Apple Buys Smartglasses Lens Maker; Dyson Working on EV; Twitter Testing Unfollow Suggestions

Posted: August 30, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has acquired a Colorado start up that specializes in making ‘vibrant’ lenses for Augmented Reality glasses. According to 9to5mac.com, Akonia Holographics was started in 2012, and initially was working on ‘holographic data storage.’ They soon focused on creating displays for AR glasses, and have over 200 patents for that kind of tech. Apple has been thought to be working on AR glasses, and may release some type of AR headset or glasses next year or in 2020.

Dyson, which disrupted the vacuum business a few years ago, and has made further forays into fans, heaters, and even a hair dryer using improved tech, is pressing ahead on an electric vehicle. Emgadget.com reports that they have proposed a development facility at Hullavington Airfield that includes 10 miles of test tracks…you don’t need that to test out vacuums! The already have $110 million invested, and look to more than double that amount towards the project. if things go to plan, Dyson would like to roll out an electric vehicle by 2020-2021.

If you are on Twitter at all, you know you get their suggestions on who to follow. Now, mashable.com says the social network is testing out suggestions for people to unfollow…mainly ones you do’t engage with on a regular basis. Twitter says the feature would give users a more relevant Twitter timeline. Considering the firehose that Twitter is, a lot of us barely notice the accounts we don’t engage with anyway. Twitter may or may not make the feature permanent, depending on how the testing works out.

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Fall iPhone Sales Expected to Be Highest in Years; Dell Rolls out New Convertible Chromebook; Sign In to Windows 10 With Google Account

Posted: August 29, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The iPhone X last year ended up selling better than some expected, but wasn’t the explosive ‘super cycle’ some thought it might be. Now, macrumors.com says DigiTimes is predicting something approaching that super cycle…the biggest iPhone selling season since the iPhone 6 in 2014. One key reason: the expected cheaper 6.1 inch LCD screen handset. As previously reported, the cheaper phone is expected to be $600-$700, while the replacement 5.8 inch OLED model will be $800-$900, with the new bigger 6.5 inch near-phablet starting at $1000. Suppliers are estimating 70-75 million phones will ship by the end of 2018 with this lineup. As we reported, it looks like the rollout will be September 12th, with preorders starting Friday September 14th.

Dell has announced the new Inspiron Chromebook 14. The rig is a two in one, a Chrome OS convertible on steroids. Arstechnica.com reports that it has the look and feel…and even power…of Dell’s Windows based Inspiron machines. It has a metal body, and comes with a pen to use with the 14 inch touch screen. The convertible starts at $599, and has an Intel Core i3 processor, 4 gigs or RAM, and either 64 or 128 gigs of storage. Battery should last 10 hours on a charge.

Google appears to be working on a way to let users log into Windows 10 machines using their Google accounts. 9to5google.com says the system takes advantage of Windows’ ability to use 3rd party credential providers. Without getting into the weeds, you would just use your Google account email and password to log in. It does look like users will need to have Chrome installed to take advantage of this. No date on when it might be available, but much more detail is available at Bleeping Computer.

Huawei Passes Apple to be the Avis of Smartphones; Facebook-100% Renewable Energy by 2020; Oculus Studies VR in Classrooms; Toyota Invests in Uber; Trump- Google is RIGGED

Posted: August 28, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has slipped past Apple to grab the #2 spot in smartphone sales. TechCrunch.com reports that a Gartner figure puts Huawei ahead in sales for the 2nd quarter. Huawei came in at 13.3%, up from 9.8% in the prior year, while Apple got 11.9%, off slightly from the 12.1% they had in 2017’s Q2. Samsung still stands tall as #1, at 19.3% this year, and 22.6% in 2017.

Facebook has announced they will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75% and be running on 100% renewable energy by the end of 2020. According to theverge.com, Facebook has signed contracts for more than 3 gigawatts of new solar and wind energy since 2013. Those projects are all on the same grids as Facebook data centers in Oregon, Virginia, New Mexico, and Sweden. Samsung has also pledged to be on 100% renewable by 2020 in the US, Europe, and China. Apple and Google have also purchased enough renewable energy to offset their global energy consumption since April.

Oculus is getting ready to study how virtual reality can be used in education. Cnet.com says they have kicked off a pilot program called Oculus Education, which will distribute Oculus Go and Rift headsets to schools, libraries, and museums in Taiwan, Japan, and Seattle. The first phase will center around training teachers and other instructors in the use of VR and gathering feedback, and how VR can fill unique needs in those institutions. In conjunction with the headset program, Oculus is releasing 3 new VR experiences centered around history, science, and culture. They are all available at the Oculus store.

Toyota is pumping $500 million into Uber as part of a self-driving car partnership. Businessinsider.com reports that Toyota had previously invested in Uber a couple years ago as part of an auto leasing deal. Uber is reportedly selling self-driving tech to Toyota, while Toyota is promising to collaborate with Uber in moving self-driving tech forward. We may be seeing a Toyota self-driving Prius Hybrid sooner, not later.

Donald Trump fired off another angry Tweet from the White House…this time accusing Google of rigging search results against conservatives. According to gizmodo.com, the Chief Executive Tweeted “Google search results for ‘Trump News’ shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal?” He is claiming that ’96% of the results on ‘Trump News’ are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous.’ He went on to rail that it was a very serious situation and it will be addressed. It might help if he adjusted his view of ‘Fake News.’

Mercedes Teases Production e-SUV; Smart Speaker Sales Climb; Pixel 3 Rollout; iPhone Xs-or Whatever

Posted: August 27, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Their company slogan for over 100 years, a personal motto of Gottlieb Daimler, has been ‘The best…or nothing.’ Now, Mercedes is going to reveal their first production electric SUV on September 4th. According to engadget.com, a very brief video clip dropped of the vehicle over the weekend. It does have a grill…unnecessary in an e-vehicle, but perhaps necessary from a branding standpoint…making it clear that it’s unmistakably a Mercedes. Interestingly, except for the tiny script on the crest on the hood, Mercedes-Benz has never put their actual name on a vehicle in the past 70 years…only the iconic 3 pointed star! The e-SUV will roll with a 400HP motor system and 70kWh battery pack. It will boast 0-62mph in under 5 seconds and a 310 mile maximum range. It should hit the roadways in 2019.

The smart speaker market is exploding, but no one knows how much longer it will sustain such growth. Geekwire.com reports that an analysis by Canalys estimates that in the second quarter of this year, the market grew 187% worldwide year over year, with shipments of 16.8 million smart speaker devices. Amazon still commands half the market, Google now has a quarter, and the final quarter is divided up amongst Chinese players and Apple. Canalys sees Google shipping more than Amazon in Q2, 32.3% to 24.5%, but others disagree. Futuresource and Strategy Analytics say Amazon is still on top. The latter gave amazon 41% and Google 27.6% in 2nd quarter, so we’ll have to stay tuned to see who actually comes out on top when the smoke all clear.

Google will roll out the Pixel 3 at an event in New York City on October 9th, according to a couple Bloomberg sources, in a story picked up by 9to5google.com. In addition to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, we should also see a 2nd generation Pixelbook, a new set of Pixel Bud earphones, and a Pixel Watch running the Wear OS.

We are pretty certain Apple will roll out its 3 new iPhone models on September 12th, but no one is certain about the name. Macrumors.com says Apple has considered ’S’ since this would ordinarily be an ’S’ year for them…they may have more significant changes next year….BUT is waffling on naming the OLED models that. Maybe that’s due to how it sounds. Although the ‘X’ model was supposed to be TEN, most people called it X. An Xs model could bring snark and ridicule…say it fast…Xs….excess! Well, a lot of people feel that way about Apple’s prices! Anyway, whatever it is should roll out September 12th.

Aussies Ban 5G Tech From ZTE & Huawei; Androids Phone Home WAY More; Solid Guess- iPhone Rollout Day

Posted: August 23, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The faster 5G networks will be showing up next year, but there won’t be any equipment from Huawei or ZTE used in Australia’s 5G networks. Techcrunch.com reports that the Australian government has banned use of equipment from those companies due to risks to national security. The US banned most Huawei and ZTE tech use by government agencies and contractors earlier this year.

ET may have phoned home, and all smartphones also do…but Android handsets do it a lot more. According to mashable.com, a Vanderbilt University professor named Douglas Schmidt did a study, and Android units ping Google nearly 10 times more than Apple’s iOS touches base. Most of Google’s data collection happens when the user isn’t directly engaged with any of it’s products, and according to Schmidt’s study, Google is able to de-anonymize such data. Hey, gotta target those ads somehow!

When will the new iPhones be shown, and when can you order one? Bgr.com is betting the rollout will be on September 12th, and the preorders will start on the 14th. This is also the date reliable Apple tout Ming-Chi Kuo sees, but now BGR says they have further indications. Apparently a number of Apple partners and 3rd party accessory makers have sent them pitches with embargoes of September 12th.

Xiaomi F1- Cheap Flagship Power; Huawei Caught Cheating on Cam Photos-Again; VW-Huge Electric Truck Order; Verizon Throttled Firefighter Data

Posted: August 22, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has announced a new sub brand called Pocophone, and released a new model F1 smartphone in India. The interesting thing about it is that the phone sells for $300, but has the power of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845…the present top line processor used in flagship Android phones. Not only that, the phone has 6 gigs of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and a 6.18 inch LCD screen at HD+. What about the battery? 4,000mAh. Right now, there are no plans to bring it to the US, unfortunately. A lot of people would love flagship phone power for $300 instead of $800-$1000!

In a repeat of earlier cheating for ad photos, Huawei has been caught using a pro DSLR camera’s pics and passing them off as being from their Nova 3 smartphone. Arstechnica.com reports that one of the actors in the shots posted some behind the scenes photos from a shoot to Instagram, and you can see the DSLR on a tripod shooting the actual shots.

VW has gotten an order for 1600 electric trucks from Ambev’s Brazilian brewery division. According to electrek.co, the beer maker will convert a third of their fleet to electric by 2023. The vehicles will start being delivered in 2020.

Verizon throttled firefighters, and has been sued. Santa Clara County fire says the throttling had a significant impact on their ability to provide crisis response and essential emergency services during recent fires. Arstechnica.com says the fire department’s declaration was added to a brief filed by 22 state attorneys general in the ongoing lawsuit over the FCC net neutrality rules overturn. Stay tuned.

Fresh Apple Rumors; Microsoft Kills Russian Phishing Domains; Facebook Gives Us Reputation Score; Aston Martin Building 25 ‘Goldfinger’ DB5 Replicas

Posted: August 21, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Several Apple tidbits seeped out yesterday. Businessinsider says Apple will release a new Mac Mini this fall aimed at pro users. The $500 Mini has no screen or keyboard, but you can hook them up and make it into an inexpensive computer. Often, however, they are used in computer rooms as remote computers and storage options for businesses. Also in the wings is a new laptop which will be like a MacBook Air. It’s unclear if it will BE an Air or just called MacBook, but will come with a 13 inch ‘Retina’ display…allegedly with a higher resolution than Apple uses on other products. It will also have thinner bezels around the screen.

In addition, Apple will be dropping new Watch models….they have registered 6 numbers with the EU. The Watch is supposed to get a bigger screen, better health sensors, and longer battery life. The Watch could bow with new iPhones..no date, but thought to be on September 12th if Apple follows previous years.

Finally, from Cupertino, the iPhones may be getting faster wireless charging. Presently, they can be charged at a maximum of 7.5 watts with a software update, but it looks like Apple will jump that up to 15 watts, matching what Samsung phones can do for wireless fast charging.

Microsoft has pulled 6 phishing domains that belong to Russian government hackers. They had been registered to the GRU military intelligence agency….the ones alleged to have stolen and leaked the hacked Clinton emails in 2016. Theverge.com says the domains were aimed at spoofing government targets like ‘senate.group’ and ‘adfs-senate-email.’ Others were aimed at the International Republican Institute and the Hudson Institute…two conservative think tanks which have been critical of President Trump. It appear that these domains had yet to be used, to Microsoft may have prevented more Russian interference into the 2018 election.

In an effort to fight gaming of their systems that has allowed malicious users to post fake news, and false reporting of true items as untrue, Facebook has started assigning users a reputation score ranging from zero to one. According to bloomberg.com, it’s not intended to be an absolute indicator of a person’s credibility, but it’s one of numerous behavioral clues the company is using to try to fight fake news and people who tag items as false just because they disagree with them. Academics are already complaining that Facebook isn’t being transparent about this, but OTOH, if they were, people would be able to more easily game this safeguard.

You may get a chance to buy a copy of one of the most legendary movie cars ever made. Aston Martin is going to build 25 new DB5 cars like the one featured in James Bond’s ‘Goldfinger.’ Arstechnica.com says the cars won’t have an ejection seats, and even though they won’t be street legal, probably won’t have machine guns, oil slick dispensers, or tire flatteners, but will have a rotating license plate. No word on the pop up bulletproof shield. Dust off your checkbook…they will go for $3.51 million bucks EACH!

Fitbit Charge 3; Tesla Roadster Preview; EU Targets Terror Content; Pepsi Buying SodaStream

Posted: August 20, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fitbit has unveiled the Charge 3…and the new device seems to blur the line between full smartwatches (including their own Ionic and Versa models) and fitness trackers. Theverge.com says the overall shape and size are pretty much identical to the Charge 2, but the new device has an aluminum body and Gorilla Glass 3 display (like the Versa). More notably, it has a real touchscreen, and supports grayscale colors instead of just black and white. It’s water resistant to 50 meters, has a better heart rate sensor, and the same oxygen saturation sensor as Fitbit’s smartwatches. Fitbit says it will run up to 7 days on a charge.You can also get app notifications, like from calls, calendar reminders, and the like…Android users can even use canned responses for a quick reply right from their wrist. The base model is $149.95, with a Special Edition at $169.95 offering NFC and Fitbit Pay. It comes in a graphite color or rose gold. Preorders are open today, it should hit stores in October.

The Tesla Roadster is supposed to be out in 2020, but you can get a preview of it on the Jay Leno’s Garage show on CNBC August 23rd. Engadget.com reports that Leno will talk to Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen about the hot offering. The Roadster is reported to use TV cams instead of outside mirrors to reduce drag, and have a yoke style steering ‘wheel’, much like aircraft have had for decades.

The European Union is cracking down on tech companies after trying to let them voluntarily delete terrorist propaganda and extremist violence. Now, according to cnet.com, the EU will be imposing tough new rules, including one requiring social medial companies to remove terrorist content within one hour. In response, Facebook says it has now set up programs that identified 99% of terrorist propaganda before anyone has a chance to report it to the company…but has struggled more with hate speech.

Pepsi has announced that it’s snapping up SodaStream for 3.2 million. TechCrunch.com says Pepsi sees the move to online grocery buying and delivery, and wants to have the in-home presence. Of course, the SodaStream also appeals to the sustainability crowd, who abhor disposable plastic bottles and straws. The deal should close in January.

Pixel Watch; Sony Hits 3 Million VR Headsets; Credit Card Skim Detector

Posted: August 16, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google may roll out a Pixel Watch with the Pixel 3 phones this fall, in addition to a new Pixelbook. Bgr.com reports that a big tip-off is that Google is developing an app called Google Coach that is supposed to deliver fitness and health notifications on a daily basis to users. No size or shape has been leaked about the watches, but they will run on Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform.

Sony has sold 3 million VR headsets for Playstation VR now. According to engadget.com, by then end of 2017, they were at 2 million after the 2016 launch, so their numbers have accelerated nicely in the past 8 months. They have also sold some 21.9 million PSVR games. Two new games have been announced, too: Creed: Rise to Glory pre-orders today, and ships September 25th, and Evasion also pre-orders today, and will drop October 9th.

There’s been a lot of news about a flood of ATM skimmers lately. Now, here’s a little good news. A couple of University of Florida researchers have developed a device they call the ’SkimReaper.’ Arstechnica.com says the gadget can detect virtually all overlays and ‘deep inserts’ in ATM machines. It detects when there are two or more sets of read heads. There are other ways of stealing from ATMs, but these two are by far the most widely used. In a test of skimmers the NYPD had, the SkimReaper found 100% of them. So far, 7 police agencies have signed on to get the detectors, so it may soon make it a bit harder to hackers to do their shady work.

Apple Car in 5+ Years; OneDrive Auto Backup for All; Fitbit Charge 3-Touchscreen; MoviePass Zombie Accounts

Posted: August 15, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A VP of engineering recently left Tesla to go back to Apple. He had previously worked at Ford. This seemed to point to Apple shifting Project Titan back to building an Apple car, not just software they could sell to auto makers. Now, Ming-Chi Kuo, who has one of the most accurate records when it comes to Apple predictions, says Apple will launch an Apple Car between 2023 and 2025, and calls it ‘the next star product.’ According to macrumors.com, Kuo thinks Apple will revolutionize the auto business the way they did the phone market with the iPhone in 2007. Apple’s work in AR could help ‘differentiate the Apple Car from peers’ products.’

If you are on Windows 10 and use Microsoft’s OneDrive, MS has added a great new feature…OneDrive can now automatically back up documents, pictures, and desktop folders. Theverge.com reports that if you use multiple Win 10 PCs, OneDrive folder protection will automatically keep all these folders in sync, too! Business users saw this feature appear available in June, but now it’s coming out for all users. Just hit OneDrive Settings, and go to the Auto Save tab, then click the update folders button.

The upcoming Fitbit Charge 3 will have a full touchscreen, unlike the present Charge 2 with its quasi-touchscreen. TechCrunch.com says that, in addition, Android Authority has discovered that it will be swim-proof down to 50 meters, and have notification reply capability, but on the down side…it won’t have built-in GPS….so you’ll still have to schlep your smartphone along for a jog if you want GPS data. No pricing has leaked out, but the fitness tracker should be out in plenty of time for the holiday season.

MoviePass may be only 3 months from ‘passing away,’ but in the meantime, has a new issue for subscribers…or former subscribers…to deal with. According to engadget.com, people who had cancelled their accounts, then later either checked the app about their account or just to see what movies were available (there were TWO last weekend) got a splash screen with ‘Updates to Your MoviePass Plan’. If you clicked the ‘agree’ button to make it go away, MoviePass reactivated your account! There’s an X in the upper right corner…best to click that and close the screen. Meanwhile, MoviePass will run out of money in 90 days if some movie angel doesn’t show up with lots of cash.

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