Earin Earbuds Review: Genuinely Wireless

In 2014, Earin launched its Kickstarter campaign to bring truly wireless earbuds to the market, not ones boasting Bluetooth but with a cable strung between them.

Not only were these to be properly wireless, they were to be the world's smallest of their kind (a title that may soon be taken by the Dot earbuds). So, big ambitions then. And thanks to this as well as some nice industrial design on the mock-ups, the effort pulled in over 8,000 backers pledging just shy of £1m.

The promised delivery date was back in January, but better late than never WIRED has got its own pair to play with, and we've been doing just that for a couple of weeks now.

What first strikes you about the Earins is that the company has clearly put some of that impressive investment into some quality packaging. The unboxing is a nice experience. A solid, heavy cardboard box with inlaid magnets yields satisfyingly when pulled apart to reveal the cylindrical aluminium charging capsule holding the buds within, nestled in its own snug recess.

As companies such as Apple know, this sort of attention to detail with packaging is so important and starts the consumer experience on exactly the right note, as opposed to hacking away at impenetrable vacuum-formed plastic casings with scissors in an attempt to free some tech encased inside.

Assembling the earphones is simple, remove the earbuds form the capsule (also nicely magnetically sealed), thus waking them up, attach the Comply foam tips to each of the wireless buds, go to your Bluetooth settings on your phone/tablet and select Earin L -- this is because your device links with the left bud then this syncs with the right one over a secure connection.

To charge the buds you place them back in the metal casing which holds a 600mAh li-on battery, which on a full charge can refuel your earbuds with their 60mAh batteries three times before the power runs dry. The case charges via a standard Micro USB, and takes 75mins to do so.

You get just under three hours of play time with each charge of the buds in stereo, and this can be boosted to up to 11 hours if you go mono, but WIRED didn't try this as you only wear one bud and can end if looking like Star Trek's Lieutenant Uhura. You get an audible warning a few minutes before the buds run out of charge. To turn off the buds just put them back in the capsule.

Unlike other Bluetooth earphones, which have been heavy to wear, the Earins are a joy to put in your lug holes -- snug, thanks to those foam tips, and light -- just 3.5g each. Rubber winged stabilisers come supplied however if your pair doesn't feel secure. Once you have them in though they are hard to spot and are subtle on the user. Yet, once seen they are interesting enough for WIRED to be asked about them on a couple of occasions on the daily commute.

Vigorous exercise with the Earins cannot be recommended, as once they fall out they are hard to spot on dark floors or pavements, but for walking and the usual jostling of train and tube travel they coped just fine.

The audio produced by the Earins is not earth-shattering, but perfectly good. However, WIRED did experience quite a few drop outs of sound despite our phone being located just in the back pocket (thought it should be noted we are getting the same issue with Bose's wireless SoundLink 2 headphones). Also there were more than a few occasions where the sound dropped to just the left channel before re-establishing contact with the right one again -- which was not terrible but unwelcome and certainly distracting.

An accompanying app is basic but clear, and it allows you to tweak balance, check battery status on each bud or boost the bass, should you desire -- but not much else.

In conclusion, despite the sound issues, WIRED likes this first attempt from Earin. The industrial design is superb and the quality of construction matches it. The sound reproduction is nice, too -- but there are intermittent problems with the stability of the sound, sadly. Still, the idea of using the metal case to both top up earbud charge on the go as well as protect the Earins is a fine one. And they are indeed very small, comfortable and discreet to wear.

A Secret to Internet of Things (IoT) Success

In July 2015, an independent online survey of 450 businesses in 45 industry verticals around the world revealed that 88% of businesses either did not have Internet of Things (IoT) applications, or were only in preliminary study phases.

"While IoT is definitely not science fiction, it's not something that's available off the shelf," said Mark Bartolomeo, Group Vice President of Verizon Connected Solutions - IoT in a 2014 Harvard Business Review Analytics Services Report (PDF).

"It's not that the technology is cutting edge; most of it is actually very familiar. But building an IoT application requires the selection and integration of multiple components: sensors, communications modules, and networks as a start. And turning the data that you collect into something useful will typically involve cloud computing, analytics, integration with core systems, and process changes....In our experience, clear leadership and close collaboration between IT and business teams to steer the organization together through changes to underlying business processes, and even business model transformation, are crucial to ensure the success of an IoT project."

Transformative efforts that require active collaboration, work process reform and system integration can rapidly become both daunting and expensive. It is the reason why many organizations excited about IoT are taking their time to assess its potential business value before they move forward with projects.

"When we talk to organizations about IoT, what we encounter are discussions that center more around the potential for IoT innovation than an actual plan for implementation," said Michael Morton, chief technology officer of Dell Boomi, a cloud integration provider for IoT and other data. "What companies are trying to figure out is what the business value of IoT will be for them."

IoT success stories

• The integration into logistics networks of sensors on shipment containers that measure the environmental (temperature and humidity) of the containers for sensitive items, and that also issue network alerts if a container seal is compromised;

• The integration of sensor-based technology and machine feedback into a central tram network that detects when tracks and/or tram components are in need of repair or maintenance;

• The use of IoT in building video security monitoring;

• The insertion of embedded sensors in products so manufacturers can monitor performance and make product improvements;

• Monitoring the quality of tap water; and

• Home security and energy monitoring.

Tips for getting started with IoT

Figuring out IoT business value is a present line of demarcation today for IoT, because those that are categorized as early IoT adaptors are already off and running with it — and seeing the business benefits. Among the early IoT success stories are:

For those companies just getting their feet wet with IoT, Dell Boomi's Morton notes that they are looking for small applications, like being able to get readings from a thermostat in a remote location. This begins a use case history for IoT without the need to move prematurely into expensive and expansive computer systems.

"One key to IoT success is being able to start small," said Morton. "In other words, identify the simplest problem that you have that can be addressed with IoT — and avoid going for a 'big bang' effect all at once."

Organizations can gain additional business value out of their IoT project choices if they select small projects that are capable of being scaled upward into larger projects when the organization is ready to move forward.

Finally, companies should choose their IoT vendors carefully. "If your goal is monitoring your buildings and facilities, learn about the different devices and their technical capabilities first," said Morton. "If you're considering linking them into an IoT network, research what their ability is to expose data, and what their security characteristics are, too — as well as their ability to pass data."

France wants to BAN TOR & Free Wi-Fi Services

Now this was to be done, Sooner or Later – The Government.

In the wake of the recent deadly Paris terror attacks, the French government is considering new laws that would Ban access to Free Wi-Fi and the Tor anonymity network, according to a recent report by French newspaper Le Monde.

The report cites an internal document from the Ministry of Interior by French Department of Civil Liberties and Legal Affairs (DLPAJ) that lists two proposed bills – one around the State of Emergency and the other on combating counter-terrorism.

Last month's Paris attacks started blame games, calling Edward Snowden and end-to-end encrypted services responsible for the ISIS-sponsored massacre.

Now, the government has started renewing their assault on encryption and reviving their efforts to force tech companies to hand over encryption keys, and the document obtained by Le Monde hints the same.

Proposed Pieces of Legislation

State of Emergency Proposal: In this law, the French government is considering to Forbid the use of Free and Shared Wi-Fi connections during a state of emergency. Also, if the owners of public Wi-Fi networks did not disconnect, they could face criminal penalties.

According to the police, the reason behind restricting access to free or shared Wi-Fi is that it is apparently difficult to track suspects who use public Wi-Fi networks to communicate, so the law would shut down public Wi-Fi hotspots during a state of emergency.

The state of emergency increases the powers of the police in the country. During the state of emergency, French police may search residences without a warrant, tighten border controls, and even ban public protests.

Proposal for Combating Counter-Terrorism: This legislation proposal says the government is banning or blocking communications of the Tor network as well as requiring service providers to hand over encryption keys to police – not just during a state of emergency.

Indeed, in this section of the document, the Department of Civil Liberties and Legal Affairs questioned whether such proposed pieces of legislation might violate the French Constitution.

The Onion Router, or TOR, is an anonymising network maintained by volunteers, which routes users’ data requests globally, making it very hard (but not impossible) to discover the actual user behind the computer screen.

Tor is an easy tool to hide your real identity on the Internet and is used not only by journalists, whistleblowers, and privacy concerned people, but also by terrorists, pedophiles, and cyber criminals.

Both pieces of legislation, according to Le Monde, could appear as soon as January 2016.

If block, France would be the first European country to block TOR. Though there is no easy way to block the anonymising network, China and Iran have both made successful attempts to block TOR.

Five Emergency Apps: You should always carry with you

What applications do you carry with you at all times? Because you can never have enough emergency apps to carry with you in the field.

As you might expect, everyone has different needs and every emergency calls for a different tool. That's why you need to have a variety of tools on hand to cover nearly every issue. In this take on the emergency apps, we'll examine some tools that, although you may not always use, they will prove irreplaceable when the time comes to fire them up.

1: Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition

Figure A

2: FileZilla Portable

Figure B

3: McAfee Stinger

Figure C

4: EditPad Lite

Figure D

5: MBRtool

Figure E

Your go-to emergency apps

Let's face it, at some point you're going to run into a machine that only has Internet Explorer and the browser simply won't work. When that machine can't browse the web, you might not be able to get the specific tool you need (one you don't have with you) or you won't be able to gain access to the solution for the problem. When that time comes, you'll be glad you have Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition (Figure A). What's great about this tool is that it looks and feels exactly like the standard edition desktop browser. As a bonus, if you use the browser with the Portable Apps Platform, the portable edition of Firefox will always run in private mode, so you don't leave any information behind.

There will be times when you either need to download or upload data from a troubled PC via FTP. When that happens, you'll want to have the portable edition of FileZilla (Figure B) on hand. Although you might be able to download from an FTP site with your favorite browser, uploading can be an issue. And what happens when the browser is misbehaving and you simply need to snag some data? That's when a portable FTP client can come in handy. Like the portable version of Firefox, FileZilla Portable behaves exactly like the desktop iteration of the app.

McAfee Stinger (Figure C) is a standalone application that does a great job of removing more than 6,000 "fake alert" malware threats. This version also includes a beta of Raptor (a real-time behavior detection that monitors suspicious activity on an endpoint). This is not to be considered a substitution for a full-blown antivirus solution, as Stinger only looks for specific threats. And while it isn't the fastest scanner you'll ever use, it is certainly effective. Once run, it will isolate suspicious and infected files to C:\Quarantine\Stinger.

At some point, you're going to need to manually edit a config file and the installed tools simply won't work. When that happens, you'll be glad you have the likes of EditPad Lite (Figure D) in your toolkit. Editpad Lite offers plenty of features. With it you can do simple text file edits or even programming (although it doesn't include all the features you'd want in a programming editor). EditPad also features a built-in clipboard tool, search and replace, and plenty of configuration options.

If you're looking for a tool to manage or recover your PC's master boot record (MBR), MBRtool (Figure E) might be just what you need. It lets you verify, back up, and restore the MBR, as well as edit or wipe the partition table and blank or remove the boot code. MBRtool supports the first four hard drives present on a system. The only caveat to using this tool is that it presumes you have backed up the MBR to a location outside the C drive (preferably on a portable drive you have access to) so you can then restore the MBR back to the corrupted system. Also note that MBRtool is an app that works with DOS, so there is no fancy GUI to help guide you through the process. You'll want to take a careful look at the MBRTool User Guide.

There are many good candidates for your emergency toolkit. If you're walking around without them, you're doing yourself (and your end users) a disservice. No, you won't always need each of these apps. But when you do, you'll be glad you have them at the ready.

What emergency tools do you find essential? Share your thoughts with fellow Latest Technology readers.

Sony PlayStation 4 to Run Playstation 2 Games

Tired of the current-gen PS4 games on your latest Sony console? Yearning for the good old days of the PS2?  If you ever wanted to enjoy a trip down that nostalgia lane when it comes to gaming then Sony has some good news for you. The PS4 will be getting the best PS2 games so you can relive your memories from a decade (or 2) back.

Which PS2 Games are Available?

The first bunch of PS2 games have already started hitting the platform. Here is a list of current PS2 releases:

• Dark Cloud
• Grand Theft Auto III
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• Rogue Galaxy
• The Mark of Kri
• Twisted Metal: Black
• War of the Monsters

Can PS2 Games Take Advantage of PS4 Features?

The games will run on the PS4 at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. There will also be support for PS4 exclusive features such as Remote Play, Trophy Support, Live Broadcast and Second Screen support for game manuals with any mobile device or Vita.

Several other games are coming too, including Parappa the Rapper 2 and King of Fighters 2000. Sony will be announcing their availability as they roll out.

There is a catch though, the price. While Microsoft is aiming for backwards compatibility with the Xbox One, Sony will charge you separately for playing each game again, costing you in the region of $10-15 on Now, meaning reliving your past moments won’t be a cheap affair. 

Previously owned Xbox 360 games only require your disc or prior digital download to work.

We also don’t know whether there will be support for disc-based games, another place where

the Xbox has a clear advantage. Still, games are perhaps one of the strongest inducers of nostalgia and if you’re involved in that kind of thing, this seems like a small price to pay.