Amazon Prime Video is now a standalone monthly service

Starting tomorrow, you won’t need to pay $100 in one shot to sign up for a year of Amazon Prime, according to the New York Times. The retail giant will not only launch a monthly option for its full Prime service at $10.99 per month, but will also break out its Prime Video service for $8.99 a month. The streaming option appears to be a concerted effort by the retail giant to take on Netflix, which recently increased the price of its services to new users from $8.99 to $9.99.

Sprint recently started offering monthly Amazon Prime subscriptions (but not Prime Video) for the same price. That may have served as a live test for Amazon, which liked the results enough to launch the service itself. However, Amazon tried offering Prime as a monthly $7.99 a month service back in 2012 and quietly dropped the idea.

The $99 annual option is still available and is a much better deal, assuming you can afford to pay in one chunk. Going with the full Prime option by the month would cost you an extra $32, while the $8.99 per month Prime Video subscription would be $107.88, still more than an annual subscription to Prime. However, thanks to Netflix, people have gotten used to a monthly subscription model, so this time, Amazon’s foray into periodic pricing might work.

Source: The New York Times

Study: we can ditch fossil fuels in 10 years, if we want to

The quest to end the use of fossil fuels might not be as daunting as you think. A University of Sussex study claims that humanity could drop coal and oil within a decade, based largely on historical evidence that many tend to overlook. Professor Benjamin Sovacool notes that energy transitions have happened quickly whenever there was a combination of “strong government intervention” with economic or environmental incentives to switch. It only took 11 years for the Canadian province of Ontario to abandon coal energy, for example, while nuclear power surged to 40 percent of France’s electricity supply within 12 years. In the case of fossil fuels, it’s a combination of climate change worries, dwindling resources and advanced technology that could step up the pace.

The researcher admits that these handovers tend to move slowly if left to their own devices, such as the decades it took for electricity to see widespread adoption. However, Professor Sovacool argues that the mainstream notion that these transitions must happen slowly doesn’t really hold water. They just need a concerted, collaborative effort, he says.

Of course, actually creating that effort is another matter. While electric cars and renewable energy are quickly hitting their stride, there’s also stiff opposition from the fossil fuel industry (and the politicians that protect it) to the sort of regulation that would speed up the use of cleaner power sources. Also, developing countries seldom have the luxury of dropping fossil fuels — it’d cost too much, or leave too many people without reliable electricity. An accelerated transition might not happen until the political and economic advantages are so overwhelming that even the staunchest opponents concede defeat.

Via: Phys.org

Source: University of Sussex, ScienceDirect

You can predict city gentrification through check-ins and tweets

Do you dread the thought of gentrification jacking up real estate prices (and stifling culture) in your neighborhood? In the future, you might only need keep tabs on social networks to know when your part of town is changing — British researchers have learned that Foursquare check-ins and Twitter posts can help predict gentrification. If many people start visiting unfamiliar locations in materially-deprived neighborhoods (say, trendy new restaurants) with their friends, that’s usually a good sign that these areas will be gentrified before long. Accordingly, places that are dominated by locals and regulars tend to resist that shift, no matter the income levels.

Moreover, the very people who tend to use Foursquare and Twitter work to the advantage of this predictive model. The researchers believe that the people who most often use these networks tend to be the affluent types who create gentrification. The very fact that they’re showing up in a given region, however temporarily, may be proof enough that demographics are changing.

There’s only been a limited amount of testing so far, but it’s promising. The check-ins and tweets accurately predicted the gentrification of London’s Hackney area in recent years, and they’ve already identified a few additional areas (Greenwich, Hammersmith, Lambeth and Tower Hamlets) that could be next. Provided this method holds up, it could give communities a chance to mitigate the negative effects of gentrification before it’s too late, such as by working on affordable housing.

Via: Wired

Source: University of Cambridge

Amazon rolls out monthly subscriptions for Prime and Prime Video

Amazon is now offering monthly subscription plans for its Prime service, which is available for $10.99 a month. The retailer is also targeting Netflix by making Prime Video available as a standalone service for $8.99 a month.

A yearly subscription of Prime costs $99, which includes full access to Prime Video. Opting for the monthly route will set you back $131.88 over the course of a year, or 25% more than the annual subscription fee. And that does not include Prime Video. But if you are looking to avail the benefits on offer with Prime — such as free two-day shipping — and not be tied down to a yearly commitment, the new plans are worthy of consideration.

The monthly subscription plans will be available to customers in the U.S. from later tonight, according to CNNMoney.

See at Amazon

Beverly Hills is creating its own fleet of self-driving cars

Picture the streets of Beverly Hills and you probably imagine seas of ultra-luxurious cars piloted by celebrities or their chauffeurs. However, you may have to get used to a new sight in the future: hordes of vehicles with no drivers at all. The city’s council has voted to produce a fleet of self-driving cars that would provide on-demand shuttle service around town. The system would lean on a city-wide fiber optic network, already in the design stages, to keep these driverless rides talking to the neighborhood and each other. The first phase of the resolution would have Beverly Hills forming partnerships with autonomy-minded car brands like Google and Tesla, so this would be more of a collaboration than a from-scratch project.

There’s no concrete timetable for the fleet, but Beverly Hills is potentially very well-suited to an experiment like this. The burg is both very small (just 5.7 square miles) and wealthy — it can afford to blanket its entire area with self-driving service in a way that would be impractical for most any other metropolis, at least in the next few years. If Beverly Hills’ plan works reasonably well, though, it could serve as a template for larger-scale autonomous driving efforts in other parts of the world.

Via: Hollywood Reporter

Source: City of Beverly Hills (PDF)

Sphericam creates live 4K VR video in 360-degrees, as if you were there

The future of broadcast is in virtual reality, where viewers feel as if they’re really in the action with a 360-degree view. It’s Sphericam that’s going to help bring that future closer.

The Sphericam 2 is a VR camera that, unlike others out there, can stitch together the video from its 4K60p cameras live. That means there’s no need for editing afterwards and that the footage can technically be broadcast live, as it’s happening.

It also means the entire process happens within the camera itself which is battery powered and the size of a baseball. That means it can easily be mounted via a pole that allows for a 360-degree perspective. It also means the footage captured is, as the company says, “Oculus ready” to be viewed directly in virtual reality.

That should mean that Sphericam 2 does for VR video capture what GoPro did for high quality action camera recording. This could put the power of live VR broadcasting into the hands of far more people. Here’s hoping VR continues to catch on so there’s an audience waiting to enjoy it all.

Despite being a world first the company aims to sell the Sphericam 2 for $2,500 when it becomes available later in the summer after going into full production from July.

READ: Samsung Gear 360 camera preview

Venus probe’s first detailed results reveal strange clouds

Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft almost didn’t make it into orbit around Venus, but it’s clear that the effort to put it back on track is paying off. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency recently obtained the first detailed scientific results from its once-wayward probe, and it’s clear that we still have a lot to learn about our closest planetary cousin. For one thing, its clouds don’t entirely behave the way researches expect. Infrared images of its dense, multi-layer cloud layers suggest that cloud formation is more complex than once thought, and the unusual bow-shaped cloud formation (shown at right) appears to rotate in sync with the surface, not the atmosphere. It’s possible that features on the ground are having a strong effect on the sky.

The probe has its share of challenges. Its orbit is far more elongated than JAXA originally planned, so it’ll only have a very brief window to snap high-detail pictures. Also, the years-long delay in getting to Venus nearly cost the team valuable data — accumulated water vapor rendered one camera inoperable for about a month. Still, the team is optimistic about the future. Akatsuki is just now beginning regular operations, and the highly eccentric orbit will provide an opportunity to track Venus’ major features over long periods.

Source: Nature

Mobile Nations Weekly: The power of 10

All the tens in all the places.

The subject of many leaks and speculation is here — no, not the iPhone 7 — it’s the HTC 10!. But it’s going up against some strong competition in the Galaxy S7 and the LG G5.

The Apple front was rather quiet, with ongoing speculation about an update and renaming of Mac OS X and the much-anticipated iPhone 7 — though neither will be here exactly soon.

Microsoft was in full update mode, with updates for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile, as well as updates for the various preview builds for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

All this and much much more on this edition of Mobile Nations Weekly!

Android Central — Turn it up to 10

After plenty of leaks and oh-so-much speculation, the HTC 10 is here. Dropping the “M” from the name didn’t change the fact that this is undeniably an HTC phone, and early views are positive. We put together a fantastic first look at the 10, compared its specs to the competition and showed off our initial camera samples. We also broke down our initial thoughts in a special edition HTC 10 podcast!

And if you’re interested in getting an HTC 10 for yourself, the pre-order price is $100 off, making it extremely enticing.

Though the HTC 10 announcement was big news this week, we’re only slightly removed from retail availability of the LG G5. We posted our complete review of the phone, and followed it up with a second opinion as well. We also reviewed two of its “friends,” the LG 360 Cam and the Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play module.

If you’re not interested in either phone, and have a Nexus in your hands, you may be looking at the second iteration of the Android N Developer Preview. It’s very early still, and things are broken, but it’s awesome to see this coming together.

• A generation without colorful phones
• HTC 10 versus Galaxy S7: A grown-up rivalry
• Comparing the LG G5’s rear cameras
• Galaxy S7 versus Nexus 5X: Same size, different audiences
• How much RAM do you need in a Chromebook?
• Should you upgrade to the Galaxy S7?
• Are the Galaxy S7’s in-box headphones worth your time?

CrackBerry — Surprise!

Surprises were on tap this week in the world of BlackBerry. Both good and bad. Sprint killed killed plans to release the BlackBerry Priv, Marshmallow began rolling out to beta testers and finally, Twitter for BlackBerry, which was in desperate need of an update, was updated! That last one might not sound important but it really is. The app was still showing Ellen’s now famous selfie from the Oscars in 2014.

• Priv will no longer be offered by Sprint
• Marshmallow beta will soon begin rolling out to first wave of Priv testers
• Twitter for BlackBerry 10 updated to add new features
  BlackBerry Priv begins sales in Mexico on Amazon

iMore — Games! Games! Games!

We’ve got your Neko Atsume game tips and tricks and your Kingdom Hearts Unchained X tips and tricks. If productivity is your thing, we’ll tell you how to use Calendar for iPhone and iPad and then how to Snapchat all about it.

Meanwhile, everyone is talking about macOS this June and iPhone 7 this September, and we have everything you need to tide you over until they get here!

• Best free apps for iPhone
• Best handwriting apps for Apple Pencil
• Yes iPad can really be ‘Pro’ and other things we need to relax about
• ec-o-sys-tem: The key to Apple’s success

Windows Central — Updates for updates

Microsoft had a very busy week with multiple launches and releases! For the Surface Pro 4 comes a new Signature Edition Type Cover layered with famed (and smooth) Alcantara fabric available now for $159.

On Tuesday, Microsoft released Windows 10 build 10586.218 for both PC and Mobile at the same time. Both updates bring various improvements, fixes, and features.

Speaking of Windows 10 Mobile a new Anniversary Update Preview (build 14322) rolled out for phone users with a revamped and improved Cortana, support for Ethernet, Notification Center changes, and many more small improvements making the 11th OS update in five months one of the biggest yet. Even Groove Music got a big update too. Watch our hands-on video to see it all in action.

Finally, Microsoft is suing the US Federal government over the right to reveal data requests just as the Department of Defense is recommending Windows 10 to its employees for use at home. Awkward!

• You can totally stream Xbox One games to the HoloLens and play them
• Hands-on with Insider Build 14322 for Windows 10 Mobile
• How Samsung Flow already uses Windows Hello to unlock the Galaxy TabPro S
• How to roll back Windows 10 Mobile from Fast and Slow Ring to Production release

High-tech scalpel makes brain surgery less risky

The “smart scalpel” developed by a researcher named David Oliva Uribe in Brussels, Belgium doesn’t look or even work like a conventional scalpel. It has no edge, has a sensor-rich sphere at the tip, and instead of having the capability to cut people open, it can differentiate between cancerous tumors and normal brain tissue. A surgeon simply has to swipe it across the brain’s surface to get a visual or an auditory result about the tissue’s status in half a second. The tool’s especially useful when locating early stage tumors, which still look similar to healthy tissue.

Uribe explained:

“Although imaging techniques such as an MRI and an ultrasound locate a tumor accurately before the surgery, during the cranial opening and throughout the surgical procedure there are many factors that can lead to the loss of this position, so the resection (the removing of the tumor) depends on the experience, as well as the senses of sight and touch of the surgeon.”

His scalpel has only been tested on pigs’ brains and artificial tumors thus far, so it could take many years (and numerous clinical/human trials) before it’s used in operating rooms. If it passes those trials in flying colors, it could be tweaked for use in other areas of the body, such as the stomach and the intestine. Uribe isn’t the only scientist developing a tool that can make cancer surgery and removing tumors less risk. Back in 2013, researchers from London’s Imperial College created a “smart knife” that can distinguish cancerous from healthy tissues as it cuts.

Via: PopSci

Source: AlphaGalileo

Best Buy, Staples Offering up to $150 off 12.9-inch iPad Pro Stock

For today only, Best Buy is offering 5 off its entire selection of 12.9-inch iPad Pros, including the 256GB WiFi + Cellular version in Gold, Silver, and Space Gray.

Apple’s latest top tier cellular-equipped 12.9-inch iPad Pro is currently priced at $1,104.99, rather than the recommended retail price of $1,229, while the 128GB cellular version is tagged at $954.99, compared to Apple’s RRP of $1,079. The 256GB 12.9-inch iPad Pro sans cellular is also on sale at the online store for $974.99 (RRP $1,099).

Meanwhile, Best Buy’s stock of 128GB Wi-Fi-only 12.9-inch iPad Pros are on offer for $824.99 (RRP $949), although potential buyers of the non-cellular version at the middle tier capacity may want to check in at Staples first with their Best Buy Price Match Guarantee in mind.

As if in response, the office supplies retailer is running its own one-day-only deal, offering an even more attractive $150 discount on its stock of 128GB 12.9-inch iPad Pros in all colors, now costing just $799 each. Meanwhile the 32GB capacity has had $100 slashed off its price tag, now on sale for $699 (RRP $799).

For a full list of this week’s deals and discounts, make sure to check out our dedicated deals roundup, which is updated on a daily basis with new accessories, significant deals, and app discounts. It also contains a price list for all of Apple’s major products and is an excellent resource for finding the best deal on a Mac or iPad.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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