Go Pro Hero 7 Bows; Tesla Model 3-Five Star Safety Rating; 3,000 Amazon Go Stores by 2021; Amazon Hardware Event

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

After a leak, GoPro went ahead and officially announced the Hero 7 line of cams. They are in White, Silver, and Black versions. According to theverge.com, the new cams will be on sale September 27th, and range from $199 to $399. The pricey Black has 4K video at up to 60 fps, super slow motion, and features including live-streaming, a lapse mode, and ‘dramatically improved digital image stabilization.’ They are all the same form factor as previous models, so all your accessories should work with them.

Tesla’s Model 3 has been awarded a 5 star safety rating by the NHTSA in standard car tests. Reuters.com reports that the crash testing includes rollover safety as well as head on and side crashes. Previously, both the Model S and Model X had gotten 5 star ratings. The news bumped Tesla stock back up to $304 a share in early Thursday trading.

Amazon is ratcheting up its Amazon Go cashier-free stores from concept to more markets. Engadget.com says they are planning to have 3,000 of the grab and go stores open by 2021. There should be 10 by the end of this year, including New York and San Francisco, then 50 locations by 2019. Amazon looks to be focusing on dense metro areas for at least the first round of the stores that spare you standing in check out lines.

*Amazon will hold a surprise event at 11a Eastern today in Seattle to announce new hardware. Last year, they rolled out the smaller Echo Spot and Echo Plus. One strong rumor is an Echo subwoofer and a plug that allows you to add Alexa to any appliance you own.

Lobbying for Self-driving Cars Takes Quantum Leap; Amazon Prime Now SF Launch With New Guarantee

Posted: April 26, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A gigantic lobbying group has just been formed to press regulators to allow for self-driving cars. Google, Ford, Uber, Lyft, and Volvo are all involved. It’s called the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, according to theverge.com, and is headed by David Strickland, a former NHTSA administrator. They will press the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to come up with a clear set of federal standards by this summer.

Amazon has added San Francisco as the 8th city for its Prime Now one hour restaurant delivery service. With over 4000 restaurants packed into 49 square miles, San Francisco may be the restaurant capital of the world, and Amazon has thrown in a new feature…for all markets with Prime Now…a price guarantee. Geekwire.com says if you find a lower price on the restaurant’s in-person menu within 24 hours, you’ll get a refund. 33 zip codes in the City by the Bay will get the service, and there are 117 restaurants to choose from. If you want to try it out, it’s FREE during launch. Regular price for One Hour Prime Now is usually $7.99.

$30,000 or Less Tesla Preorders Next Month; Feds Rule Google Self-Driving Car IS Driver; Twitter Does Tweak Newsfeeds a Bit

Posted: February 10, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Elon Musk has announced that pre-orders for the small Tesla Model 3 will start in March, and that the car will be on the pavement by 2017. It will be priced at $35,000, but that’s before federal and state rebates. The federal rebate is $7500, Colorado adds another 6 grand, and California, Massachusetts, and Tennessee give you $2500. Bloomberg.com says the average car right now is 31 grand, so this is right in the sweet spot for mass production. It’s supposed to have a 200 mile range. Tesla can’t be late on this as with past launches…GM’s $30,000 Bolt EV with a 200 mile range will be out late this year.

While on the topic of future cars, the NHTSA has ruled that Google’s self-driving car is its own driver for regulatory purposes. This is a victory for Google, as it allows them to move forward with their self-driving vehicle design…without steering wheel, pedals, etc. Cnet.com reports that state rules will still apply regarding how the Googlemobiles can be operated on public roads.

There was a big uproar last week about Twitter changing its newsfeed to non-chronological. It was so big, the CEO had to come out and deny it. Now, according to thenextweb.com, Twitter has expanded and tweaked its ‘While you were away’ feature. If you have been gone a while, they will serve you tweets at the top of the feed based on what an algorithm determines you might be interested in. The feature will be on by default when it rolls out to everybody, but it’s opt-in…you can dismiss it, at least for the time being.