Google’s Self-Driving Cars Invade Texas

Posted: July 8, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Folks in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Mountain View have gotten used to seeing Google branded Lexus and Toyota Prius models tooling around town. Now, Google has picked Austin, Texas for it’s second test-bed city. According to cnet.com, a Google Lexus has been spotted Northeast of Downtown Austin…as in the Bay Area, with a driver aboard, just in case. A second car is slated to start driving the area this week. As with the Bay Area self-driving rigs, the speed is capped at 25 mph.

Apple is apparently preparing for even more record sales of iPhones. The Wall St Journal says they are asking suppliers to make between 85 and 90 million new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus models by the end of 2015. This compares with 70 to 80 million units they ordered of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus they ordered last year.

A Kickstarter is launching called HowLoud, to map cities all around the country based on urban noise. Gizmodo.com reports that HowLoud…created by a CalTech mathematician…has already mapped Los Angeles and Orange County. It ranks locations specifically enough to be down to a particular side and floor of a building. Real estate company Redfin bought the WalkScore app last year that maps walkability of neighborhoods, so the noise level score of HowLoud may soon become a selling point for homes, too!

Increased Storage in Next-Gen iPhones

Posted: June 29, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple is apparently talking about returning to Samsung for memory in the next iteration of iPhones. 9to5mac.com says they aren’t looking to go over 128 gigs, but will drop the 16 gig model, making 32 gigabytes the entry level memory in the iPhone 6S models. It was already reported that Samsung is supplying the A9 processors. The killer feature that we know of as the phones have entered early production is Force Touch, ported from the Apple Watch.

Microsoft has sold some Bing maps assets to Uber, and along with them, around 100 data collection engineers that worked on Bing. Geekwire.com reports that Uber was already bulking up in the mapping department, having bought mapping software company deCarta in March. Uber has been relying on Google Maps in their app up to now.

Netflix On Track To Be Bigger Than The Combined Broadcast Networks

Posted: June 26, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Netflix is on a roll, and heading towards eclipsing ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. Bgr.com reports that in the first 3 months of 2015, they added 4.9 million new subscribers, bringing the total to 62.3 million. According to a research report from FBR Capital Markets, the 10 billion hours of content streamed over Netflix right now would be like having a Nielsen 24 hour rating of 2.6…that puts Netflix on the level with ABC and NBC right now. If their growth rate continues, by next year, Netflix will pass up all the broadcast networks combined!

Apple has updated the terms of its AppleCare+ Protection Plan for iPhone, iPad, iPod and Apple Watch to cover batteries that retain less than 80% of their original capacity within the extended warranty period. Macrumors.com says before now it only covered batteries that held less than 50% of their original capacity. The change applies to AppleCare+ purchased for iPhone, iPad, iPod and all Apple Watch models on April 9th, 2015 or later.

Apple Exploring Eliminating Home Button on iPhones & iPads

Posted: June 22, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

They have several patents relating to this, but macrumors.com picked up a report from DigiTimes out of Taiwan indicating that Apple is working on an in-house single-chip solution to integrate touchscreen and display drivers onto one chip. It would also include fingerprint sensors, which would allow Apple to lose the home button, and build phones and tablets with edge to edge screens. They could either make smaller devices with the same sized screens as now, or make them bigger… and of course make them thinner than ever! Synaptics has a chip that has most of this functionality out now, but it looks like Apple is going to roll their own solution.

It’s not a whole new box, but Sony will roll out an upgraded PlayStation 4 next month with a 1 TB drive…double the storage of the previous edition. Theverge.com says the Ultimate Player Edition will also be 10% lighter and suck up 8% less power that the present model. They have not announced pricing yet, advising to check with retailers. Besides the PS 4 announcement, Sony also made changes to the app…available now on Android and iOS.

What May Be Coming in Apple Watch 2

Posted: June 18, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

With a second generation refresh of the Apple Watch expected out next year, 9to5mac.com says multiple sources are touting some features we will probably see on v. 2.0. Among those are a Face Time video camera built into the top bezel, and a new WiFi system for more iPhone independence. Insiders say you may be able to do most basic communication over WiFi without going through your iPhone. One thing not expected is more battery life. Apparently, Apple says most customers are happy with what the device now has. Did we mention they plan additional pricey premium models starting at over $1000?

On the subject of batteries, some researchers at Stanford have come up with a way to make lithium-ion batteries safer. As has been known, they can overheat and catch fire sometimes. Engadget.com reports the researchers have developed a chemical layer over the lithium anodes that prevents the finger like dendrites from growing out and shorting the battery. The barrier utilizes a mixture lithium nitrate and lithium polysulfide, for you chemistry nerds. A nice side effect is longer life. The treated batteries hold 99% efficiency for over 300 charges, compared with 150 cycles without. The breakthrough could lead to electric vehicles that could go days without a recharge.

The ‘Small’ Tesla Model 3 May Have Serious Cruising Range

Posted: June 11, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sometimes you see something you know will be a game changer. While a lot of eyeballs have been on Apple’s WWDC this week, Elon Musk spoke at the Edison Electric Institute get together in New Orleans. According to bgr.com, Musk let it drop that the compact Model 3, which is 20% smaller than the pricey Model S, Will have a driving range of at least 250 miles. If Tesla holds to the $35,000 price point on the smaller car, they won’t be able to build these things fast enough, and other car makers will breathlessly be trying to play catch up. The Model 3 will be rolled out next March, and should be launching in late 2017.

On the subject of the aforementioned Apple, major supplier Foxconn is reportedly in talks to open a factory in India. Reuters says this would allow them to avoid the wage inflation in China, and in addition help them keep Apple business in a market Apple wants to develop. Foxconn is shooting for developing 10-12 facilities in India, between factories and data centers…all by 2020.

A Killer App for Apple Pay & Better Battery Life

Posted: June 9, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We’ve noted that while Apple says they hope to have half the top 100 retailers signed up for their iPhone based payment system by year’s end, they’re a long way away. Something shown at WWDC may be the proverbial killer app to energize the system. TechCrunch.com points out that Apple announced a new partnership with Square. Square will make a new card reader for small businesses that will take Apple Pay by NFC, or the regular old credit card swipe.

Something long clamored for by users is better battery life. iOS 9 rolls out improvements that will give an extra hour of use without doing anything differently. In addition, cnet.com reports there’s a new low power mode that Apple claims will net you an additional 3 hours of battery life on iPhones and iPads. It turns off processes under the hood, and Apple claims it won’t restrict your usage as much as the Android low power mode does. That said, Google is expected to give users more battery savings in the upcoming Android M.

Half of Top Merchants Will Use Apple Pay By Year’s End?

Posted: June 5, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Apple has been working overtime reeling in merchants and financial institutions for its Apple pay system. Appleinsider.com says Cupertino expects to sign a number of large merchants before the end of 2015, pulling around half of the top 100 US merchants into the Apple fold. It’s an uphill climb, with only 4 of those pledged to support the iPhone based pay system so far. Most are hesitating citing customer demand, so that could change quickly if demand does.

Not all tech is zoomy and connected to the web. Some can save people from injuries or patch us up after the fact. Safer Sports Technologies has developed a lightweight insert that goes in a baseball cap to protect a pitcher from being beaned. It’s a combination of carbon fiber and kevlar, and runs ear to ear across the middle of the forehead. The two ounce insert apparently feels like it’s barely there. With it installed, the pitcher can survive a line drive to the head of up to 94 miles per hour! It’s a $5000 kickstarter right now, and you can get left and right kid sized ones for a $60 pledge, or for $80…the full wrap pro version for adults.

Google on Verge of Releasing 1st New Nest Product Since They Bought It

Posted: June 4, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Media invitations have been sent for an event June 17th for a Nest news conference in San Francisco. No other details were offered, but a lot of buzz is on it being Nest Audio. Google watchers say it could be something like the Amazon Echo. Businessinsider.com notes that whatever it is, we should know between 9:30 and 10 am on June 17th.

Reports out of Asia picked up by bgr.com indicate that besides an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple will again offer a 4 inch screen model that may be called the 7c in 2016. Sources say it will be a completely redesigned phone. The 7 and 7 Plus are expected to be the same 4.7 and 5.5 inch sizes as the 6 series and their successors due out this fall.

Apple TV Confirmed As the Hub for HomeKit

Posted: June 3, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

As Moscone Center in San Francisco is being readied for Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference next week, more keeps leaking out. This week, several early HomeKit devices from 3rd parties rolled out, and now thenextweb.com reports that…as expected…you’ll need Apple TV to remotely control HomeKit gadgets. Apple has posted a setup page to help people configure the system. If you already have Apple TV, it needs to be 3rd generation or later with software version 7 or newer.

Amazon has rolled out free shipping on small and light products…that is, ones that weigh less than 8 ounces. According to geekwire.com, ‘Fulfillment by Amazon Small and Light’ will also focus on items that cost less than 10 bucks. No more $35 minimum purchase requirement or Prime membership for free shipping of these small and light items. It won’t be free TWO Day shipping though…expect your items in 4 to 8 days.

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