lets you pause for a moment and think about whether you’re opening the app for a good reason. :KHQ LW FRPHV WR VOHHS XVLQJ DSSV VXFK DV I OX[ RU 1LJKW 6KLIW RQ L26 GHYLFHV WR reduce blue light before bed is good, but setting physical boundaries is better. 2QH RI WKH ¿UVW UHFRPPHQGDWLRQV IURP PDQ\ RI WKH VRXUFHV ZH VSRNH WR IRU WKLV story is to keep your smartphone out of reach at night. Ideally, you can get a separate alarm clock and charge the phone in another room entirely. If you wake up in the middle of the night, your phone shouldn’t be close enough to keep you awake and distracted. 'LVWUDFWLRQ LV DQ HYHU SUHVHQW SUREOHP ZKHQ ZH¶UH DOZD\V SOXJJHG LQ $OHUWV DQG QRWL¿FDWLRQV DUH SRZHUIXO H[WHUQDO WULJJHUV DQG IRU PDQ\ RI XV LW¶V GLI¿FXOW to ignore that email, that message, tweet, or snap. The hook can be as simple as VHHLQJ D WLQ\ UHG GRW QH[W WR DQ DSS KLQWLQJ DW KRZ PDQ\ QRWL¿FDWLRQV \RX¶YH missed. The Distracted Mind author Larry Rosen says this can set up a system ZKHUH ZH VHOI LQWHUUXSW IHHOLQJ SKDQWRP YLEUDWLRQV RU KHDULQJ QRWL¿FDWLRQ dings that didn’t actually happen.

Âł)LUVW DQG IRUHPRVW ZH KDYH WR VWRS FKHFNLQJ LQ WRR RIWHQ DQG WKDWÂśV QRW HDV\ ´ said Rosen. “Our brains are dragging us there; either through internal or H[WHUQDO VLJQDOV )LUVW RII MXVW WXUQ RII \RXU QRWLÂżFDWLRQV IRU HYHU\WKLQJ <RX can also take all of your social media apps, put them in a folder, and stick them on the last of your home screens. Just seeing that little app icon stimulates you to check it.â€? Behavioral architecture can apply here, too. Often, devices distract us because ZH OHW WKHP :H VHW RXU SKRQHV WR QRWLI\ XV 5RVHQ UHFRPPHQGV VLPSOH ZD\V WR take back that control. If you want to take a tech break, tell people you’ll be checking in less frequently, and you’ll get back to them as soon as you can, he says. Set a timer and give yourself a few minutes to check what you want to FKHFN WKHQ FORVH WKH DSSV :KHQ \RXÂśUH RQ D GHVNWRS GRQÂśW MXVW PLQLPL]H \RXU sites; close them. :KHQ \RXÂśUH WU\LQJ WR FRPSOHWH D VSHFLÂżF WDVN WKH QHHG WR FKHFN LQ FDQ EH particularly counterproductive. Experts use different names and labels for it. Âł,QER[ =HUR ´ IRU LQVWDQFH LV WKH QHYHU HQGLQJ TXHVW WR FKHFN DOO \RXU XQUHDG HPDLOV DQG QRWLÂżFDWLRQV LQ D PDLO DSS RU QHZHU DSSV VXFK DV 6ODFN 1LU (\DO VRPHWLPHV FDOOV WKLV ÂłNLOOLQJ WKH PHVVDJH PRQVWHU ´ ,Q IDFW WKH 8; consultant’s next book, Indistractible, is about how digital distractions are killing productivity and what to do about it. Eyal stressed that he’s not an advocate for the tech industry but that users are in control of how they interact ZLWK WHFKQRORJ\ ,I \RXU QRWLÂżFDWLRQ VHWWLQJV DUH DOO VWLOO VHW WR GHIDXOWV KH VDLG that’s not the tech company’s problem. Âł, WKLQN LWÂśV LPSRUWDQW WR UHDOL]H DV FRQVXPHUV WKDW we can’t keep blaming the companies. To those saying, ‘Oh, they’re making addictive products,’ I say, ‘OK, what are you going to do about it?’ 7DNH PLQXWHV DQG FKDQJH D QRWLÂżFDWLRQ setting. Either delete the apps or turn off QRWLÂżFDWLRQV IURP WKH WKLQJV WKDW FRQVWDQWO\ distract you. If you uninstall the app, there’s nothing Mark Zuckerberg can do about it.â€?

Another option for more sustainable tech use: apps and extensions that help you cut out digital distractions and retake control. Meditation apps such as Calm and +HDGVSDFH DUH GHVLJQHG WR KHOS \RX GH VWUHVV DQG IRFXV your mind. Moment for iOS and RescueTime for Mac DQG :LQGRZV ZRUN WKH VDPH ZD\ DV %ULDQ¶V PRQLWRULQJ software, helping you break down exactly how much WLPH \RX¶UH VSHQGLQJ RQ DSSV DQG GHYLFHV )UHHGRP temporarily blocks apps and websites for set periods of time. ([WHQVLRQV FDQ DOVR KHOS \RX XVH VLWHV OLNH )DFHERRN DQG <RX7XEH LQ PRUH WDUJHWHG ZD\V 'LVWUDFWLRQ )UHH YouTube removes recommended videos from sidebars WR NHHS \RX IURP JHWWLQJ VXFNHG LQ 1HZV )HHG (UDGLFDWRU EOXUV RXW )DFHERRN SRVWV IRU XVHUV ZKR ZDQW to use the app only as a utility, for things like events and JURXSV 7KH )DFHERRN 'HPHWULFDWRU H[WHQVLRQ KLGHV like, comment, and share numbers to keep you from ¿[DWLQJ RQ IHHGEDFN DQG UHZDUGV F\FOHV <RX FDQ PRWLYDWH \RXUVHOI ZLWK JDPL¿FDWLRQ WRR 7KH )RUHVW DSS SODQWV YLUWXDO VHHGV WKDW JURZ LQWR WUHHV WKH longer you stay off your phone. )URP WHFK DGGLFWV OHDUQLQJ WR OHDG KHDOWKLHU OLYHV WR everyday users who want to to cut out the noise and reshape their digital habits, proactive strategies and tools are everywhere. Thrive is another new app designed to help you focus, DQG LW FHQWUDOL]HV PDQ\ RI WKHVH FRQFHSWV LQ D VLQJOH experience. The app was created by Thrive Global, the health and wellness startup launched by Arianna +XI¿QJWRQ ODVW \HDU +XI¿QJWRQ VSRNH WR 3&0DJ DERXW Thrive and the right way to use technology.

You can motivate yourself with gamification... The Forest app plants virtual seeds that grow into trees the longer you stay off your phone.

Âł:KDW ZH DUH GRLQJ LV KHOSLQJ SHRSOH XVH WKHLU SKRQHV LQWHQWLRQDOO\ ´ +XIÂżQJWRQ VDLG Âł,WÂśV DERXW EHLQJ LQ control of our time and our life. Technology is just a tool—it’s not inherently good or bad. It’s about how we use it and what it does for our lives. So phones can be used to enhance our lives or consume them. And though it sounds paradoxical, there’s actually more and more technology that helps us unplug from technology. That NLQG RI KXPDQ FHQWHUHG WHFKQRORJ\ LV RQH RI WKH QH[W tech frontiers.â€? The Thrive app, currently available for Android and Samsung devices (an iOS app is coming this summer) puts a user into Thrive Mode to block all apps, QRWLÂżFDWLRQV FDOOV DQG WH[WV H[FHSW IRU Âł9,3V´ \RXÂśYH GHVLJQDWHG (YHU\RQH HOVH JHWV DQ DXWR UHSO\ OHWWLQJ them know you’re focusing and when you’ll be available again. Thrive also has an app control panel to monitor \RXU XVDJH DQG VHW JRDOV IRU KRZ \RX XVH VSHFLÂżF DSSV +XIÂżQJWRQ H[SODLQHG KRZ WKH DSS XVHV ÂłPLFURVWHSV ´ RU making small behavior changes to ultimately create new KDELWV LQ \RXU GD\ WR GD\ OLIH 6KH DOVR WDONHG DERXW WKH bidirectionality of “Thrive Modeâ€? to create ripple effects across other users.

Though it sounds paradoxical, there’s actually more and more technology that helps us unplug from technology.

“If you’re in Thrive Mode for the next hour and I text you, I’ll get a text back WKDW \RXÂśUH LQ 7KULYH 0RGH ZKLFK FUHDWHV D QHZ NLQG RI )202 ,W PDNHV PH ZRQGHU Âľ:KDW LV VKH GRLQJ ZKLOH VKHÂśV GLVFRQQHFWLQJ" :KDW DP , PLVVLQJ RXW RQ"Âś ,ÂśOO EH LQWULJXHG DQG ZDQW WR WU\ LW P\VHOI ´ VDLG +XIÂżQJWRQ Âł,Q WKDW ZD\ using it will have a multiplier effect that begins to create new cultural norms around how we use technology. Instead of only valuing always being on, we begin to value regularly unplugging and recharging.â€? The more profound question in all of this is whether we want the next decade of human technological behavior to stay stagnant, or whether our attitudes and KDELWV VKRXOG HYROYH DORQJ ZLWK WKH WHFK ZHÂśUH XVLQJ :HÂśUH DOUHDG\ VHHLQJ WKH advent of new tech, including voice interfaces and virtual reality experiences, both of which could drastically alter our relationship with technology. $UWLÂżFLDOO\ LQWHOOLJHQW YRLFH DVVLVWDQWV VXFK DV $OH[D &RUWDQD *RRJOH $VVLVWDQW and Siri eliminate a lot of the external or visual hooks that pull you onto a screen. This kind of interface also has the potential to help us use tech more proactively. AI assistants are already connected to your calendar; perhaps Siri or Google Assistant could say something like, “Here’s what your day looks like. You’ve got an opening in your schedule. Do you want to schedule a device break and spend some time outside?â€? 95 LV WKH RWKHU VLGH RI WKH FRLQ &RPPRQ 6HQVH UHFHQWO\ UHOHDVHG Âł9LUWXDO Reality 101,â€? research coauthored with researchers at Stanford University’s 9LUWXDO +XPDQ ,QWHUDFWLRQ /DE RQ WKH SRWHQWLDO SRVLWLYH DQG QHJDWLYH HIIHFWV RI 95 H[SHULHQFHV RQ NLGVÂś FRJQLWLYH VRFLDO DQG SK\VLFDO ZHOO EHLQJ $QG $GDP $OWHU VDLG WKDW IRU WKH L*HQ DQG JHQHUDWLRQV WR FRPH 95 EULQJV D ZKROH QHZ VHW of concerns about escaping into digital worlds rather than living in the real one. The core issues are the same as those faced by tech addicts today, though. “I think it’s really important that kids are exposed to social situations in the real world, rather than just through a screen where there’s this delayed feedback. It’s about seeing your friend when you talk to them; seeing the reactions on their face,â€? said Alter. “The concern is that [by] putting people in front of screens during the years where they really need to interact with real people, [they] may never fully acquire those social skills. It’s the fact that the screen exists.â€?

Brian applied to go back to college for the summer semester. He said he’s going back with a new attitude, a QHZIRXQG FRQÂżGHQFH WR VXFFHHG DQG EHFRPH DQ HQJLQHHU 'U *UHHQÂżHOG WKLQNV %ULDQ VKRXOG NHHS WKH app and device blocks on at least through college. Brian agrees. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to return to video gaming. He’s got a few weeks or more left of treatment, but despite the relapse, Brian says he feels like he’s made a ORW RI SURJUHVV %HIRUH WKH WUHDWPHQW LV ÂżQLVKHG KHÂśOO VLW ZLWK 'U *UHHQÂżHOG DQG SXW WRJHWKHU D ÂłUHDO WLPH OLYLQJ´ list of things he likes to do that don’t involve a screen. “The bottom line is, do you feel better in the last six ZHHNV VLQFH \RX FDPH LQ IRU WUHDWPHQW"´ 'U *UHHQÂżHOG asks him. “I would like to believe I am,â€? Brian responds. “I’m still not at the point where I’d like to be, but for now, I think it’s enough to put me on the right track, especially going to college. I have a feeling once the social part of college kicks in, it should be smooth sailing. I don’t see myself buying another device.â€? Additional reporting by Sarah Kovacs.

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Dr. Greenfield thinks Brian should keep the app and device blocks on at least through college. Brian agrees.

FEATURES

THE TECH INDUSTRY RECKONS WITH ITS RESPONSIBILITY BY ROB MARVIN

“God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.� It’s “ripping apart the social fabric of how society works.� rugs? Violent video games? No, those quotes are from former Facebook execs Sean Parker and Chamath Palihapitiya, respectively, when they were asked recently to take stock of the social network they helped create.

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They’re not the only ones. Gadget makers, app creators, and social media giants are now grappling with the ethical responsibilities of how their products affect consumers and society. “I think there’s an increased sense of accountability that these companies are making stuff that is addictive; that is affecting children, adults, adolescents, and that they have some responsibility to at least educate, warn, acknowledge, and PD\EH HYHQ KHOS IXQG UHVHDUFK DQG WUHDWPHQW ´ VDLG 'U 'DYLG *UHHQÂżHOG founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction (CITA) in Hartford, CT. Parker and Palihapitiya’s statements made headlines, but some of the most organized efforts within Silicon Valley to change public perception about technology—and advocate for tech itself to change—are coming from two JURXSV 6DQ )UDQFLVFR QRQSURÂżW RUJDQL]DWLRQ &RPPRQ 6HQVH 0HGLD DQG WKH recently formed Center for Humane Technology (CHT). The CHT is the brainchild of former Apple, Facebook, Google, Lyft, and Asana execs. It preaches “humane design,â€? which frames device and app design in terms of vulnerability: How are we vulnerable to overstimulation or “microtargeted persuasionâ€? from digital platforms?

The CHT’s executive director and co-founder is Tristan Harris, a former design ethicist at Google. The CHT’s leadership, advisors, and supporters also include HDUO\ )DFHERRN LQYHVWRU 5RJHU 0F1DPHH IRUPHU $SSOH DQG *RRJOH FRPPXQLFDWLRQV H[HF /\QQ )R[ IRUPHU )DFHERRN H[HFV 'DYH 0RULQ DQG 6DQG\ Parakilas, Lyft president John Zimmer, and Asana co-founder Justin Rosenstein, who helped create Facebook’s Like button. Humane design calls for device-makers and social networks to redesign their experiences to “protect our minds from constant distractions, minimize screen time, protect our time in relationships,â€? and change app stores from places ZKHUH DSSV FRPSHWH WR RQH ZLWK D ÂłPDUNHWSODFH RI WRROV FRPSHWLQJ WR EHQHÂżW our lives and society.â€? To help engineers and UX designers build more humanely designed products, the center is putting together a website called the Ledger of Harms. The site will offer up-to-date research on the health effects of tech use, and a guide for creating healthier digital devices and experiences. PUSHING FOR CHANGE 2Q WKH DGYRFDF\ IURQW WKH &+7 LV SDUWQHULQJ ZLWK &RPPRQ 6HQVH 0HGLD RQ D $7 million campaign called “The Truth About Tech.â€? Common Sense CEO Jim Steyer (below) described it as a multi-year public education and public awareness campaign to inform parents, teachers, and students about the potentially harmful effects of technology. As part of the campaign, Truth About Tech content will also be distributed this fall to more than 55,000 K-12 schools nationwide that participate in the Common Sense Schools program. The effort also also includes $50 million in donated media and airtime from Comcast, DirecTV, and other distribution partners. Steyer said “Truth About Techâ€? is modeled in some ways on antismoking campaigns.

“We’ve been careful not to demonize the tech industry, in the way that I think the tobacco industry can be demonized. But it shouldn’t be lost on people that we called it the Truth About Tech campaign,â€? said Steyer. “We do believe it’s about changing behavior. It also includes addiction and design issues to explain to kids that they’re being manipulated. So in the same way that that tobacco campaign was about changing your behavior, we want to make you aware of the consequences and negative impacts.â€? Common Sense has been around since the early 2000s, tackling topics such as screen time, tech addiction, social media, and smartphone parenting. Steyer stressed that the organization isn’t anti-tech; Common Sense works with tech companies and also reviews a wide range of tech and media. He said the big change in partnering with the Center for Humane Technology is working with tech company insiders like Tristan Harris, CHT executive director and a former design ethicist at Google, who can explain how these products are designed. “Tech companies, at least some of them, are in an arms race for our kids’ attention. That’s where the addiction stuff comes in, because they’ve created various products and apps and techniques like Snapchat streaks, for example,â€? said Steyer. “Tristan and the team that he’s put together can talk more VSHFLÂżFDOO\ WR SHRSOH DERXW KRZ FRPSDQLHV SDUWLFXODUO\ OLNH )DFHERRN Instagram, etc., have, by design, created products and platforms that can intentionally addict people.â€?

There is some pushback to this idea within the tech industry. Nir Eyal, an expert in behavioral design and author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, said it’s important to think about how a UX design technique is used: “Tristan talks about how Snapchat is evil for using streaks. But so does Duolingo, to teach people languages. It’s not the technique; it’s the end,â€? he said. Eyal does think that at a certain point, tech companies have a responsibility to modulate use, because they have the data to do it. He pointed to developer network 6WDFN 2YHUĂ€RZ ZKLFK FDSV WKH QXPEHU RI SRLQWV \RX can earn when you’ve spent more than 20 hours a week on the platform. Eyal referred to it as a “use and abuseâ€? policy: “If you use a product more than a certain number of hours per week, companies could reach out and say, ‘Hey, you are showing behavioral triggers here that may indicate that you’re struggling with a larger problem. Can we help?’â€? For consumers, Common Sense’s broader ad campaign began last year (before CHT joined) with a series of short ads called #DeviceFreeDinner. These are comical depictions of the all-too-common current family dynamic of parents and children scrolling on their smartphones during dinner. Common Sense even partnered with Will Ferrell and Funny or Die on a series of spots. The #DeviceFreeDinner ads deconstruct the misconception of tech users that they can be in two SODFHV DW RQFH 'U 'DYLG *UHHQÂżHOG RI 7KH &HQWHU IRU Internet and Technology Addiction said scrolling through a social feed while having a conversation at the dinner table creates the illusion of bilocation. It’s also a double standard, with some parents.

The CITA’s Dr. GreenďŹ eld said scrolling through a social feed while having a conversation at the dinner table creates

“One of the things we know about families we treat is that if kids are overusing technology, often the parents DUH WRR ´ VDLG *UHHQÂżHOG Âł6R LI \RX GRQÂśW FKDQJH WKH family pattern around how, when, and where to use technology, you’re going to end up with a kid who’s going to say, ‘Well, you don’t want me to use it as much, but look at you.’â€? Common Sense and CHT’s partnership extends to policy and advocacy efforts. As the national conversation turns toward regulating the tech industry, the coalition is focusing on two key pieces of legislation: a Democratic Senate bill being introduced to commission research on technology’s impact on children’s health and a California bill prohibiting the XVH RI GLJLWDO ERWV ZLWKRXW LGHQWLÂżFDWLRQ 6WH\HU VDLG WKH goal is to advocate to both government and industry about how tech should be regulated, with decisions grounded in independent, nonpartisan research. KIDS AND TECH Tech companies are also keenly aware of the sensitive role technology plays in child development, education, and parenting. Apple, Facebook, Google, and others are doing plenty of research and advocacy on their own and DUH EXLOGLQJ SURGXFWV VSHFLÂżFDOO\ GHVLJQHG WR SURYLGH safe online environments for kids. But it hasn’t exactly gone smoothly. In 2015, Google launched YouTube Kids, and Facebook ODXQFKHG WKH 0HVVHQJHU .LGV DSS ODVW 'HFHPEHU 3DUHQWV KDYH PDMRU EHQHÂżWV DQG FRQFHUQV WR ZHLJK ZLWK H[SHULHQFHV OLNH WKHVH 0HVVHQJHU .LGV ZDV PHW ZLWK VLJQLÂżFDQW EDFNODVK PDLQO\ EHFDXVH RI FRQFHUQ DERXW giving young kids social media accounts. And YouTube Kids has had a slew of issues, including showing kids inappropriate content and alleged improper collection of children’s data.

One of the things we know about families we treat is that if kids are overusing technology, often the parents are too.

Apple devices are bought and used in schools across the country, and the FRPSDQ\ MXVW UROOHG RXW D QHZ L3DG VSHFLÂżFDOO\ IRU VFKRROV (YHQ VR $SSOH JRW D message from its shareholders earlier this year to start taking its child development responsibilities more seriously. Activist investor JANA Partners LLC and CALSTRS, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, collectively own about $2 billion in company shares. In January, they sent an open letter calling on Apple to take a more proactive approach in how children and young users consume its products. The letter cites a host of research. One APA survey of more than 3,500 US SDUHQWV IRXQG WKDW SHUFHQW ZRUU\ DERXW WKH LQĂ€XHQFH RI VRFLDO PHGLD RQ WKHLU child’s physical and mental health. Forty-eight percent said regulating their child’s screen time is a “constant battle,â€? and 58 percent say they feel like their child is “attachedâ€? to their phone or tablet. The shareholders also partnered ZLWK H[SHUWV +DUYDUG 0HGLFDO SURIHVVRU 'U 0LFKDHO 5LFK ZKR UXQV WKH &HQWHU RQ 0HGLD DQG &KLOG +HDOWK &0&+ LQ %RVWRQ DQG SURIHVVRU -HDQ 7ZHQJH WKH author and psychology researcher who coined the term “iGen.â€? 7ZHQJH UHFHQWO\ VSRNH ZLWK 'DQ &RVWD 3&0DJÂśV (GLWRU LQ &KLHI DERXW KRZ WKH generation growing up with smartphones always within their reach are experiencing different behavior patterns. And increasingly, research shows correlations between tech overuse and risk of depression. ÂłL*HQ LV WKH ÂżUVW JHQHUDWLRQ WR JURZ XS ZLWK WKHLU VPDUWSKRQH IRU D ZKROH adolescence,â€? said Twenge. “That has really had ripple effects across their behavior, their attitudes, and their mental health. They spend a lot more time online, texting, and on social media than [millennial] teens did 10 years before. ,I XVHG LQ PRGHUDWLRQ WKHUH DUHQÂśW DQ\ QHJDWLYH HIIHFWV ,WÂśV DW WKUHH IRXU ÂżYH hours a day and beyond. It’s only partially the phone and social media; it’s also what it’s crowding out. If you’re spending so much time on that, maybe you’re QRW H[HUFLVLQJ 0D\EH \RXÂśUH QRW VHHLQJ \RXU IULHQGV LQ SHUVRQ DV PXFK ´ WHAT THE TECH INDUSTRY CAN (AND SHOULD) DO JANA Partners believes Apple and other device-makers in particular are in a position as gatekeepers of these experiences to take a long-term approach. The OHWWHU UHFRPPHQGHG ÂżYH LQLWLDO VWHSV $SSOH PLJKW WDNH 0RVW LPSRUWDQW LW called for Apple to revamp its parental controls, which haven’t seen a major update since their initial release in 2008.

“People can choose not to use them, but giving parents better optional controls KDV EHQHÂżWV LQ ERWK WKH VKRUW DQG ORQJ WHUP ´ VDLG &KDUOHV 3HQQHU D 3DUWQHU DW JANA. “We’ve seen what can happen in the tech space when you prioritize short-term gain at the expense of long-term value and customer perception. As we said in our letter, technology is best when it’s easiest to use, but that doesn’t just mean how quickly you can get from point A to point B. It should also be HDV\ LQ WKH VHQVH RI KRZ \RX IHHO DERXW LW D ZHHN ODWHU DQG D \HDU ODWHU DQG ÂżYH years later, and 10 years later? Do you feel like it’s been a good tradeoff?â€? The letter draws a connection between growing parental concerns and the bottom line. Penner said this is an area where parents are saying, “This is our responsibility, but we could use more help.â€? On this point, Apple responded within a day after the letter was published with a commitment to roll out enhanced parental controls for iOS. The letter’s other recommendations are a blueprint for how the entire tech industry could be more proactive. JANA recommends forming a committee of experts to study these issues, monitor ongoing developments, and identify what sort of additional research needs to be done. From there, Apple can use its vast LQIRUPDWLRQDO DQG ÂżQDQFLDO UHVRXUFHV WR IXQG DQG FRQWULEXWH WR LQGHSHQGHQW research. For now, we’ve only scratched the surface of the research that needs to be done.

Finally, JANA proposes assigning an exec to monitor and report on these issues, as Apple does with environmental and supply chain issues. “A lot of tech companies are concerned with their carbon footprint, for example, so they make it a high priority, and they regularly update customers and shareholders on their efforts,â€? said Penner. “Apple can do the same thing here and set an example for the rest of the industry.“ WHAT FACEBOOK HAS TO SAY The Apple shareholder letter is one example of how the debate over Silicon 9DOOH\ÂśV UHVSRQVLELOLW\ KDV LQWHQVLÂżHG GUDPDWLFDOO\ LQ WKH WKH SDVW \HDU RU WZR But much of the conversation about how these products are affecting society has been focused on Facebook. This story isn’t as focused on Cambridge Analytica and data access, or political ads on social media. Nor is it about simply chastising tech companies such as Facebook because of how well their apps and devices do what they’re designed to: make it as easy as possible for us to use them. The trade-off between convenience and digital dependence is one we all make, but that relationship is changing both for better and for worse. 3&0DJ VSRNH WR $QWLJRQH 'DYLV )DFHERRNÂśV Public Policy Director and Global Head of Safety, about where and how Facebook is taking responsibility for how people use its H[SHULHQFHV 6KH VDLG 0HVVHQJHU .LGV DQG features such as Facebook’s Parents 3RUWDO DUH VRPH RI WKH ÂżUVW VWHSV IRUZDUG LQ ÂżJXULQJ RXW ZKDWÂśV appropriate and giving parents the voice and the tools to make those GHFLVLRQV 7KH FRPSDQ\ DOVR FRQÂżUPHG that a much-requested time limits feature LV FRPLQJ ÂłYHU\ VRRQ´ WR 0HVVHQJHU .LGV so parents can control how much time children spend with the app and automatically cut off access at a certain time.

“Facebook’s or any technology company’s opportunity at this moment in time [is to] give parents those tools. /HW¶V JLYH WKHP WKH LQIRUPDWLRQ /HW¶V ¿QG ZD\V ZLWKLQ the products themselves to help with that,” said Davis.”But also, let’s make sure they have those things outside of the products.” There are reasons to be skeptical, but one of Facebook’s PDLQ DUJXPHQWV ZKHQ LW UHOHDVHG 0HVVHQJHU .LGV LV that children were already on smartphones and tablets. The company cited studies showing that 93 percent of US 6- to 12-year-olds have device access and 66 percent own a device. Facebook also ran a study with the National PTA in which 81 percent of parents reported that their children started using social media between the ages of 8 and 13. Along the same lines as what JANA proposed for Apple, Davis said that Facebook worked with child GHYHORSPHQW H[SHUWV RQ 0HVVHQJHU .LGV DQG ZLOO continue to make that kind of expertise available to parents. Facebook also pledged $1 million for additional research, which Davis said the company plans to add to, along with pulling from outside studies. She stressed that the research will be entirely independent.

The company cited studies showing that 93 percent of US 6to 12-year-olds have device access and 66 percent own a device.

“It’ll be both a long-term and a short-term project,â€? 'DYLV H[SODLQHG Âł6R LW PD\ EH VRPHWKLQJ OLNH D ÂżYH \HDU study, but what we’ll try to do, because you don’t want to ZDLW ÂżYH \HDUV LV SHULRGLFDOO\ VWDUW SXOOLQJ LQIRUPDWLRQ that we can build into guidelines for parents that may be useful in managing kids’ experiences online.â€? BETTER TECH HABITS FOR EVERYONE Tech companies often talk about giving users more control through the lens of kids. A bigger question is how that philosophy could extend to all users. Think about how the Like button changed Facebook use and how those sorts of behavioral hooks—mentions, QRWLÂżFDWLRQV UHDFWLRQ HPRML WDJV²DUH DOO SDUW RI D feedback loop to keep you engaged. Could a version of time limits also be applied to Facebook for everyone? Could tech companies introduce VWRSSLQJ FXHV²VD\ D QRWLÂżFDWLRQ OLNH Âł<RXÂśYH EHHQ RQ the app for two hours. Would you like to take a break?â€? Facebook has begun to address these kinds of concerns publicly, in large part because of the myriad issues it has IDFHG RI ODWH ,Q -DQXDU\ 0DUN =XFNHUEHUJ DQQRXQFHG that Facebook was changing its News Feed to prioritize “meaningful interactionsâ€? over engagement. He also said that the change had decreased time spent on Facebook by about 5 percent—but that was actually a good thing. Davis also pointed to changes such as the Snooze feature, which lets you mute a Friend temporarily. Âł2QH VSHFLÂżF FKDQJH ZHÂśYH WDONHG DERXW LV VHHLQJ PRUH posts from family and friends, which are the kind of community interactions people tend to feel are more meaningful,â€? said Davis. “That may mean we’re going to see fewer people spending time endlessly scrolling through content and passively responding.â€?

Davis also pointed to changes such as the Snooze feature, which lets you mute a Friend temporarily.

When we asked whether Facebook sees an issue with tech addiction on social networks like its own or with other devices and digital experiences, Davis didn’t answer yes or no; she said the conversation is not giving people room for nuance. “It’s a very complicated term. A lot of people throw around the word both in a positive and a negative way about things that they really love. As a result, it’s a bit GDQJHURXV WR FRQĂ€DWH DGGLFWLRQ DQG WKH FRQFHSW RI Âľ0D\EH ,ÂśP XVLQJ WKLV PRUH WKDQ , UHDOO\ ZDQW WR , ZLVK , GLGQÂśW ELQJH ZDWFK 1HWĂ€L[ ODVW QLJKW DQG ZHQW WR EHG earlier.’ Picking those apart is really important, because there is a difference between occasionally bingeZDWFKLQJ 1HWĂ€L[ DQG VD\ RSLDWH DGGLFWLRQ ´ VDLG 'DYLV She emphasized that Facebook isn’t shrinking from either its business or ethical responsibilities to address negative experiences on the platform. As loaded as it might sound in 2018, Facebook is still imploring users to trust that it’s trying to do good. “It’s in our long-term business interest for families to feel positive about the experience and for people to have control over their experience,â€? Davis said. “It’s not in our interest for people to feel negatively and ultimately walk away from utilizing technologies that provide great social connections and help build community.â€?

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It’s a bit dangerous to conflate addiction and the concept of, ‘Maybe I’m using this more than I really want to.’

TIPS & HOW TOS KIDS

Tips for Keeping Kids’ Tech Use in Check BY CAROL MANGIS

ot everyone believes that tech addiction is a real malady, but it’s harder to argue that technology isn’t playing a huge role in kids’ lives. Phones and tablets have supplemented TVs as electronic babysitters; in UHVWDXUDQWV DQG GRFWRUV¶ RI¿FHV LQ WKH EDFNVHDWV RI FDUV RQ EXVHV SODQHV DQG WUDLQV HYHQ RQ SOD\JURXQGV \RX¶OO ¿QG OLWWOH IDFHV LOOXPLQDWHG E\ WKH JORZ RI VPDUW GHYLFHV²DQG \RX¶OO ZLWQHVV VRPH ZLFNHG WDQWUXPV ZKHQ SDUHQWV GHQ\ access to those devices.

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If this isn’t actually addiction, it bears a strong resemblance. Parents are DODUPHG ERWK E\ KRZ PXFK WLPH NLGV DUH VSHQGLQJ ZLWK WHFK DQG KRZ KDUG LW LV WR JHW WKHP WR SXW WKH GHYLFHV GRZQ DQG GR KRPHZRUN SOD\ RXWVLGH DQG VSHQG IDFH WR IDFH WLPH ZLWK IDPLO\ DQG IULHQGV

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1. SET LIMITS FOR KIDS FROM THE START—AND STICK TO THEM. Check the

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VXUH \RX UHJXODUO\ VHW DVLGH \RXU RZQ VFUHHQV DQG HQJDJH ZLWK \RXU NLGV DQG HDFK RWKHU 4.CREATE A FAMILY MEDIA PLAN. 6HW XS VSHFLÂżF WHFK IUHH WLPHV DQG DUHDV

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ZZZ FRPPRQVHQVHPHGLD RUJ KDV ORDGV RI XVHIXO LQIRUPDWLRQ IRU SDUHQWV One of the top tips is to end screen use at least an hour before bedtime and not WR DOORZ NLGV WR NHHS GHYLFHV LQ WKHLU URRPV 6. GET OUTSIDE HELP. If your child seems to be experiencing serious negative

effects from excessive use of technology, such bad behavior at home, relationship problems, or poor performance at school, she may have underlying LVVXHV SHUKDSV GHSUHVVLRQ $'+' RU DQ[LHW\ &RQVLGHU VHHNLQJ DGYLFH DQG help from your pediatrician or an experienced counselor.

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TIPS & HOW TOS BACKUP

How the ExtremeTech Staff Stays Backed Up

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For data files that need to get stored locally on each machine, like Outlook PST files, we use Cloud Station Backup from Synology.

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Between my local NAS backups and Dropbox, I feel reasonably secure I won’t lose anything. Fingers crossed.

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LAST WORD JOHN C. DVORAK

S

peculating using the “what ifâ€? premise can be a lot of fun. In this case: What would you do if Amazon suddenly shut down tomorrow with no notice? This idea came to me after my partner Adam Curry was having trouble with an Amazon S3 server used to maintain LPSRUWDQW ÂżOHV UHODWLQJ WR RXU SRGFDVW 1R $JHQGD

What if Amazon Closed Up Shop Tomorrow?

Like everyone else who uses Amazon Web Services $:6 WKH ORJLF LV WKDW $PD]RQ LV WKH PRVW OLNHO\ FRPSDQ\ WR NHHS WKLQJV UXQQLQJ VLQFH $PD]RQ itself would suffer the most if things broke. In my FDVH WKH $:6 JOLWFKHV ZHUH UHVROYHG EXW WKH QH[W day I was looking for something to watch on $PD]RQ 3ULPH YLD P\ 5RNX , FOLFNHG DQG WKH Amazon logo appeared on the screen. It lingered and lingered and lingered. At least 5 minutes SDVVHG DQG QRWKLQJ EXW WKH ORJR Maybe my connection was bad? I swapped back to WKH KRPHSDJH DQG FOLFNHG RQ 1HWÀL[ ZKLFK FDPH up instantly (and got me watching the Ricky *HUYDLV VWDQG XS VSHFLDO 5HYLHZ ([FHOOHQW DQG worth a watch. Advice: Turn on subtitles.) $IWHUZDUG $PD]RQ VWLOO KDG LVVXHV It dawned on me that there is always the SRVVLELOLW\ WKDW $PD]RQ OLNH DQ\ RWKHU FRPSDQ\ could fail one day. Maybe today? Say the company folded and walked. Perhaps it turned out to be running on cooked books or was a mob front or who knows what. It doesn’t matter;

@ THErealDVORAK

I’m asking what would happen to you—and your EXVLQHVV²LI WKH ZKROH WKLQJ ZDV WDNHQ RIÀLQH DQG access to anything Amazonian was denied. Amazon’s own operations would stop. The online UHWDLOLQJ JLDQW ZRXOG EH RYHU 1R DFFHVV WR \RXU back orders or any reference to anything you ever did on Amazon. Subscriptions to your medicines or tea or whatever you get over and over would be done. 7KH PXVLF YLGHRV DQG HERRNV VWRUHG E\ WKH service would be gone. Kindle support would be over and the device would no longer be manufactured. The e-book business would be in SHULO .LVV $OH[D JRRGE\H ,QYHQWRU\ ZRXOG QHYHU EH SDLG IRU FUHDWLQJ D FDVK ÀRZ SUREOHP IRU WKRXVDQGV RI YHQGRUV $:6 ZLWK LWV SHWDE\WHV DQG SHWDE\WHV RI ZHEVLWHV RQOLQH VWRUDJH SURFHVVHV HQWLUH RQOLQH VWRUHV DQG VWRUHIURQWV DQG HYHU\RQH¶V EDFNXSV DOO JRQH We can assume that the government would probably step in and get the servers running to the point where people could access their data and retrieve it. That would help somewhat. But it might take months. You might never get all your data back. :RUVH ZKDW LI WKH HQWLUH UHGXQGDQW $:6 worldwide system was breached by bad actors and DWWDFNHG DW VRPH ¿OH DOORFDWLRQ OHYHO UHQGHULQJ LW DOO XVHOHVV" :K\ LW ZRXOG KDSSHQ KRZ LW ZRXOG KDSSHQ HYHQ LI LW ZRXOG KDSSHQ LV QRW WKH SRLQW KHUH 7KH SRLQW LV ZKDW ZRXOG \RX GR DERXW LW"

It dawned on me that there is always the possibility that Amazon, like any other company, could fail one day.

<RX FDQ DGMXVW \RXU RQOLQH EX\LQJ KDELWV EXW ZKDW about the lost data and systems? Are you out of business? Are your backups gone? Were you too GHSHQGHQW" 'LG \RX XVH $:6 WR H[FOXVLYHO\ VWRUH and back up your priceless family photos? The idea LV IULJKWHQLQJ $QG \HV LW LV WKH VWRU\OLQH²PRUH RU OHVV²RI WKH ¿UVW VHDVRQ RI 0U 5RERW $PD]RQ as Evil Corp.) I just think it is something to consider. And consider it well.

john_dvorak@pcmag.com

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