LG G5 is now available at Three UK

Three UK has the LG G5 available for sale with a variety of plan options available. Packages start from £25 a month (with an upfront fee of £99), which will bag you just 500MB of data. For an unlimited data allowance, you’ll be looking to part with £50 per month.

The G5 is listed in black and comes with 32GB of onboard storage. This is accompanied by a 2.1GHz quad-core processor, 4G LTE support, 5.3-inch QHD display, and a 2800mAh battery. Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow comes pre-installed and ready to go.

See at Three

LG G5

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• LG G5 complete specs
• LG’s G5 Friends modules are a neat idea, but they won’t matter
• LG G5 Hi-Fi Plus w/ B&O
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Three new Indian railway stations can now keep you connected with free Google Wi-Fi

Three more Indian railway stations are now offering free Wi-Fi to passengers on the network. Should you happen to be waiting for a connecting service at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, Raipur in Chhattisgarh and Kacheguda in Telengana, you’ll be able to remain connected for free. Google is partnering up with RailTel to provide high-speed internet to commuters at supported locations.

Google is leveraging the Indian Railways’ RailTel service, which delivers internet services through an extensive fiber network dubbed as RailWire. The public Wi-Fi on offer will be fast enough to stream a video in HD, and while there wasn’t a mention of bandwidth consumption limits, Google states that the connection will be throttled after the first hour of usage to prevent any misuse.

It’s noted by The Indian Times that by the end of 2016 railway stations at Allahabad, Bhopal, Pune, Ranchi, Ernakulum, Jaipur, Patna and Guwahati will have free Wi-Fi access available.

Teardown reveals Huawei P9 dual-camera module is smaller than that of the iPhone 6s

The team at iFixit is back again, this time showing us what makes up the insides of the Huawei P9. Once opened, it is immediately obvious that the battery is the biggest component in there. This left Huawei with very little room to pack all the rest of the components, but thanks to some creative designing, the company still managed to pack this thing full of great features.

From the dual-camera assembly for the rear camera to the easy to replace USB-C port, the inside is just as nice as the outside. Some of the key findings from the iFixit teardown include:

• The dual-camera assembly is noticeably shorter than the bump-inducing iPhone 6s camera, but not by much.
• Despite rumors of a headphone jack free iPhone, the P9 features a standard 3.5 mm audio jack, compatible with your existing headphones.
• The USB-C daughterboard also comes free with minimal hangers-on.
• Huawei lists a couple specs for their battery: A “rated capacity” of 11.08 Wh and a “typical capacity” a bit higher at 11.46 Wh.

For a full list of the findings, and some additional images of the internals, be sure to check out iFixit’s full teardown report.

Huawei P9 and P9 Plus

• Huawei P9 review
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Verizon’s Galaxy S7 and S7 edge update makes it easier to tell if your SIM tray isn’t closed and more

Verizon is now pushing out an update for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge which brings a number of new features to the phones. To ensure that the phone remains waterproof at all times, Verizon now displays a pop-up when the SIM tray is not fully closed. Additionally, there are some improvements to managing memory use of individual apps and more.

Verizon notes that some of the changes for both phones include:

• This software update brings the latest security patches and improvements to various settings and features.
• Added a SIM/SD Card pop-up reminder to close the tray if it’s left open.
• It’s easier to check individual app performance and memory usage in the Application Manager.
• Easier instructions on how to turn and turn off the Always on Display feature, which dims display brightness for better nighttime use.
• When traveling outside your default time zone, the dual clock displays the current time under “Roaming.”

For the Galaxy S7 edge, the update also brings two other features:

• You can now learn more about Enhanced features, voice commands with S Voice, new Themes and how to use the Edge screen, in Help > New features.
• The Calendar Edge panel now provides a quick glance of upcoming events and location information.

In addition, you’ve got new helpful hints in the Smart Switch app, fixed Outlook email sync when in Power Saving mode, more consistent connection to Network Extenders and more. The update is just beginning to push out, so it may be a day or two before you see it hit your phone. To check for it manually, head into your Settings, then About phone and finally check for the update.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

• Galaxy S7 review
• Galaxy S7 edge review
• Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
• Should you upgrade to the Galaxy S7?
• Learn about the Galaxy S7’s SD card slot
• Join our Galaxy S7 forums

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As drones get smarter, so must their owners

On Sunday, April 17th, British Airways flight BA727 from Geneva to London was coming in to land, when the pilot saw something — reportedly a drone — strike the front of the aircraft. The collision was said to have happened above Richmond Park, an area where drone flying is prohibited (but not because of its proximity to the airport). Perhaps, more worrying, was that the impact happened at 1,700 feet — well above the 400 feet height limit for all drone flights in the UK, even in permissible areas. Fortunately, BA727 landed safely and without incident. It was also probably a false alarm. But, with more and more amateur drone pilots taking to the skies, how long until it happens for real?

If the BA incident had involved a drone, I might have had mixed feelings. Last summer, I was testing a drone. To evaluate the device and its camera, I wanted to find a safe, yet picturesque place to fly. I chose a quiet stretch of beach, a short bus ride south of where I live in Spain. I say quiet: That was until two police officers rolled over the sand dunes on quad bikes and told me to stop. It turns out that I, too, was in a national park. How can I roll my eyes when I’ve done the same thing? (I never have, nor will ever fly at 1,700 feet, though). In my (weak) defense, I knew it was near a national park, but thought I was outside the boundary.

Almost a year later, I’m testing another drone: the FlyPro XEagle Sport. This time I want zero chance of encountering the police (or airliners full of people). But it’s no simple task. In fact, for a car-less city dweller, finding somewhere scenic and legal without plenty of planning is hard. But, tough noogies, right? As more drones fly themselves, filming us autonomously, we need to be more careful. A smart drone still needs a smart human.

The XEagle is one such drone — a “follow me” quadcopter for capturing sporting moments, similar to AirDog. The “Sport” edition has no ground station (controller). Instead, the XEagle follows a wearable that looks like an ’80s-era Casio for kids. You can buy a ground station for it, but all I have is the wrist-watch thing. All the more reason to find somewhere open and away from people.

With no “sticks,” you have less immediate control over a drone. The XEagle lands at the press of a button, and there are dials on the watch to move it up/down and left/right, but this is still hardly what I’d call “control.” Even then there are problems. If there’s a barking dog or an object below it, or it’s now unsafe to land where you took off, you don’t have many options. The main photo for this article is the XEagle landing in a pothole it obviously couldn’t see. In fairness, it righted itself, and returned to the spot where it took off; it just did a little gardening along the way.

When searching for a good place to fly, Google Maps is an obvious place to start. I used its measurement tool to draw a five-mile line from the nearest point of the airport (the distance Spain’s aviation authority requires). I then drew a circle with that radius in Photoshop. This gave me an easy view of the most important no-fly zone where I am (Valencia). Local laws also require you fly in unpopulated areas. That means nowhere residential, obviously.

This effectively means I must leave the city, as there are no parks big enough to comfortably avoid people. Valencia’s airport is to the west, meaning I must focus my search on the east — which is hemmed off by the sea. Beaches are off-limits if there are people, so it’s either gamble on an early-morning flight or look elsewhere. Given my experience last time, I decide to look elsewhere.

You might be thinking, aren’t there apps that make it easy to see no fly zones? There are. There’s the FAA’s B4UFLY and Air Map, among others. The problem is, knowing where you can’t fly isn’t the same as knowing where you can.

There are tools for this, too. But none seem to have nailed it. Drone Zones lets users add spots, but lacks a large community. DJI’s +Discover has the potential user base, but is relatively new, and flying hot spots are only a minor feature within the app. DJI compiles data from users’ flights to map these “hot spots” automatically. At least it does in China. The version for Europe and the US did offer this feature, but privacy concerns led the company to put the feature on hold. When I asked DJI why it removed hot spots, a spokesperson said: “While we initially launched the hotspot feature outside China, we weren’t satisfied with the experience it created and temporarily removed that functionality.”

For the brief moment it was there, though, I found two hot spots near me. One within my “airport circle” (it’s since disappeared), so that’s out. The second was near a town called Alboraia just outside the city. Google Earth shows the spot to be wasteland surrounded by fields. It’s not going to be scenic, but for testing the XEagle, it could be ideal.

The patch of land is a short metro ride from where I live, tucked away behind the town. It’s the sort of place where people dump old furniture and fridges (I determine this from the old furniture and fridges lying around). It’s otherwise barren — perfect for testing a drone that may or may not follow me around, as advertised.

The reason DJI doesn’t want to include flight hot spots in the new edition of app is that there’s not enough data to safely anonymize things. If I saw a DJI pilot at this piece of wasteland, for example, there’s a statistically high chance it’d be the person from the app. That said, the feature’s success in China shows what can happen when the location data is used wisely. If there were an app that offered the same thing for all drones, it’d be the perfect discovery tool. As you can see from the screenshot above (Shenzhen left; Valencia right) good use of data is the key to finding safe, scenic places to fly.

Of course, there’s a broader, more serious point to be made here. I’m just flying for fun and photos. But many of the same problems I face apply to more serious applications. As Drone Advocate, Peter Sachs, reminds us. “Unlike traditional model aircraft, drones are useful. To be useful, drones will (and should) be used in urban areas.” Sachs points to journalists, or first responders that are using drones in the city for good. “If populated areas were to be considered off limits, it pretty much defeats the whole purpose of them using drones.”

In that context, I’m suddenly more happy with my little patch of dirt. And I’m pleased that technology helped me find it. It’s perfect for testing the XEagle. I’ve learned that the drone follows you well, but it’s prone to random adjustments. It offers decent battery life (about 20 minutes flying time) and while it comes with a camera, you’ll probably want to upgrade it to a GoPro (the included one is a cheap clone). When it goes on sale for $489, it will make for a decent introduction to autonomous flying, though it lacks the polish of its pricier rival, AirDog.

More importantly, I enjoy the peace of mind knowing I can legally fly it. That’s especially true as I continue to master the drone’s quirky controls. For example, rotating the dial on the watch-thingy’s face moves it around you in a fixed circle. But, in practice, that only works if you’re moving (I guess so it knows which way is “front”). Occasionally the drone realizes it’s behind me, when it should be in front. Dutifully it flies over me to correct that. This kind of behavior would be perilous if there were trees or power lines around.

And that’s the thing. With autonomous flying comes an uneasy feeling. Perhaps it’s healthy nerves. Perhaps it’s a reaction to relinquishing control. Perhaps it’s unreasonable fear that a “BA727 incident” could happen to even the most well-intended drone pilot. As apps like Drone Zones and DJI +Discover show, the smarts to solve these problems are already there; it’s up to the drone community to apply them. They don’t just apply to urban flyers, either. Everyone wants to find that literal sweet spot. Don’t just tell us where we can’t fly: Help us find the places we should fly.

Source: Kickstarter, FlyPro

Uber can’t dodge assault lawsuit because of contract drivers

Uber drivers may legally be contractors rather than employees, but that doesn’t absolve the company of liability in assault cases. A federal judge in California has denied the ride-sharing company’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit for attacks against two riders. One of Uber’s main arguments was that the drivers aren’t employees, so it isn’t responsible for his actions. However, the judge ruled that “plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts to claim plausibly that an employment relationship exists.”

Uber also argued that in one case, the driver wasn’t using the Uber app when he picked up the female victim. However, the judge shot that down too, because the passenger still believed the attacker “was acting in his capacity as an Uber driver,” since he had picked up her group earlier.

It’s one more judge independently agreeing that at least as far as it appears, Uber is treating these drivers more like employees than like independent contractors.

The ride-sharing firm argued that it can’t be held liable because “sudden sexual assaults by employees are outside the scope of an employee’s duties and cannot support employer liability.” However, the judge pointed out that for the purposes of the case, Uber is a “common carrier” like a taxi company, and duty-bound to protect passenger from assault. In addition, the company allegedly failed to spot an assault conviction of one of the drivers in 2003, because its background checks only go back seven years.

The case brings up more questions about the safety of Uber’s service — the company recently admitted it had 170 complaints of sexual assault between 2012 and 2015, including five rapes. Jeanne Christensen, the lawyer for the plaintiffs told Buzzfeed that “I would hope now that when claims are brought to lawyers they’ll head to the internet and see this decision and feel more confident bringing a lawsuit.” Furthermore, she feels that the despite the decision that drivers aren’t employees, law courts aren’t necessarily seeing it that way. “It’s one more judge independently agreeing that at least as far as it appears, Uber is treating these drivers more like employees than like independent contractors.”

Via: Buzzfeed

Source: Wigdor Law

‘Pocket’ for iOS Updated With Like and Repost Actions in Recommended Feed

Pocket, a popular iOS app that allows users to save, discover, and recommend stories to read later, has been updated this week with the ability to like and repost recommendations from other people they follow.

The new Like and Repost actions can be found next to the Save action within the Recommendations feed on Pocket version 6.3.0 or later.

Pocket users can also find out when someone Likes or Reposts their own recommendations by way of push notifications, which can be customized through the Settings app.

The update contains additional bug fixes and improvements, including a fix for an issue with the “Alex” voice speaking too slowly when listening to articles.

Pocket is free on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone and iPad.

Tags: App Store, Pocket
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