Ford will launch an on-demand shuttle service in Kansas City
Ford’s Transit vans, which are typically used to haul equipment and supplies, will soon be shuttling people around in Kansas City. The automaker’s teaming up with ride provider Bridj and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority to boost public transportation in KC as part of its Smart Mobility plan. When the project called “Ride KC: Bridj” launches in early March, residents will be able to hail on-demand shuttles using Bridj’s mobile app. They’ll then have to meet their rides at one of the pick-up locations, mostly bus stops and similar locations.
Bridj has ongoing shuttle services in Boston and Washington, DC, but this is the first time it’s teaming up with a single automaker. Ford is setting aside 10 vans manufactured at its Kansas City Assembly Plant for the project and is even modifying them to accommodate 14 passengers. Back in December, the company also turned a few Transit vans into passenger shuttles for employees as a test run for what could become an Uber rival.
Upon launch of the one-year pilot program, Ride KC: Bridj will include downtown Kansas City, the near east and west sides, Hospital Hill, Crown Center, portions of Midtown, University of Kansas Medical Center and the Historic 18th and Vine Jazz district. It will evolve to include more locations, though, depending on rider demand. Matt George, Bridj’s CEO, says “only 18 percent of jobs in the Kansas City region are accessible within 90 minutes when using existing mass transit options.” The group is hoping that the project can create more “social and economic opportunities” for everyone in the area.
GamerGate target drops case against harasser that started it all
Game developer Zoë Quinn has been through an awful lot in the 18 months since an ex-boyfriend posted details of his relationship with her online. But now she’s dropping harassment charges against the man who essentially started the GamerGate firestorm because it’s not worth the emotional trauma to carry the case forward anymore. “Ironically, getting a restraining order against Creep Throat [Quinn’s pseudonym for her ex] was the least effective thing I could do in terms of getting him out of my life for good, and for protecting myself,” she writes.
Quinn explains that whenever something happened within the case, her ex would go back and stoke the GamerGate sympathizer fire, and in turn, she (along with family and friends) would be subjected to a new round of threats and abuse. “People kept getting hurt for being close to me, for a poorly worded restraining order that did nothing,” Quinn says.
She mentions that law enforcement officials, judges and lawyers are incredibly ignorant about how the internet works and at one point someone told her to give up her career and stop going online if she didn’t like the abuse. “He barely bothered to look at my huge stack of evidence before declaring he had no idea what the internet was about and didn’t want to know.” The continual threats are something that’s affected her work with Crash Override, the support group she and Alex Lifschitz founded for victims of online abuse, as well.
She says that even if she kept pushing her suit forward, if her ex was imprisoned his legions of followers would see it as martyrdom. Which, based on previous harassment she’s endured, Quinn says the would only give them more fuel for their attacks. So rather than continue the fight in vain, Quinn hopes her withdrawal of charges will help her heal and move on.
Source: Zoe Quinn (Tumblr)
ISIS help desk tells jihadis how to hide from authorities
The encrypted messaging service Telegram blocked 78 ISIS channels in 2015, but new ones just keep popping up. As detailed in a report provided to The Hill, the group has evolved an expanded technical “help desk” that can provide instructions to jihadists on how to escape the surveillance of Western authorities. It’s operated by a group of ISIS members collectively called the Electronic Horizon Foundation (EHF), which was launched on January 30th. As of the beginning of this week, its Telegram channel had 2,200 members, although it hasn’t posted much yet.
In 2015, the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point discovered a 24-hour team of six experts teaching members about encryption and secure communication tactics, and it appears the technique is spreading. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) says it uncovered the group, and called the “freedom and ease by which [the terrorist group] can now obtain that information” alarming. They used to stick to password-protected forums, but now it’s much easier for them to disseminate info needed to avoid capture and coordinate attacks.
Source: The Hill
Google Forms has been updated to include templates, add-ons, and more
Those who use Google Forms will be happy to learn there is a pretty major update out. Google has added many new features from templates, analyzing surveys, quizzes and event sign-up, and more.
Templates can now be selected for standard surveys such as customer feedback, and quizzes and event sign-up all from the home screen on Google Forms. Now you no longer have to start from the beginning when creating a new form. The templates should make things much easier and faster as you can simply select which one you want from the start.
Add-ons is another new addition. You can now use a few third-party tools such as Form Publisher, Choice Eliminator, and g(Math) for Form directly from Forms.
I’m sure many people will be happy to hear that Google has added a few new ways of analyzing surveys. Anyone who uses Google Apps for Work and Education will now be able to see who responded to a survey. If you see someone has “forgotten” to respond, you can simply use the “send reminder email” feature to quickly remind them again.
Source: Google Docs (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Google Forms has been updated to include templates, add-ons, and more
HTC’s smartwatch will be sold weeks before the One M10
Everyone, at least by now, knows that MWC 2016 will not be the place where the HTC One M10 launches. The plan is to host a standalone event in March or April to give the company’s newest products the ability to get as much attention as possible rather than likely being overshadowed by Samsung and LG in Barcelona later this month. Joining the One M10 as a fresh HTC product launching in 2016 will be a smartwatch known internally has Halfbreak. Interestingly, the two devices will not be made available in the United States at the same time.
Evan Blass’s sources tell him that the HTC smartwatch will launch weeks before the One M10.
Small consolation, HTC fans: you’ll be able to pick up the watch before the end of April.
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 11, 2016
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
While the One M10 should be available in the U.S. the week of May 9, the smartwatch is apparently going to be sold before the end of April. Blass, a few weeks ago, said that the HTC smartwatch should “be out” in April as well. So everything appears to be lining up as predicted, but we shouldn’t assume an announcement is coming this month like December’s claim read.
The One M10 is expected to finally put HTC up near the top of the pack in terms of specifications, a spot it has been missing from for almost two years. And that’s exactly where this company needs to be after going through yet another tough quarter. Behind the 5.2-inch Quad HD display is said to be Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB of RAM, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow covered by HTC Sense. Those are the type of things we really want from a flagship right now.
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Vatican uses Telegram to guide Catholics during Lent
When Pope Francis says he sees the internet as a blessing, he’s not just talking a big game. As part of a broader “Keep Lent” campaign beginning Wednesday, the Vatican is sending its daily readings of Gospel verses through a Telegram channel, @pgpompei — last year’s choice of messaging service (WhatsApp) just isn’t as good, it seems. You don’t have to fire up Telegram to listen, but the move shows that the Catholic leadership wants to follow its younger laypeople to the social services they’re using at the moment, rather than sticking to “safe” choices like Facebook or Twitter. Just don’t expect the Pope to get a Peach account any time soon.
Via: Quartz
Source: Vatican Radio
LG G5 already has a touch-enabled Quick Cover
There’s still over a week left before LG launches its newest flagship phone, but we know two things for certain: First, the G5 has an “Always On” display, and second, you will be able to get a Quick Cover case for it. The Korean company has announced that it’s releasing a touch-enabled case for (in its own words) a “smartphone that does not officially exist” yet. LG says the cover is wrapped in “a unique film with a glossy metallic finish” for a luxurious feel. Also, you’ll be able to take calls and control the alarm settings through its semitransparent mesh material, without having to open the case.
Like previous LG Quick Covers, it has a small window that shows a part of the screen. For the G5, it’s the part that shows the date, time and notifications on the Always On display. The company didn’t mention how much it’ll cost you on top of the phone itself, but that might be one of the things we’ll find out on February 21st. Both the G5 and the case will also be on display at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on February 22nd to 25th.
Alcatel is shipping the OneTouch Idol 4S in a virtual reality headset
Alacatel is taking a unique approach in their packaging for the OneTouch Idol 4S that rivals Google’s Cardboard VR headset. The 4S is shipping in a hard plastic case that will double as a pair of virtual reality goggles, so anyone that owns the device can get a taste of the future with their brand new phone.
Considering the Idol 4S costs less than $400, that’s a pretty great deal for a phone that includes the VR set in the box as the box. Much cheaper than buying something like Samsung’s $200 Gear VR, although maybe not quite as price conscious as Google Cardboard.
That $400 will also net you a 5.5-inch device with a 1080p display, a Snapdragon 652 CPU with 3 GB of RAM, plus expandable storage and a 16 megapixel rear shooting camera. In a market where customers are always searching for the best value for their dollar, the Idol 4S makes a very strong case.
For anyone looking for a cheaper device, Alcatel will also be offering the Idol 4 for just $250 that takes a step back in the hardware department and VR reality accessories, but still offers a Snapdragon 617 and 2 GB of RAM. Both of these phones should release in May.
If nothing in the Idol line strikes your fancy, the company also has the Pop and Pixi lines, and Plus tablet devices in the pipeline.
The Pop line undercuts the Idol phones in price, sporting some lower-end hardware for more budget-friendly price tags. The Pop 4 is due out in March with a 5-inch 720p display, 1 GB of RAM with 8 GB of internal space, and an 8 megapixel camera. The Pop 4S is slated for May alongside the Idol line and will have a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 2 GB of RAM with 16 GB of internal space, and a 13 megapixel camera.
The Pixi line will come in several size options, ranging from 4 inches to 6 inches, bottoming out in price below $100. These will begin hitting shelves in April.
The Plus line is Alcatel’s tablet family of devices, with 8 and 10-inch tablets in the Pop brand. There will also be four Pixi branded tablets that stretch from 6 inches all the way up to 10 inches, but the 10-inch tablet will have LTE connectivity and a detachable keyboard, taking a swipe at convertible tablets and laptops.
No matter what size or price range you want a device in, Alcatel has you covered this year, for better or worse. Will these devices get updates 12 months from now? Probably not, considering they’ll be releasing seven phones and six tablets in the first half of 2016 alone. But hey, they’re cheap.
source: Venture Beat
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Google announces People API, moves further away from Google+
Google has announced a new People API for Android to help apps gather information from your contacts list, which is meant to eventually replace the current Contacts API and move away from using Google+ to glean connections about a user. This is an interesting move compared to Google’s direction just a few years ago when the company was bent on forcing everything through the social media portion of their services, and really shows that Google has changed focus from Google+ back to multiple services, like Photos and Hangouts.
The new API gives developers an easy way to grab contacts and all of their linked connections and profiles, if a user grants permission. This API seems a little more focused on streamlining things and keeping that info secure and private, which is never a bad thing.
If you’re interested in looking over the documentation for the API or implementing it yourself, you can follow the links below to Google’s developer site.
source: Android Developers
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Hiker with head-mounted cameras taught drones to fly through forests
Researchers in Switzerland have developed a drone that can navigate forest trails in search of missing hikers. According to EPFL, around 1,000 people get lost in Swiss forests every year and often need to be rescued. Rather than enlisting a search party, which are limited by the number of warm bodies on hand, a fleet of drones could cover the main trails with ease. Unfortunately, while getting a drone to fly through dense wooded forests was reasonable enough, letting it navigate the territory on its own was another thing altogether.
The team decided to build a deep learning neural network that would be able to look at any image of a trail and establish where it led. In order to gather this images, it strapped a series of cameras to a hiker that wandered along the pathways. This footage was then run through a custom image classifier that could take a single frame and determine if the correct path was right, left or straight on. The idea being that, rather than tying up human operators, they could simply form their own search party and make their own way out. Naturally, we’re still a way away from this system being used out in the wild, but it’s a pretty exciting use for the technology.
Of course, should Skynet suddenly decide that it wants to hunt the most dangerous game of all, we won’t even be able to use the forests as natural cover.
Source: EPFL
AIVAnet 