Game of Thrones' big advantage over the books: correcting George R.R. Martin's mistakes

Every week throughout season six, a handful of Vox's writers will discuss the latest episode of Game of Thrones. Before you dig in, check out our recap of Sunday's episode, as well the archive of our e

Zack Beauchamp: We learned this week that Hodor's death is one of the three biggest remaining twists in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels. Knowing that Game of Thrones is spilling the books' beans is making some readers, like my colleague Andrew, feel a bit strange about seeing everything play out before reading it.

I've also read the books, but my feelings are far less mixed. I'm unambiguously thrilled that the TV show is barreling past their source material and developing its own identity in the process.

Throughout Game of Thrones' first five seasons, the show and the books had basically the same virtues — and vices. Both were beautifully unpredictable and trope-busting, full of richly drawn characters and a deeply involved and intriguing mythos. Both, too, could be far too deliberately paced and tended to get bogged down in their own obsession with depicting cruelty and darkness.

In both mediums, those problems grew more pronounced over time. The first three seasons of the show were stronger than four and five; the same was true in the books. Both were turgidly paced, with a few plot lines that seemed to be veering away from any satisfying resolution rather than toward one. Dany and Dorne, I'm looking at you.

This problem was worse in the books. A Feast for Crows, the fourth book, sidelines key characters entirely and does little to advance the plot. Both it and the fifth book, A Dance With Dragons, are fundamentally boring in a way the show never has been. It's notable that the most memorable part of season five was Jon's battle with the White Walkers at Hardhome — an event the show's writers made up out of whole cloth.

In season six, the show has been freed from the book's shackles entirely — and the results have been spectacular.

The early episodes killed off a slew of characters who were getting in the way of an endgame. "The Door" revealed two absolutely crucial parts of the show's mythology, the White Walkers' origins and Bran's time travel powers, which all of a sudden gave Bran's side quest in the North real urgency. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have seemingly cut one of Martin's most unnecessary additions to the fifth book, a lost Targaryen who appears out of nowhere and serves mostly to distract from the characters we actually care about.

The overall sense is one of actual movement, of confirmation that five years of patient viewership are finally being paid off. That's really exciting!

I don't mean to be overly harsh to Martin, whose original genius plotted out nearly the entirety of the show's earliest (and strongest) seasons. But after reading the two most recent books, I can't help but feel that the plot has gotten away from him. Some have suggested that the reason the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, is taking so long is that he can't figure out how to write himself out of the plot cul-de-sacs he's gotten himself into. Game of Thrones has solved this problem by simply writing over some of Martin's worst decisions and taking the story in a different direction.

In her most recent contribution to this symposium, Emily Crockett wrote that the show "felt more like extremely well-written Game of Thrones fanfiction than the series we're used to." I'd tweak that slightly: It felt like Martin's story has been taken over by another author, one who wants to cut the side quests and start moving toward the conclusion already. (For any fantasy nerds reading this, I'm thinking specifically of Brandon Sanderson taking over Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series — only Martin, unlike Jordan, isn't dead).

So three cheers for Game of Thrones surpassing A Song of Ice and Fire. At this point, the more the showrunners edit Martin's story, the better it seems to get.

Google's plan to kill passwords

Dan Kaufman, the director of Google's (GOOGL, Tech30) Advanced Technology and Projects team, recently announced that the company was working with "several very large financial institutions" to test out new password-replacement technology.

The technology, called "Trust API," uses multiple sensors in your smartphone to determine whether it's you -- or someone else -- who is trying to log in.

Various devices operating on the Google Android operating system already offer Smart Lock, which uses sensors that can scan your face, your voice, your movements and your location to figure out whether the device should unlock without a password.

"On some devices, [sensors] will learn the pattern of your walk. If the accelerometer detects a walk that looks very different, it may lock your phone," the company explained in an online post about Smart Lock.

But the newly unveiled "Trust API" password replacement project is supposed to be even more advanced, secure and easy to use. Reports say the technology will be constantly operating in the background of your smartphone, combining data from multiple sensors to calculate whether to unlock for the owner or block out intruders. The phone would even be able to differentiate your screen swiping style from that of someone else, according to reports.

Google did not respond to CNNMoney's requests for details. But Kaufman, who is leading the project, was visibly excited about the technology when he announced it last week at the annual Google I/O conference.

"Assuming it goes well, this should become available to every Android developer around the world by the end of the year," he said.

Banks and financial institutions have been working to improve their password and log-in technology for months, if not years, to make it easier for customers to check their balances and make payments, while keeping out hackers and thieves.

MasterCard (MA) announced plans in February to launch new mobile technologies allowing customers to authenticate their online purchases using selfies or fingerprints. And HSBC (HSBC) announced plans in the same month to replace passwords with voice-recognition technology for millions of customers.

Apple's iPhone 5S was the first widely popular gadget to incorporate a fingerprint scanner as a security measure in 2013, but it's known to be a bit fickle and unreliable.

CNNMoney contacted a number of large banks to ask whether they were working with Google on its "Trust API" project.

Can Apple win the next tech war?

As phone sales slow, can the company pivot to AI?

Fifteen years ago, when the time became ripe for post-PC devices that put a premium on integrating software and hardware, Apple was the best-positioned company to lead the charge — and it did. The company's vertical integration, its attention to detail and innovation in both software and hardware, and its willingness to make big bets gave it an edge. And it used that edge to reel off its now-familiar string of game-changing products like the iPod, the iPhone, the MacBook Air, and the iPad.

Now, the iPod is essentially gone, and the other products are in mature or maturing markets, with either pretty flat or dropping sales.

And the tech industry is turning to a new battlefield: artificial intelligence, spread across many devices.

After the success of Amazon's Echo, and the plans laid out at recent Facebook and — especially — Google developer conferences, it seems that the tech industry is pivoting in a big way to artificial intelligence and proactive assistance. Apple has some chops in this area, but it will be challenged to match what its rivals are promising.

Apple Asks Suppliers To Produce 72-78 Million iPhone7s This Year, A 2-Year High

Taiwan’s Apple (AAPL) supply chain manufacturers soared, with the TAIEX Index closing 2.6% higher after media reports that Apple is asking its suppliers to prepare for much higher-than-expected iPhone 7 production for 2016.

Taiwan’s Economic Daily said Apple had asked its suppliers to produce 72 to 78 million new iPhones by the end of the year, the highest production target in about two years. The street had expected only 65 million iPhone 7s to be produced this year.

According to the Taiwan newspaper, Hon Hai Precision Technology (2317.Taiwan) will remain the key assembler for iPhone 7 and Pegatron Corp. (4938.Taiwan) will be involved in the assembly process too. Both companies will get more market share this year, as they participate in dual camera, glass casing components production in addition to being assemblers.

Pegatron soared 10% today, Catcher Technology (2474.Taiwan) jumped 9.9%, Hon Hai Precision gained 4.7%, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (2330.Taiwan/TSM) rose 3.8%, Largan Precision (3008.Taiwan) was up 2.6%. Year-to-date, the iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT) has dropped 1%.

Apple Unveils New-Look Apple Store: Genius Bar Renamed, Multi-Use Areas Coming

And the layout-flipping renovations -- to be phased in slowly at all stores -- could mean some mall locations will have to close.

Apple is getting ready to unveil a stylish new product that's not for sale -- a new look for its stores.

The iPhone maker is overhauling its nearly 480 stores worldwide, starting with its new two-story location in San Francisco.

Apple provided a glimpse of its revised approach to retailing on Thursday, the 15th anniversary of the company's first stores in Virginia and California. Since then, Apple's stores have become renowned for their elegant design and employees roaming the floor offering assistance, helping make them among the most profitable in retailing.

Despite their success, the stores have been growing stale, said longtime Apple analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies.

"This is a chance to reimagine a retailing concept that Apple had already nearly perfected," Bajarin said.

Apple could use a boost. Although it remains the world's most valuable company, sales of both its iPhones and iPads have been falling as consumers increasingly hang on to the devices that they already own and hold off on upgrading. The slowdown is the main reason Apple's stock has fallen by nearly 30 percent during the past year.

The San Francisco store, scheduled to open to the public Saturday, is supposed to conjure the ambiance of a town square where people can gaze through giant windows to savor views of the city as they stroll through spacious aisles.

It also features a 42-foot-tall sliding glass door that opens up to San Francisco's busiest shopping district.

"This is a company statement, not just a retail store," Angela Ahrendts, Apple's retailing chief, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Unless they're in San Francisco, most Apple fans won't be able to see the new look for a while. The Cupertino, California, company plans to convert about 5 to 10 percent of its existing stores to the concept annually, Ahrendts said. Some stores will probably have to be moved from their current locations in malls to accommodate all the changes.

The new layout culminates two years of research by Ahrendts, who Apple CEO Tim Cook lured away from luxury fashion brand Burberry in 2014 to restyle the stores as consumers increasingly shop online instead of brick-and-mortar merchants.

Much of that shift has been driven by the ubiquity of the iPhone and other smartphones that have made it even easier for shoppers to compare prices and buy products on the go. The upheaval is causing sales to slow or shrink at many major retailers as people spend less time at the mall.

"It is kind of our fault that retail is changing," Ahrendts said. "Therefore, we realized that we needed to do something different with our physical space."

Even Apple is being affected by the online migration, with its digital store attracting more than three times the 400 million people who visited its brick-and-mortar stores last year.

The store changes include dispersing various accessories down a row of cubicles along a wall to simulate the experience of walking from one small store to the next. Apple is calling this area "The Avenue."

Apple's heavily used "Genius Bar" for fixing problems with its devices is being renamed "Genius Grove" and being relocated into a bigger area of the store with more tables and chairs to create a more relaxing atmosphere for those who might be stressed about a malfunctioning iPhone or computer.

Apple is also setting up cubes and balls in an area called "The Forum" that can seat up to 100 people for educational sessions about photography, music and other topics covered by experts in the field. Bigger stores like the one in San Francisco will have a space called "The Boardroom" where tech startups and other small businesses can hold closed-door sessions.

The company is also earmarking outdoor space at its stores in major cities that is supposed to be like a small park that will be open to all comers around the clock.

Apple's Secret Weapon Can Create A Seductive iPhone 7

Every week seems to bring another indication from the supply chain about Apple dropping another key feature from the upcoming iPhone 7. With many popular features from rival handsets not expected to arrive until 2017′s presumptively titled iPhone 8, it’s nice to read about one technology that I hope Apple will bring to the iPhone 7. With so much ‘gee whizz’ delayed a year, could wireless charging be the big attraction of this year’s flagship iPhone launch?

Apple already has experience with wireless charging – the Apple Watch uses an inductive charging system that removes the need for a wires connection between the device and the charger, although it does required the transmitting and receiving coils to be in close proximity to each other. Beyond the Apple Watch, Cupertino’s recent hires show the company is continuing to explore this space. The Verge’s Ben Popper has been scouting around LinkedIn to find a number of key hires in the wireless space moving to Apple:

In the last four months two former uBeam engineers with expertise in wireless charging and ultrasonic technology had been hired by Apple. In fact, public LinkedIn data on Apple’s recent hires shows these former uBeam staffers were part of a much broader trend. In the last two years Apple has hired more than a dozen staffers with expertise in wireless charging.

While uBeam’s promise of wireless charging at a distance still needs to be commercially validated, my experience of wireless charging through charging pads and embedded coils in my office furniture has convinced me that this is a technology every smartphone would benefit from.

Looking back through my mobile history, the Nokia Lumia 800 was the first smartphone I had that embraced wireless charging. it used the popular Qi standard and worked not only with Nokia’s own charing pads, but any pad that used the Qi standard. It untethered me from the USB cable, and meant that the phone was always charging when sitting on my desk. Whenever I picked it up, I was good to go with the most charge possible in the handset.

While a number of other smartphones added wireless charging over the years, it didn’t really hit the mainstream public until last year’s release of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. With compatibility for both wireless standards in the device, a significant volume of devices that accessory manufacturers could rely on as a target market, and Samsung’s marketing machine pushing the message, wireless charing became a mainstream feature.

From a practical point of view it took away much of the fear I had of running out of charge on the Galaxy S6 during the working day. The smartphone sat on my desk where I could see the screen, and whenever I needed to go somewhere I simply picked it up and into my pocket it went. I know the stock answer is ‘just unplug a USB cable’ but the reduced friction of charging by using wireless is immense. You either understand this, or haven’t used wireless charing in anger yet.

The flip side of that was I was incredibly conscious of the falling battery gauge when I was travelling and relying on portable USB-based charging batteries. Still, you can’t have everything, and I’m at my desk more often than I travel.