Lyft & Waymo Partner on Self-Drivers; EV Battery That Charges in 5 Min; 10.5 Inch iPad Pro at WWDC, Google Asst Coming to iOS

Posted: May 15, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lyft and Google’s Waymo will team up on self-driving cars, according to a report from the New York Times. The plan is to introduce a wide swath of people to them using fleet services. Waymo had already started a public pilot in Arizona where they will pick up people and families on demand. The Lyft deal will quickly help them to expand that, and explore not only demand modeling, but efficient routing as well. Meanwhile, a judge has banned a Uber employee, who was a former Google manager and is the subject of a lawsuit, from working with Lidar at all for the time being.

If this pans out to any degree, it will be a game changer for electric vehicles. StoreDot, and Israeli startup, has shown its new battery model for EVs at the CUBE Tech Fair in Berlin. Engadget.com reports that the battery can reach full charge in FIVE minutes, and run the car for 300 miles! Compare that to Tesla’s Supercharger, which takes two hours to fully charge a Tesla EV. StoreDot also claims their batteries are safer than litihum-ion. They use layers of nano materials and proprietary organic compounds not used in batteries before.

Apple will probably show a new 10.5 inch iPad Pro at WWDC next month. Theverge.com says KGI Securities, generally one of the most reliable sources, is reporting this. Ming-Chi Kuo, of KGI also says it’s 50-50 that Apple will launch their Siri powered speaker at WWDC.

Siri could be in for some ‘Siri-ous’ competition soon. Google may be rolling out Google Assistant on iOS, and could show it at I/O this week! It will debut first in the US, and apparently will be slightly different than the Android version. The voice controls will be the same, but it will used the chat style fro Allo. This is probably necessary since it will be a free standing app, and not a baked in extension that’s part of the Google platform.

More Cortana Driven Smart Speakers; Waymo Logs Millions of Miles; Apple Buys Sleep Tracker; iPhone 8 Leaked CAD Drawings

Posted: May 10, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Earlier this week, Harman Kardon unveiled Invoke, their Cortana powered Amazon Echo competitor. Now, techcrunch.com says HP is also jumping into the smart speaker market. Instead of following their rather successful Surface marketing effort of rolling their own, Microsoft seems to be using the formerly wildly successful PC model of licensing to numerous makers. The speakers will reportedly use Skype for calling. The Amazon Alexa device can take and make calls, and Apple’s is expected to as well.

Waymo, the self-driving car people from Alphabet/Google, says they have now logged 3 million miles on public roads. According to 9to5google.com, a million of those self-driven miles have been in the last 7 months! In March, Waymo greatly expanded their fleet with 500 Chrysler Pacifica minivans.

Apple has bought Beddit, a company that tracks sleep. According to business insider.com, they make a $150 sleep monitoring pad that goes between the sheets. The monitor tracks a person’s heart rate, awake time, and snoring, then the companion app calculates a ‘sleep score’ and can wake users at an ‘optimal’ time with a smart alarm. The page linked to the Watch App Store is gone from their website, but the app is still live there as of today.

Some CAD drawings have leaked out from a manufacturer of the upcoming iPhone 8. 9to5mac.com says that these show no fingerprint sensor on the back, but do depict the all glass front and back with stainless steel edges and the vertical dual cams on the back. The phone appears to be thicker than the current iPhone 7 and Plus. It’s still possible the 8 will have an ugly and clumsy fingerprint sensor on the back like the Samsung Galaxy S8, but we probably won’t know that until Fall.

Amazon Touchscreen Echo Leak; Smart Speaker Market Set to Double; Spray On Touchpads

Posted: May 8, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

As with all tech companies, Amazon plays with different versions of products. Thenextweb.com got its hands on a pic of one version for the upcoming Alexa powered touchscreen Echo, and the tech media collectively threw up. The wedge shaped gadget with a 7 inch screen has been universally panned. A prior leak had a short round tower with a smaller touchscreen angled on top. Let’s hope the previous leak is closer to what actually drops…probably later this month. It is said to be equipped to make video calls, and may have visual recognition, like the hapless Fire phone.

With a touchscreen Echo in the pipeline, the Google speaker finding homes, and Apple reported to be working on a high end smart speaker, 9to5mac.com has picked up a report from Reuters that says smart speaker use will double in the US this year. They are looking at 35.6 million. Amazon is expected to hold a little over 70% of the market.

Want a touchpad somewhere? Just spray it on! That’s the concept behind Electrick (with a ‘k’), a design from some brainy folks at Carnegie Mellon University. Techcrunch.com says it is mainly the brainchild of a PhD student named Yang Zhang, and it uses small electrodes attached to the edges of a painted surface. You can put a touchpad on wood, plastic, dry wall…reportedly even Play Doh and Jell-O. The tech is set to be demonstrated at a conference in Denver.

Windows 10 S Laptop Guns for Chromebooks; 43 Inch LG Monitor Supports 4 Sources; Twitter Adds More Streams and Shows

Posted: May 2, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft has revealed its answer to Chrome OS. Windows 10 S is a ‘streamlined and secured’ version of Windows 10…translation….it’s sandboxed. That’s not the biggest part, though. Techcrunch.com reports that Microsoft has talked most major PC makers into making Windows 10 S machines. Base level ones will start at $189, and should be out this summer. Redmond expects school districts to snap up the laptops at that price point. They come with a one year free subscription to Minecraft: Education Edition, and Office 365 apps are free for both students and teachers.

As Apple announced they were getting out of the monitor business (then had a change of heart of sorts), other companies have jumped in with displays to take up the slack. Now, 9to5mac.com says LG has quietly unveiled a 42.5 inch 4K job that has 4 HDMI ports and supports up to 4 display feeds….for under $700! Four feeds, so you could keep a browser open, watch a game, PLAY a game, and have a window for actual work!

We heard yesterday that Twitter was building out a 24/7 streaming video service with Bloomberg. Now, they’ve announced live video plans with Live Nation, Buzzfeed, The WNBA, and almost a dozen partners. According to recode.net, the partners look so far to be heavy on sports, then news, with a little entertainment sprinkled in. It remains to be seen how much of the new content will materialize and when.

Apple Echo-Type Smart Speaker Coming; Galaxy S8 Random Reboots; Samsung Approved for Testing Self-Driving Cars in Korea

Posted: May 1, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

There are now two sources saying Apple will make a smart speaker like the Amazon Echo or Google’s speaker. Bgr.com reports that now KGI Securities says they will launch a ‘Siri Speaker’ at WWDC in June. No word on the cost (don’t think cheap), but it’s expected to hit stores and the web in the second half of the year. It will reportedly have 7 tweeters and a subwoofer, which should give it great sound. It will use some type of Beats tech and run a version of iOS.

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 had record preorders, but as it gets to peoples’ hands, there’s word that some are having random reboots. 9to5google.com reports there’s quite a thread about this on Samsung’s forums. It can happen when in use, or just sitting around. The phone does fully reboot, and it appears it may be related to an SD card issue, as removing the SD card seems to fix the problem until Samsung rolls out a software patch.

Speaking of Samsung…for those of you who thought they only made phones and TVs, etc, the Korean giant is now approved to test self-driving cars on roads in Korea. According to techcrunch.com, Hyundai has been at it for about a year now, so Samsung will be playing catch up to an extent. Samsung started as a trading company, and has interests in shipping, insurance, and more. The Korean approval allows for operating without steering wheels or pedals, which is also part of proposed new regulations in California and which Michigan already allows.

iPhone 8 Supply Will Be Gorgeous and in Short Supply This Fall; Larry Page’s Flying Car; Audi Adds Useful ‘Nanny’ Feature

Posted: April 24, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The iPhone 8 will just have a slight curve and very thin stainless steel bezels, according to the latest leak. It will also be in tight supply….possibly through the end of the year because of production issues that are causing production to start late. According to bgr.com, it will have the all glass front and back design, and the stainless bezel will be black to make it look virtually seamless. Apple has apparently cracked the code to put the Touch ID under the OLED screen, and the front camera will also be nearly invisible under it as well. Benjamin Geskin posted several pics of a mockup, one of which is shown here. For more, hit bgr.com.

Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk startup will release their flying electric ‘car’ later this year. 9to5google.com notes that what’s been seen of it so far looks more like a platform on pontoons that a rider can fly over land or water…primarily water It HAS, however, gotten FAA approval as an ‘ultralight’ that can be flown over uncongested areas. Kitty Hawk says the first iteration will be mainly for recreation, and will be different from the prototype, but still features 8 rotors powered by electric motors. You can lear to fly it without a license in less than an hour.

In the cars you can actually buy now department, the Audi A4 Allroad talks to you. While this seems like it could be annoying, venturebeat.com reports in a truly useful ‘why didn’t they think of that before’ feature. As with many current cars, you can plug your phone into a USB port to charge it while you drive. When you get ready to get out of the car, it will sense that, and remind you to take your phone with you! Cars are truly becoming computers on wheels…or maybe Alexa on wheels!

Another Day, Another iPhone 8 Design; MasterCard Testing Fingerprint Secured Cards; Google May Bake Ad Blocker into Chrome

Posted: April 20, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Yet another iPhone 8 design has showed up, and it’s getting lots of hate from the tech media community. Macrumors.com says this one has an aluminum back with the apple cutout and vertical double camera, but also has a round cutout about halfway down. Some reports are that Apple is having problems with its under screen Touch ID sensor (as we reported Samsung has), and they may use this plan B metal back to put the Touch ID on the back…as the Galaxy S8 has. Actually, at this point, Apple has always had multiple designs going, then chooses the final one, so it’s probably not time to freak out yet. When orders for the sensors are placed, we’ll know more which way Apple will go.

Speaking of fingerprint sensors, here’s an interesting idea….MasterCard is testing them on payment cards in South Africa. Engadget.com reports that if they pan out, MasterCard could start rolling them out worldwide by the end of the year. After that, it will be up to your bank to decide to use it. Like photos on cards, you would have to go into the bank to have your prints scanned to be stored on the card. It’s all card based, so merchants wouldn’t have to replace terminals to use the newer print-secured cards.

Google…which makes bags of money from ads…is apparently working on an ad blocker for Chrome. According to recode.net, it would either filter certain types of ads out, or entirely block ones from sites that carry ‘bad ads.’ Filtering would be based on standards from the Coalition for Better Ads, which both Google and Facebook belong. Note: they also both help fund said coalition! Does anyone see Google filtering out IT’S OWN ads with the Chrome ad blocker? This seems like a real unfair competition issue!

Apple Issues With Touch ID for iPhone 8; Snapchat Launches ‘World Lenses’; Pornhub Rolls Out Snapchat for Nudes

Posted: April 18, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some reports are indicating that Apple’s plan to put the fingerprint scanner under the edge to edge display is not going well. If so, this could be more than a fly in the ointment for the 10th anniversary iPhone….more like a buzzard! Bgr.com reports that even with 3D facial recognition cams that the phone will apparently have, Apple still needs Touch ID to work well for signing into apps and services, and using Apple Pay. Apparently, Cupertino hasn’t placed firm orders for production of the sensors. They have also looked at The Synaptic optical fingerprint solution Samsung wanted to use on the Galaxy S8…as we know, that one didn’t make it, and Samsung had to put the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. Apple could delay the launch of the iPhone 8 or may have to drop the fingerprint sensor, which would cause an uproar.

Snapchat has rolled out what they call 3D World Lenses in an app update. According to 9to5google.com, World Lenses will work like the selfie Lenses feature, only add 3D elements to shots taken with the back camera, like adding shadows and depth, in addition to the whimsical overlays everyone loves from Snapchat.

In somewhat related news, Pornhub has released their own ‘Snapchat for nudes,’ giving people the option of covering their private areas with stickers and graphic animations. Thenextweb.com says the app is available from the App Store and Google Play for those who want to sext, but are a little shy about exposing the whole enchilada.

Apple Gets CA Permit for Self-Driving Car Tests; Gadget Pulls Water Out of Thin Air

Posted: April 17, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In a rather stealthy web update Friday before the Easter weekend, California’s DMV revealed that Apple has joined 29 other companies in getting a permit to test self-driving vehicles. According to businessinsider.com, this is the first hint that Cupertino was still working on self-driving tech since a letter to the NHTSA in December. Apple will be running its tech in 3 Lexus SUVs and the permit covers 6 drivers…other than the cars themselves. It appears that Apple is working on autonomous software, and not a full car, but stay tuned.

Scientists at MIT and Cal Berkeley have developed a solar powered water harvester that can extract humidity out of thin air to produce drinking water. Thenextweb.com reports that it’s solar powered, and can produce 3 liters of water in 12 hours, in a place with only 20-30% humidity….so will even work in a desert. (The Mojave desert daytime humidity runs 10-30%.) The scientists say a person could survive in the desert on a soda can’s worth of water a day, and the gadget can produce that much water in an hour. It uses a new type of metal-organic framework, or MOF.

Apple Working on Non-Invasive Glucose Monitor; Next iPhones Getting More RAM; Amazon Offering Echo’s Voice Recognition to Other Device Makers

Posted: April 13, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has a team of biomedical engineers working on sensors to monitor blood glucose levels accurately through the skin, without the finger prick and blood draw. Macrumors.com says Apple may do this via an add on and app instead of building it into every Apple Watch, since FDA approval for the entire watch would take so long, they couldn’t produce new models yearly. It will be a huge boon to diabetics who test to monitor blood sugar without repeated ‘sticks.’ Others have tried using light through skin to measure glucose for years, but they’ve been inaccurate, or the sensors have burned the skin. Stay tuned!

All 3 iPhone models due out this fall will come with 3 gigs of memory, according to macrumors.com. They will continue to carry Lightening connectors, but with USB C power delivery for faster charging. The present iPhone 7 Plus already has 3 gigs of memory, which is handy if you have lots of browser tabs open and helps the portrait mode on the camera to function.

Amazon is going to make its tech available to other device makers that gives the Echo its great voice recognition. Techcrunch.com reports that it will be by invitation only. Amazon will pick the OEMs it allows to incorporate its tech into their devices. It apparently works with different CPUs like ARM, Intel, and Raspberry Pi. ‘Hey, Siri, have Apple apply for voice recognition help from Alexa.’ Ok, we can dream, can’t we?

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