Electric Car Builder Faraday to Build Factory in SF Area; Apple Joining the Voice Command Speaker Club
Posted: May 25, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon Echo, Apple, Cortana, Electric cars, Faraday Future, Google, Mare Island, Microsoft, San Francisco, Vallejo, WWDC Leave a commentIt would be the biggest employer to hit Vallejo, Northeast of San Francisco, since the Navy closed the Mare Island submarine base. Los Angeles based Faraday Future, the electric car startup rumored to be backed out of China, is apparently about to lock in a deal to buy a 157 acre site on Mare Island to build a car production facility and showroom. According to San Francisco Business Times, if the deal is done, Faraday has a 6 month window to firm up a proposal to build a million square foot facility on Mare Island. Faraday is already building a billion dollar, 3 million square foot facility in North Las Vegas.
Now that Google has showed it’s answer to the Amazon Echo, there are reports that Apple will have a new speaker and mic, and tools for Siri developers by their upcoming World Wide Developers Conference next month. Thenextweb.com says Apple probably intends to stitch in their Home system for the internet of things in addition to polling for restaurants and checking Maps and the rest. The lone holdout in the AI assistant sweepstakes now is Microsoft with Cortana.
Google Might Replace Some Passwords With Trust Score; New Thinner MacBook by Late This Year
Posted: May 24, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Apple, Google, Macbook, Macbook Pro, OLED, Passwords, Touch ID, Trust Scores Leave a commentWith all the announcements at Google I/O last week, this one didn’t get much glory, but could actually end up being pretty huge. According to theverge.com, Google is working to replace passwords with ‘trust scores’ that pull from user-specific data points, including current location, facial recognition, and typing patterns to detect if they’re really that person. A banking app would require a higher score than a social media app, for example. The Trust API has been in the world at least a year, and will rollout to several ‘very large’ financial institutions in the next few weeks. If all goes well, it will be opened up to all Android developers by the end of the year.
Apple will roll out a big revamp of the Macbook Pro by 4th quarter this year, according to KGI Securities and other sources. 9to5mac.com reports that it will be thinner and lighter, have Touch ID support, and a new OLED touch bar above the keyboard that will replace function keys. Apple will also put out a 13 inch MacBook similar to the 12 inch Retina MacBook, giving them 3 levels of laptops…the MacBook Air will stay the entry level, and the Pro the top tier.
LG Was 1st, But Google’s Modular Phone is Coming; iPhone 7 Dual Lens Cam Change & FOUR Speakers?
Posted: May 23, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 4 speakers, Apple, Customizable, Google, iPhone 7 Plus, LG, Modular phone, Project Ara, Sony Leave a comment
LG beat them out of the blocks with their G5 phone and it’s bottom drawer that slides out so you can swap components, but Google will release their Project Ara modular phone to developers this fall. Thenextweb.com points out that it’s quite modular…but not as originally touted…the RAM, storage, and display won’t be customizable. What will be is and e-ink second display, fingerprint reader, fisheye camera assembly, fresh battery, and a speaker/microphone setup…oh…and non-functional ’style’ tiles…yippee!
Apparently, Sony has not been able to supply Apple with enough dual lens cameras for the upcoming iPhone 7 Plus…or Pro, depending on the rumor. Macrumors.com says Cupertino is switching to LG to get it enough in time for launch. Part of the problem was damage to Sony’s facility from an April earthquake. Also, there’s a prototype case that’s appeared on a French blog with 4 speakers. It doesn’t have a headphone jack, as previously rumored, but this single 4 speaker leak is iffy.
Chromebook Has Outsold Macs; Facebook Testing Customizable Categories for Newsfeeds
Posted: May 20, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Categories, Chromebooks, Facebook, Google, MacBooks, Macs, Microsoft, Newsfeeds Leave a commentGoogle’s cheaply priced Chromebooks outsold Macs in the US. first quarter. The verge.com reports that it’s mainly due to purchases of primary and secondary schools. According to IDC, Mac shipments 1st quarter of the year were around 1.76 million, and Dell, HP, and Lenovo combined to pump out almost 2 Million Chromebooks. While Apple can’t be happy about this, the real angst hast to be at Microsoft. Android apps running under Chrome will only further serve to erode Redmond’s grip on the PC market when that happens this Fall.
Brace yourselves….Facebook is once again monkeying with news feeds. According to thenextweb.com, they are testing out customizable news feed categories. Some people are seeing their mobile app news feeds separated by categories, like travel, music, TV and movies, food, and science. You can apparently also customize the specific news you want to see under those categories, such as animated films or reality TV under the entertainment category. Facebook tests out a lot of features, and if this one is adapted, it may be different than it appears right now.
Startup Aims to Make Existing Big Rigs Self-Driving; Twitter Excluding Links & Pix From 140 Character Limit
Posted: May 17, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 140 Character limit, Apple, Autonomous big rigs, Google, Otto, Retrofit, Semis, Tesla, Twitter Leave a commentFour ex-Googlers have launched Otto, a startup aimed at making big rigs autonomous. The San Francisco based company has drawn employees form Apple, Tesla, and Cruise Automation. Backchannel.com reports that they will aim to retrofit existing semis instead of trying to build new trucks from scratch. There are over 4 million big rigs on the highways. Otto has already installed their system on 3 big rigs. They claim to be able to do the retrofit for a ‘small fraction’ of the 100-300 grand it costs for a new big rig tractor cab.
In case you missed it, Twitter is getting ready to exclude pictures and links from the 140 character limit sometime in the next couple weeks. Thenextweb.com notes that links currently gobble up 23 characters out of that miserly 140. No official word from Twitter as yet.
Standalone Android VR Headset Coming; iPhone 7 Plus Will Have 2 Rear Cams; iTunes NOT Stopping Selling Downloads
Posted: May 12, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Cardboard, Dual Camera, Google, iPhone 7 Plus, iTunes, Rift, song downloads, Vive, VR Headset Leave a commentGoogle will reportedly announce a standalone Android VR headset at I/O next week. Techcrunch.com says the untethered headset will be less powerful than the Vive or Rift, and it’s expected to come in at well under the $300 price point. Needless to say, it will cost more than the 15 bucks for a cardboard headset, but you need an Android phone to use that anyway.
Early rumors had a premium version of Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus getting the dual rear camera setup, but according to Ming-Chi Kuo at KGI Securities, all the Plus phones will come with the high end camera. According to theverge.com, the bigger handset will also have 3 gigs of ram in order to handle the image processing for the new cam. There’s still conflicting information as to if the Plus, or all iPhone 7’s or none will have the Smart Connector like the iPad Pro.
Apple put out a rare statement late yesterday dispelling a rumor that they planned to stop selling downloads over iTunes. Appleinsider.com says one rumor had Apple dropping downloads in 2 years, and another in 3-4. Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said ‘not true.’
Moto’s Modular Capable Flagships Coming; Foxconn to Build Big iPhone Plant in India
Posted: May 10, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amps, Apple, Foxconn, India, iPhone, Modular backplates, Moto X, Motorola, Vector Thin, Vertex Leave a commentPictures leaked out a while back of Motorola’s 2 Moto X flagships with what looked like fairly large speaker holes on the metal back, and a protruding camera lens. According to venturebeat.com, there’s more to it than that. The Vertex and Vector Thin will accommodate modular backplates you can swap out that add functionality. There will be at least 6 at launch counting the plain cover. The others have: stereo speakers; a battery pack; a camera grip with flash and optical zoom; a pico projector; and a rugged cover with wide angle lens attachment. The camera lens will sit flush with the backplates…which Motorola calls Amps….attached. So far, no pricing on either the phones or the Amps.
The Economic Times of India says Foxconn is close to a deal to build a 10 billion dollar iPhone manufacturing plant there. 9to5mac.com reports it will sit on 1200 acres, and be up and running in about 18 months. This is only one of 10-12 manufacturing plants Foxconn hopes to open in India by 2020. Apple sales were up 56% year over year in India.
More iPhone 7 Rumors; Twitter Limits US Spy Agencies Access to Alert Tool
Posted: May 9, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Analytics, Apple, Dataminr, Dual lens camera, iPhone 7, law enforcement, Smart Connector, Spies, Twitter Leave a commentWith the iPhone 7 models due out in around 4 months, the rumors are breaking more frequently now…and contradicting each other. Bgr.com says a design leak obtained by French site NowhereElse shows the iPhone 7 as having identical height and width as the 6 and 6S. It doesn’t disclose whether or not the next model will be thinner, however, or if the headphone jack on the bottom stays or goes. There is no opening at the bottom for a Smart Connector like on the iPad Pro, which had been rumored, but the camera opening is larger…it may not be large enough for the dual lens camera…which is supposed to bow on the larger iPhone 7 Plus anyway, but perhaps to allow for a larger sensor. The cam opening is closer to the edge, too.
Twitter has blocked US law enforcement and spy agencies from using a data analytics service that processes tweets and messages in real time. According to cnet.com, the tools are from the private company Dataminr. Twitter hasn’t publicly confirmed or denied the change. Apparently the analytics gave authorities a 10 minutes lead over mainstream media outlets in covering and responding to the Brussels attacks. Spies being spies, it’s probably only a matter of time…and not much time….before they are able to restore their access to this type of info from Twitter, even without Twitter’s blessing or knowledge.
Apple Music Getting Much-Needed Makeover; Flexible Brighter e-Paper May Be Coming
Posted: May 4, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Apple Music, Connect, e-paper, Graphene, Guangzhou OED Technologies, Kindle, WWDC 1 CommentApple will show a revamp of it’s Apple Music streaming service at WWDC in June, according to a Bloomberg report picked up by macrumors.com. The interface will allegedly be more intuitive and easier to use. The service has grown to more than 13 million subscribers in the past year, but has also taken considerable criticism on it’s clunkiness and artists have griped that the social aspect….Connect….has failed miserably.
A Chinese company has figured out a way to use graphene to make e-paper that’s brighter and more flexible that the present screen material. Geek.com reports that the company- Guangzhou OED Technologies- already markets e-paper displays under the O-paper brand. They are promising that production will start yet this year, so the next generation Kindles from Amazon in 2017 may be not only much more readable, but ‘bendy,’ or there could even possibly be a roll up e-paper device.
Google Self-Driving Tech in Chrysler Minivans Next Year; New iPhones We Can’t Live Without
Posted: May 3, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Chrysler, Google, hybrid, iPhone, Pacifica Minivans, Reality distortion field, Self Driving Cars, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook Leave a commentTech companies and car makers are moving at warp speed towards self-driving vehicles. Now, 9to5google.com has picked up a Bloomberg report that Google self-driving tech will be featured in 2017 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans. The non-exclusive deal may be in place this week. The vans will have a 30 mile electric only range, have a gas V-6 that kicks in after that, and the battery can be recharged in 2 hours when plugged into 240 volts.
In an interview Monday, Apple’s Tim Cook teased that the next generation of iPhones will have features you ‘can’t live without, that you don’t even know you need today…’ So far, Wall Street is not impressed, and the stock is still down, but it does make one wonder if there’s One More Thing or maybe Two that Apple has kept under wraps so that KGI Securities and other usually reliable sources haven’t been able to get wind of. We’ll know in September whether it’s just Tim Cook channeling Steve Jobs’ legendary reality distortion field, or if Apple is really going to knock our socks off with some killer feature or features.
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