Weekly recap

Weekly Tech Recap - № 290 - OnePlus 9, Zoom’s SDK, Mac OS X’s twentieth, Turing on a banknote, Amazon Games Montreal

By Laurent Gloaguen,

March 26, 2021.

OnePlus new phones

OnePlus 9 Pro. © OnePlus Technology.

OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, the new flagship phones from OnePlus, are in. Both phones are equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage and a 4,500 mAh battery. The OnePlus 9 has a 6.55 inch OLED display (2400 × 1080, 402 ppi, 120 Hz) and the Pro has a 6.7 inch OLED display (3168 × 1440, 513 ppi, 120 Hz). In addition to its larger and higher resolution screen, the OnePlus 9 Pro also offers faster recharging (less than half an hour on a fully discharged battery!), IP68 water resistance, mmWave support, a better camera and an additional 3x telephoto lens. Though the cameras are by the prestigious Swedish brand Hasselblad, the first testers report rather inconsistent results. Both devices weigh almost the same — around 195 g. Prices start at US$ 729 (CA$ 999) for the OnePlus 9 and US$ 970 (CA$ 1350) for the OnePlus 9 Pro, which is US$ 30 less than the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus. All devices are available for pre-order March 26, and shipment will begin April 2.

⇨ Ars Technica, Ron Amadeo, “OnePlus 9 Pro Review—Keeping the slightest lead in front of Samsung.”

2021-03-24

Zoom’s Video SDK

Zoom launched a new SDK (Software Development Kit) to support developers who want to integrate Zoom’s video and audio functionality into their own software. “With our Video SDK, developers can drive customer engagement and provide new opportunities for revenue without being tied to the Zoom Meetings user interface,” writes Natalie Mullin, Zoom’s product marketing manager. The company vouches that Zoom’s Video SDK is easy to use and adds that it enables rapid development of fully customized video applications for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and the web. An Electron SDK is also available for cross-platform development, though Zoom warns that Electron apps are memory intensive. There is no cost to get started on a plan that provides up to 10,000 session minutes (166 hours 40 minutes) per month. Above that, clients are charged by the minute. Alternately, an annual plan that comes loaded with 30,000 minutes per month starts at US$ 1,000. Zoom also runs a site expressly for developers, featuring documentation of its various SDKs and APIs, a forum, and a blog.

⇨ The Verge, Monica Chin, “Zoom now has an SDK for putting Zoom into other things.”

⇨ Zoom Blog, Natalie Mullin, “Bring Industry-Leading Video to Your Application with Zoom’s Video SDK.”

2021-03-23

Mac OS X’s twentieth

Apple website in April 2001. © Apple.

On March 24, 2001, Apple’s new operating system went on sale for US$ 129. First proclaimed in 1998, Mac OS X was the heir to NeXTSTEP, the NeXT computer system based on the Mach kernel and Berkeley Unix (BSD). In 1997, Apple bought NeXT, the company created by Steve Jobs in 1985 after his departure from Apple, both to lay the foundation for a new, more robust operating system and to coax its impetuous founder to return to the fold. Cheetah, the initial version of Mac OS X, was rather buggy and reviews at the time were mixed. They praised its sophisticated and brilliant Aqua interface while criticizing its poor performance in terms of speed and reactivity. However, Cheetah introduced a number of elements, such as the dock, that are still present in the operating system today. Of course, Mac OS X (or macOS 10, as it was later referred to) didn’t quite survive its 20th anniversary: last year’s Big Sur update inaugurated version 11, thus ending the X dynasty.

⇨ Ars Technica, Samuel Axon, “It’s been 20 years since the launch of Mac OS X.”

2021-03-24

Alan Turing on a banknote

The Bank of England has unveiled its new £50 banknote, which features famous English mathematician Alan Turing, born in 1912 in London. Turing is best known for contributing to the decryption of messages encoded by the Enigma machine used by the Germans during World War II, and for his important role in the creation of the first computers. Homosexual, he was convicted in 1952 of “indecency” after having a relationship with a man, then underwent a year-long chemical castration. Shaken and banned from working for British intelligence, he died in 1954 at the age of 41, from what appears to be suicide. In 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologized on behalf of the United Kingdom for the treatment suffered by the mathematician, who had already obtained the royal pardon posthumously in 2013. Last month, the new head of MI6 apologized publicly to LGBT operatives who were kicked out of the intelligence agency, a practice discontinued in 1991.

The polymer note will go into circulation on June 23 of this year. It includes a number of designs related to Turing’s life and legacy. Turing replaces Matthew Boulton and James Watt, the British steam engine pioneers, who have been featured on the £50 note since 2011.

⇨ The Verge, James Vincent, “The UK’s new £50 note celebrates Alan Turing with lots of geeky Easter eggs.”

2021-03-25

Amazon Games in Montreal

Amazon announced the opening of a new game development studio in Montreal. The newcomer will be run by industry veterans who worked on Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. This is Amazon’s fourth studio, with the other three located in Seattle, San Diego and Orange County. “Building upon 8 years of experience with Siege, we are excited to start with a blank page and the creative freedom to create a completely unique experience in the multiplayer space,” said Xavier Marquis, Creative Director of the new studio, who was recruited from Ubisoft. Amazon’s new CEO, Andy Jassy, expressed his full support for the company’s foray into game production, even if it has been a struggle. Amazon Games’ first major project, Breakaway, was put on indefinite hold at the end of 2017, then canceled in 2018. The company is working on the MMORPG New World, which should finally launch on August 31 after several postponements. Perhaps the first blockbuster for Amazon Games will come out of Montreal?

⇨ The Verge, Taylor Lyles, “Amazon is opening a new game studio in Montreal led by Rainbow Six Siege developers.”