The ZTE ZMAX Pro Is Getting Nougat Though The Beta Program

The ZTE ZMAX Pro is getting Nougat through the beta program that ZTE uses to test new versions of software for their smartphones. Officially called the Software Enhancement Program, ZTE has recently added the ZMAX Pro to the list of compatible phones that can participate, and they have recently set up a Google Form that owners of the ZMAX Pro can fill out if they’re interested in applying to beta test the Android 7.0 Nougat software before ZTE is ready to push out the builds as a stable upgrade.

If you’re considering applying through ZTE’s Google Form and submitting the application to test out Android Nougat, there are some important details to pay attention to. The first of which is that you’ll need to be a Z-Community member if you want to even be considered. In addition to a user’s full name, the form also requests their Z-Community username as well as the email address that was used to register their Z-Community membership. This isn’t likely to deter any owners of the phone, but it is something to make note of, although users who weren’t aware would notice once they opened the Google Form to apply. What isn’t specified is whether or not you would have had to be a Z-Community member for a certain length of time before ZTE would invite you to be a beta tester, so one could assume that since it isn’t mentioned it likely isn’t a factor in the process.

Pakistan restrict Australia to 220 in second ODI

MELBOURNE (AFP) – Pakistan restricted Australia to 220 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday in the second of five one-day internationals.

Pakistan’s opening bowlers Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan were impressive early on.

Junaid, brought into the team in place of Wahab Riaz, had two close lbw appeals against the dangerous David Warner turned down before he induced an edge to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan on 16 to leave the Australians 31-1.

Junaid soon added the scalp of Usman Khawaja when he edged to first slip Sharjeel Khan who took a fine catch low to his left.

Australia promoted allrounder Mitchell Marsh up the order but the experiment failed as he scooped the first ball he faced from Amir to Imad Wasim at cover to leave the home side 41 for three.

Travis Head then joined Steve Smith in the middle and hit five boundaries on his way to 29 before he edged Hasan Ali to Rizwan with Australia at 86 for four.

Glenn Maxwell had made 23 when he charged left-arm spinner Imad and was bowled to leave the home side 128 for five after 26 overs.

With all batsmen finding it hard to score quickly, Smith brought up a hard-fought 50 from 91 balls with only two boundaries and no sixes.

He looked to accelerate with eight overs to go but on 60 he got an inside edge on to his pads and then stumps to give Imad his second wicket.

Matthew Wade was seventh to fall six runs later on 199, bowled by Shoaib Malik for 35 before Junaid ran out a stranded Mitchell Starc off his own bowling.

Pat Cummins was caught behind after trying to hook Amir and James Faulkner skied a ball to point in Amir’s next over, leaving Pakistan needing 221 to level the series.

SpaceX Launches Rocket, Its First Since Explosion on Launchpad

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — A Falcon 9 rocket roared into the sky on Saturday carrying 10 communications satellites — a return by SpaceX and its billionaire leader, Elon Musk, to the business of launching satellites to orbit.

But financial details disclosed this past week about the company overshadowed the successful liftoff, raising questions about the viability of Mr. Musk’s long-range plans for SpaceX and his vision of sending people to Mars.

SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, Calif., has been set back since September, when a different Falcon 9 caught fire and exploded on a launchpad in Florida, destroying the rocket and its payload, a $200 million Israeli satellite that Facebook had planned to lease to expand global internet services. The company’s rockets had been grounded since then. An internal investigation concluded that a failure of a helium vessel in the second stage liquid oxygen tank had led to the conflagration.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial space launches, accepted SpaceX’s report on the explosion’s causes on Jan. 6 and issued a launch license, clearing the way for Saturday’s liftoff here, on the other side of the country. To prevent a recurrence, SpaceX adjusted its fueling procedures to avoid overcooling of the helium.

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Saturday’s countdown proceeded smoothly, with the liftoff occurring within a one-second window that would send the rocket on a trajectory to line up with the orbit of a group of current Iridium Communications satellites. The new satellites are more powerful than the original ones, which have been in orbit nearly two decades and have outlived their designed lifetimes.

SpaceX also repeated its feat of recovering the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, landing it on a floating platform named “Just Read the Instructions” in the Pacific. Less than 90 minutes later, mission control received confirmation that all 10 satellites had been successfully deployed.

Over the next 14 months, the company plans six additional Falcon 9 launches to deploy 60 more Iridium satellites that will completely replace the constellation.

In the short-term, the successful launch helps put SpaceX back on track. The explosion and subsequent four-month grounding created a backlog of launches, including cargo missions for NASA to the International Space Station. September’s explosion was SpaceX’s second failure in 15 months; a Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA cargo disintegrated in flight in June 2015.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX had lost $260 million in 2015 after the earlier accident, and revenue dropped 6 percent to $945 million. In earlier years, SpaceX officials including Mr. Musk described the company as consistently profitable; that claim has been removed from SpaceX’s website.

Company officials did not dispute the numbers reported in The Wall Street Journal article, but portrayed a rosy future.

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Aisamul Haq, Matkowski win Classic doubles

Pakistan's tennis ace Aisam ul Haq Qureshi won his 12th ATP double's title on Saturday with a remarkable win in the finals of ASB classic ATP tournament in Auckland and New Zealand.

The fourth seed team of Aisam ul Haq Qureshi and his partner from Poland Marcin Matkowski captured the ASB Classic crown with a 1-6, 6-2, 10-3 win over Jonathan Erlich and Scott Lipsky on Saturday.

The USA/Israel duo of Erlich and Lipsky won the first set within 23 minutes dropping just one game, but then Aisam and his polish partner staged comeback, breaking early in the second set.

The Polish/Pakistani duo capitalised on all three break point chances in their 61-minute victory.

"I’m really happy with our performances throughout the week and especially the way we found our way back into the matches and to win the title,” Aisam said after his first title win in 2017, which is also his first since 2015.

"I’m really happy and proud with the way we handled the pressure and the situations in all of the matches," he added.

Aisam and Matkowski had defeated Ryan Harrison and John Isner 7-6(4), 6-1 in the first round, then downed Santiago Gonzalez and David Marrero 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 in the quarter-finals before brushing aside Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 6-4, 6-4 in semi final for the final.

The 36-year-old Pakistani Tennis star Aisam ul Haq Qureshi is now 12-16 in ATP World Tour finals, As champions Aisam and Matkowski will split $24,380 and 250 ATP Rankings points.

while flat version also expected w/ headphone jack [Gallery + Video]

There have been quite a few rumors and alleged leaks of Samsung‘s upcoming Galaxy S8 in the past week-ish, so we figured this could be your one-stop for everything surfaced, from sizes to renders to beloved and slowly fading ports — so let’s break it down…

First, let’s talk about variants. Considering Samsung’s approach with the Galaxy S series in the past couple of years, it was no surprise to hear that the company was working on two differently-sized variants. However, rumor had it that the designers would go all in and ditch flat panels for good. That could not be the case anymore.

As per a SamMobile report, in fact, the SM-G950 model could still retain a more classic display, leaving the dual edge, tentatively-named “Galaxy S8 Plus” SM-G955 to show off the curves. And while they said that such rumor should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt, a couple of videos coming from Samsung Display’s official YouTube channel are fuelling speculation big time.

Of course it would be a little absurd to take the lid off the company’s biggest bet so blatantly, but the prototypical device used to demonstrate Samsung’s prowess in display technology has us wondering how close it resembles what the “slick” S8 will ultimately look like.

The “Vision Aid” technology shown in the video obviously doesn’t mention any real device, but the large screen (which could easily reach the rumored six inches) and the absence of physical buttons tick a lot of boxes in regards to everything we’ve heard about the design of Samsung’s forthcoming flagship.

What’s more, accessory reseller Mobile Fun recently put up a listing on its website for a few Olixar cases that claim to be made for the S8, and picture a phone that is more or less identical to the one seen in Samsung Display’s videos, save for the curved screen and the company’s branding on the ridiculously small bottom chin.

Not randomly, Mobile Fun lists the device as the Galaxy S8 edge, which would indeed pair well with the presence of a regular, flat sibling. Last but not least is Android Police’s latest report, which is independently sharing information circa the headphone jack’s presence. This is another thing we had heard would be gone, but Samsung may have fortunately backtracked.

All in all, the device is shaping up to be one little monster, and we will certainly hear about it for the whole of 2017 — and, perhaps, beyond. If no Note 7-like safety issues emerge (and we sure hope not), the firm may even reach its ambitious shipping goal.

Enjoy the image renders and Samsung Display’s videos, and drop us a comment down below.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Challenges AMD Vega 10; Moved Release Date On PAX East 2017 After RRA Certification Loss

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 is no show at the CES 2017. Due to this absence, the clamor for the powerful GPU increased since then. Reports say that NVIDIA pushes its launch date in a much later date, specifically this March.

Meanwhile, May release date is the expected arrival of AMD Vega 10, WCCF Tech wrote. The tension is getting real as speculations point out a possible matchup between NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti and AMD Vega 10. Remember when AMD Vega 10 squashed NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti's core at the RRA Certification.

Amid the lack of confirmation, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is reportedly improving the specs that pulled the graphic card in getting a high score in RRA Certification. Months after the score was released, NVIDIA had enough time to address the issues in GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. According to Hot Hardware, a trusted person from tipped that it will be launched at the PAX East 2017.

Meanwhile, AMD is expected to start its Vega 10 production to meet its May deadline just time for its massive launch. The upcoming AMD Vega 10 has similarities to Fury but the prototype is just an engineering sample and still under improvement for its final look. This graphic GPU still has some hitches that need to be addressed. For one, its PCI e-connector is covered blocking it in reducing the power requirement and watt ratio, The Country Caller added.

AMD Vega 10 architectural design took the center stage during CES 2017 but AMD has not given away bits of details about its powerful GPU. It spans for about 500m² based on prior calculations and will sport two HBM2 stacks incorporating about 16 GB of HBM2

Climate change shows in shrinking Antarctic snows

Various countries maintain bases in Antarctica, a shared space for scientific research under a 1959 international treaty.