BMW’s new street lights will charge your electric car
Street lights are already brimming with electricity, so it stands to reason that they’d make great charging points for electric cars, doesn’t it? BMW certainly thinks so. It has developed Light and Charge LED street lights that could keep your EV topped up (Beemer or otherwise) using existing urban infrastructure instead of dedicated power outlets and charging stations. It should be cheaper for cities to implement, of course, but it could also take a lot of the anxiety out of driving a gas-free vehicle — you could theoretically park on any street knowing that your car will have more energy when you come back.
This isn’t the first stab at EV-friendly lamps. Companies like Intelilight have explored this technology before. However, BMW may be one of the first to put these smarter street lights to good use. The automaker is launching a pilot project in Munich next year, and it has the corporate clout to spur other deployments. It’ll be a long while before you can assume that there’s a always an EV charger at hand, but the concept is now a little more realistic.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Gizmodo
Source: Reuters
Apple finally offers an easy solution to its missing text message problem
If you’re still being plagued by missing text messages after leaving iOS for another platform, then the time has come to rejoice. Apple has quietly launched a tool that will let you deregister your phone number from iMessage and solve your texting problem once and for all. The root of this mess comes from the fact that Apple roots all your SMS through its iMessage system — even after a user switched to a different phone. The result was texts from iPhone users disappearing into the ether. If you forgot to disable iMessage before switching devices, often the only solution was to completely disconnect the device from your Apple account. Now all you have to do is plug your phone number into Apple’s deregistration site, and punch in the verification code sent to you.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Source: Apple
How would you change Nokia’s Lumia 925?
Like the kid who got picked on in school, Nokia’s Lumia 920 took some time out, got a chemical peel and returned a few months later as the Lumia 925. In fact, by ditching the bright colors and bulky frame, the 925 presented itself as a mature, refined device that separated itself from previous Lumias. When we reviewed it, we found that the better looks weren’t necessarily a perfect trade off against the 920’s bigger storage and wireless charging. Still, we’re sure that plenty of you leapt into the Windows Phone ocean with this device, so why not share with us how you found it? Head on over to the forum and spill your guts words.
Filed under: Cellphones, Microsoft, Nokia
Source: Engadget Product Forums
Google releases Lollipop guide in Google Play Books
This is a title that will probably be more helpful for smartphone owners who are starting off with their first Android device, but long-time Android users may want to check it out as well. Google has released a Quick Start Guide for Android 5.0 Lollipop via Google Play Books. Although the guide specifically targets Nexus and Google Play Edition devices that will be getting Lollipop, it may still be useful for other devices as well.
If you are interested in grabbing the Quick Start Guide and want to give it a look over, just use one of the download links below. The guide is free, but you have to have a Google Wallet account setup and configured for use with Google Play.
Come comment on this article: Google releases Lollipop guide in Google Play Books
Apple finally releases tool for de-registering phone number from iMessage
If you or anyone you know has switched from an iPhone to an Android phone, you might be aware of Apple’s infamous iMessage bug. If you upgraded to a new device without turning off iMessage on your old iPhone first, some of your text messages would still be send and received through iMessage, not as regular text messages. This is obviously a problem when you’re using an Android phone, or literally any other kind of phone, because iMessage is exclusive to Apple devices. This bug would cause messages to never be received and sent correctly, which is a massive headache.
Apple has finally come to their senses and released a web tool for fixing this issue. All you have to do is head to the site and punch your number and Apple ID in, and the service will send you a confirmation SMS with a code that will turn off iMessage for your account. Quick, simple, and effective.
Apple obviously doesn’t want users switching out of their ecosystem, but at least they’re playing fair and giving users an easy way out. I doubt this will cause millions of iPhone users to defect tomorrow, but it’s handy nonetheless.
source: The Verge
Come comment on this article: Apple finally releases tool for de-registering phone number from iMessage
Project Ara team working on blood oxygen level tracking module
With Project Ara, it’s easy to think of swappable modules as being easy ways to get a faster processor, or a higher resolution camera, or extra RAM. However, those modules can potentially do much, much more, including adding significant new features through hardware, such a blood oxygen level tracker.
Paul Eremenko, head of the Project Ara team, recently showed off a pulse oximeter module that measures the oxygen content in a user’s blood. The module was just a prototype, but it was completely functional and it shows the potential of adding on new modules onto a smartphone.
Eremenko believes that as smartphones begin to track more and more personal information about their owners, it wouldn’t be too crazy to think that they could hold our medical history and information at some point in the near future. Many smartphones already come preloaded with tons of fitness and health applications, so adding on some new ways to keep up with other things makes a lot of sense. It would also help many users to keep up with their health, and that’s never a bad thing.
Still, don’t expect any Project Ara stuff to be available until some time in 2015. Even then, Eremenko said they’ll be launching a pilot program, so widespread availability is something Google still has to figure out.
source: Venture Beat
Come comment on this article: Project Ara team working on blood oxygen level tracking module
Lollipop firmware for Polish variant of the LG G3 leaked
LG has already announced that they’re close to pushing out the Android Lollipop update for the G3 in Poland, but for those of you that just really cannot wait, a leaked build of the update has shown up on XDA.
The firmware is currently only available for the F400S model of the G3, which means it won’t work on every single variant. However, the good news is that it gives others a base to work with, so it’s pretty likely we’ll see it ported to other versions of LG’s flagship pretty quickly. If you’re stuck with a device that’s going to be a few months behind the update curve, this is a good thing.
You can grab the leak from the thread below, but remember, unless you have the F400S model device, this one’s not for you. Not yet, anyway.
source: XDA Developers
Come comment on this article: Lollipop firmware for Polish variant of the LG G3 leaked
Watch these adorable robots dance better than you
We’re used to seeing robots like MIT’s Cheetah that are absolutely terrifying, so starting day two of Expand New York with an android dance party was a welcome change of pace. It came, of course, by way of the folks at Aldebaran Robotics who brought a trio of their fifth-generation Nao bi-peds to bust a groove. The outfit’s James Dietrich said that while there are over 10,000 of the friendly little ‘bots in use in some 70 countries, there are a more than a few things holding us back from having Rosie from The Jetsons in our homes. Namely, the price needs to come down: developers can get one for $6,000 and a consumer model is a whopping $8,000.
More than that, Dietrich said software is a hurdle as well because domestic robotics needs to hit an “iPhone-like system where there’s a core set of apps that just make it work.” How long will that take? He guesses between three and five years before we have an assistant rolling around the house and helping get the kids ready for school. Until then, you can check out the video of the adorable humanoids just below.
Apple Launches Web Tool to Deregister Phone Numbers from iMessage
Apple today released a new web tool for users to deregister their phone number from iMessage in the event they switched to a non-Apple device. To deregister a phone number from iMessage, users simply enter their phone number in Apple’s web tool, receive a free text message containing a code, and submit the code to complete the process. Users who still have their original iPhone can also transfer their SIM card back to the device and go to Settings -> Messages to turn iMessage off.
Users switching from an iPhone to another device were often unable to receive SMS messages from another iPhone due to their phone number still being linked to iMessage. These specific errors with iMessage have been a well-known issue since 2011, which is when the messaging service debuted with iOS 5. They were also made even more apparent this past May, where a server glitch caused widespread message delivery problems. Apple was even sued over the matter in a California court, although the company claimed that it was aware of the issue and could not provide a fix.
Apple’s web tool for deregistering phone numbers from iMessage is available now.
The future of food, starring crickets and home hydroponics
Humanity currently numbers in the seven billion range. By 2050, the United Nations expects Earth to house just shy of 10 billion human beings. Sounds like a lot, right? It is, but arthropods (“insects, spiders and other arachnids, crustaceans, and myriapods”) reading along know better: our tiny companions outnumber us (and all other mammals) by a staggering margin of over 300-to-1. Though most of the world is already on board with munching insects, much of Western Europe and North America view the concept as madness. Exo, a Brooklyn-based protein bar maker, is trying to change that. For every $3 bar you eat, the protein you consume is “mostly” from (powderized) crickets, to the tune of approximately 40 crickets per bar. I tried one and can confirm: they definitely taste like protein bars, crickets or not. For Exo co-founder Greg Sewitz, the secret to getting people comfortable with eating bugs is disguising it in foods they’re already comfortable with.
Sewitz joined Engadget senior editor Nicole Lee and Niwa co-founder Agnieszka Nazaruk yesterday afternoon on stage at Engadget Expand 2014 to talk about the future of food through the scope of two companies with two very different approaches. While Sewitz is clearly pro-bug, Nazaruk and the folks at Niwa are creating a hydroponic grow chamber for indoor micro-farming. It’s not meant to replace the supermarket, but it’s a step in the direction of more sustainable food production and more nutritious eating, Nazaruk told attendees. In cutting down on transportation costs, both financial and environmental, as well as reducing the time from ground to stomach, Nazaruk argued the many benefits of home food production (even on a micro scale).
Check out the full panel below, in video form, straight from New York City’s Jacob Javits Center.
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For more Expand 2014 coverage, head to our hub right here!
[Image credit: Visuals Unlimited, Inc./David Fleetham]
Filed under: Household, Transportation, Science, Alt
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