AP: VW will shell out $10.2 billion to settle emissions claims
Volkswagen is set to pay $10.2 billion to settle claims in the emissions-dodging scandal, the AP reports. Last year, Volkswagen was caught using software that disguised the true emissions output of 600,000 of its diesel vehicles sold since 2008, and the scandal may affect as many as 11 million automobiles worldwide. So far, the boondoggle has cost Volkswagen an estimated $18.2 billion and it led to the resignation of CEO Martin Winterkorn, among other executives.
Reports surfaced in April that Volkswagen would buy back roughly 500,000 affected vehicles, plus offer extra cash to their owners from an apology fund totaling $1 billion.
Source: The AP
Instagram adds more video channels to your ‘Explore’ feed
Back in April, Instagram added a channel feature to the “Explore” feed inside its apps. Those video channels are getting a lot more options today, displaying content based on the topics that interest you most. In fact, there are 23 different categories total, ranging from baking to hair and makeup tips, trick shots, dancing, art, travel and more. The new channels get pretty specific too, as dog lovers can expect dedicated feeds for Pitbulls, for example. Instead of the broad “Videos You Might Like,” you’ll be greeted with a “Picked For You” feed that fits one of nearly three dozen topics.
Instagram says that the time users are spending watching videos in the app have increased 150 percent in the last 6 months. That’s a period that includes the company bumping the time limit for footage to a full minute. These new channels offer a way to cut through the clutter and find posts you’ll be interested in quickly and easily. Like the initial “Explore” video channels, these new ones are only available in the US for now, but Instagram says it plans to ship the feature to the rest of the world “soon.”
FAA fines Amazon for two more shipments of unlabeled chemicals
Last week, the FAA announced a $350,000 fine for Amazon after the retailer mishandled chemical shipments that resulted in injuries to UPS workers. Today, the agency hit the company with two more fines totaling $130,000 for similar incidents. In 2014, Amazon shipped separate packages, corrosive rust remover and a flammable gas used to clean air conditioners without properly labeling the boxes or sending along the required paperwork. Failure to do so violates the FAA’s hazardous materials guidelines. The box containing Rid O’ Rust Stain Preventer Acid leaked through, but there were no injuries reported.
These two new fines come just days after the FAA cited Amazon for shipping commercial-strength drain cleaner without the appropriate markings and papers. In that case, nine UPS workers had to be treated with a chemical wash after the container leaked and exposed them to the contents. The two penalties come from incidents at FedEx and UPS facilities in which the FAA says Amazon not only failed to mark the boxes and include paperwork, but it also didn’t include emergency response instructions in the event of a chemical spill or leak.
Via: Wall Street Journal
Source: FAA (1), (2)
Apple Music Preparing for Launch in Korea
Apple Music is gearing up for a launch within Korea, according to a few local media outlets within the country. As reported by The Korea Herald, no firm date has been given for the launch yet, but an official from a music copyright association in Korea confirmed that contract negotiations with Apple have gone through, so the debut is expected sometime soon.
“We formed a contract with Apple Music to begin streaming service here,” said an official from Federation of Korean Music Performers. “We made agreements on how to pay the copyright fees to the artists.“
Previous attempts by Apple to introduce the streaming service in Korea failed when similar terms fell through due to strict copyright laws within the country, as well as “a lack of consensus” among local associations like Korean Music Performers.
Apple Music’s debut still has a few hurdles to surpass before it arrives in Korea, including the formation and signing of contracts with local music organizations like Korea Music Copyright Association and the Recording Industry Association of Korea. The company will also have to create deals with Korea’s major record distributors like KT Music and LEON Entertainment, which is the owner of “Korea’s top digital music streaming-download service,” called “Melon.”
Currently, Apple Music is available in over 100 territories including Africa, the Middle East, India, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada.
Tag: Apple Music
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Apple Hires Sage Bionetworks President Stephen Friend for Health-Related Projects
Sage Bionetworks president and co-founder Stephen Friend is joining Apple to work on health related projects, according to a press release Sage Bionetworks shared this morning (via Business Insider). Though not specified in the press release, Friend will likely be joining Apple to work on its CareKit and ResearchKit projects.
Friend connected with Apple through ResearchKit, which Sage has been involved in since before ResearchKit launched in 2015.
Sage Bionetworks designed and launched two of the first ResearchKit studies, including the mPower study on Parkinson’s Disease and the Share the Journey study for breast cancer survivors. The company also developed and launched Bridge Server, software that provides back-end data collection and distribution for mobile health apps, which is used by other ResearchKit participants.
As stated by Dr. Friend, “Even though it has been exciting to watch a shift in how researchers work together and in how patients track their own disease, most exciting is how well Sage is now positioned to continue this quest to change how research is done and how people manage their health.”
Prior to co-founding Sage Bionetworks, where he will stay on as chairman of the board, Friend, a noted cancer researcher, led oncology research at Merck & Co and served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School.
Since launching in 2015, ResearchKit studies have been conducted in many countries around the world, including Australia, Austria, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US, and have covered issues like asthma, postpartum depression, and cardiovascular disease.
Following the success of its ResearchKit platform, Apple has expanded its healthcare efforts with the April launch of CareKit. While ResearchKit is designed to help researchers collect information from thousands of patients at one time to study diseases, CareKit allows developers to build apps that will let doctors better interface with patients.
Tags: ResearchKit, CareKit
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Samsung Notebook 7 spin (15-inch) Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Samsung
Despite pulling out of both Europe and Australia, Samsung is still selling laptops in the US and it’s doing a pretty good job of it. The Notebook 7 Spin is actually a range of the three different two-in-one laptops hitting Best Buy and Samsung’s online store on June 26.
The “Spin” part of the name refers to the 360-degree hinge that lets you fold the screen all the way over for tablet mode or somewhere in between for tent mode. There are three models: two 15.6-inch screen versions with similar configurations and a 13.3-inch lower-end model. That one starts at just $799 while the larger sizes come in at $999 and $1,199.
Samsung is hyping up the Notebook 7 as being “designed for multimedia enthusiasts” and the company has a Video HDR mode built in that will sharpen and enhance colours and textures when turned on. All three models have a Full HD (1,920×1,080-pixel) screen, and the differences break down as such:
| Price | $799 | $999 | $1,999 |
| Screen | 13.3-inch Full HD | 15.6-inch Full HD | 15.6-inch Full HD |
| Processor | 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-6200U | 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U | 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 520 | Nvidia GeForce 940MX with 2GB | Nvidia GeForce 940MX with 2GB |
| Memory | 8GB | 12GB | 16GB |
| Storage | 1TB | 1TB | 1TB plus 128GB SSD |
| Dimension/Weight | 12.75×8.98×0.78 inches (323.4×227.7×19.8mm) and 3.9 pounds (1.75kg) | 14.74×10.11×0.78 inches (374.5×256.9x 19.8mm) and 5 pounds (2.25kg) | 14.74×10.11×0.78 inches (374.5×256.9×19.8mm) and 5 pounds (2.25kg) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 | Windows 10 | Windows 10 |
The Notebook 7 Spin also has fast-charging technology. Twenty minutes of charge equals 2 hours of battery life, while the device will be fully charged in 90 minutes for the 15.6-inch versions and 100 minutes for the 13.3.
Samsung
A base 1TB of storage even on the low-end model is a welcome touch, as is the LAN port for both the 15.6-inch models. There’s a USB-C port across the board, along with two USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 ports. If you’re wondering if there’s a drawback to all this, it’s probably in the weight. At 5 pounds for the big screen and 3.9 pounds for the smaller model, the Notebook 7 spin is pretty hefty, especially compared to the Samsung Notebook 9 which tips the scales at just 2.9 pounds.
JBL Charge 3 review – CNET
The Good The JBL Charge 3 is a well-designed, fully waterproof portable Bluetooth speaker that features good battery life and doubles as an external charger for your portable devices. It also has built-in speakerphone capabilities, and plays loudly with strong bass for its size and price class.
The Bad While it plays louder than the JBL Charge 2+ it doesn’t sound as good.
The Bottom Line The JBL Charge 3 is larger than its predecessor, fully waterproof, and plays louder — but it should sound a little better.
There are a zillion wireless Bluetooth speakers you can buy these days, but three brands rise to the top of the heap: Bose, Ultimate Ears and JBL. And of those three, only JBL makes models that also double as backup batteries for phones and other USB-powered devices: the Charge line.
The JBL Charge 3 looks similar to the highly rated JBL Charge 2+ and has the same list price of $150 and £150. (It’s not available in Australia, but that US price converts to about AU$200.) While the Charge 2+ is water resistant, its successor model is fully waterproof, with IPX7 certification, which means it can be completely submersed in water for a short period. Like its predecessors, you can lay it flat or stand it up vertically. And, for better or worse, the new model is about 20 percent larger and heavier.
It delivers an impressive 20 hours of battery life and also has speakerphone capabilities. Using the JBL Connect app you can wirelessly link think this to other JBL Connect enabled speakers to amplify the sound and widen the soundstage.
HP Spectre review – CNET
The Good The HP Spectre is remarkably thin while still managing to fit in Core i5 and Core i7 processors. The keyboard is excellent for such a slim body, and the bold design stands out in a sea of thin ultraportables.
The Bad The lack of a touchscreen is a big omission for a premium Windows laptop, and the limited ports may force you to carry extra dongles and accessories.
The Bottom Line If you can work with USB-C ports and a nontouch display, the HP Spectre offers a great design and excellent performance in the world’s thinnest full-power laptop body.
To touch or not to touch. That is the question asked of many Windows laptops, from bulky budget boxes to the slimmest premium systems. HP has two new high-end, very thin laptops, and it answers that question differently in each model.
While the 12-inch EliteBook Folio G1 is available with a 1080 or 4K touch screen (there’s also an entry-level nontouch version), the much-buzzed-about 13-inch Spectre has only one display option, a 1,920×1,080 nontouch screen.
View full gallery
Sarah Tew/CNET
It’s a trade-off, the company says, required to hit the Spectre’s most noteworthy feature — that it’s the world’s thinnest full-power laptop, at just 10.4mm thick. That’s despite offering current-gen Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, rather than the lower-power Core M CPUs in the also-impressive HP EliteBook Folio G1 (and 12-inch Apple MacBook).
With a Core i7-6500U processor, 8GB of RAM and a decent 256GB SSD, the Spectre costs $1,249 in the US. A Core i5 version knocks the price down to $1,169. In the UK, configurations start at £1,149, and AU$2,299 in Australia. Whichever model you choose, just be ready to jump fully into the world of USB-C, the new multipurpose data, power and accessory connector. The Spectre has three USB-C ports along the back. All three can carry data or power, and the two center ones also act as Thunderbolt ports for high-speed data transfer.
HP Spectre
| $1,249 |
| 13.3-inch 1,920 x 1,080 screen |
| 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U |
| 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,866MHz |
| 128MB Intel HD Graphics 520 |
| 256GB SSD |
| 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Windows 10 Home (64-bit) |
Just how thin is the 10.4mm Spectre? Apple’s aforementioned 12-inch MacBook and the recent Razer Blade Stealth are both around 13mm thick at their thickest parts, while a 13-inch Dell XPS 13 is about 15mm thick. Since the MacBook is tapered, it’s slimmer in the front, thicker in the rear. Down at the 13mm-and-under level, the differences are more about bragging rights than anything else.
View full gallery
From the top: 12-inch MacBook, HP EliteBook Folio, HP Spectre.
Sarah Tew/CNET
At 2.4 pounds (without its power cable), it’s also very light, but not the lightest 13-inch laptop we’ve tested (that distinction may belong to the Lenovo LaVie). At the very bleeding edge of laptop design, you generally have to choose between thickness and weight, especially when trying to support full Core i-series processors. In this case, HP went for shaving millimeters from the chassis, at the expense of weight and features (such as touch and ports other than slim USB-C ones).
A bold color scheme also helps the Spectre stand out, ditching the usual silver and gray for a dark, smokey gray with gold accents. The entire hinge is a bright, jeweled gold, which just draws more attention to its unusual design (and which picks up fingerprints pretty easily). To avoid unnecessary bulk, the hinge has moved in from the very rear edge, and is instead inset by a tiny bit.
View full gallery
Sarah Tew/CNET
That hinge mechanism is aluminum, as is the laptop’s lid, while the bottom panel is carbon fiber. HP says the mix of materials serves to give the Spectre the right balance between weight and stiffness, especially in the lid. After all, you don’t want your very thin tech to feel flimsy and flex under the slightest touch.
Part of making the Spectre this thin was accomplished by flattening the battery into four separate cells that fit across much of the bottom footprint, rather than having to find space for one large battery. The heatsink has been moved off the CPU as well, and instead the Spectre uses small fans to pull air in through bottom vents and funnel it out through the rear. It’s a version of a cooling scheme from Intel called hyperbaric cooling.
A surprisingly good keyboard
Compared with other very thin, very light laptops, such as the 12-inch MacBook, the keyboard on the HP Spectre really stands out as excellent. The keys are a little shallower than on a more full-size 13-inch laptop, such as HP’s own Spectre x360, but this is still a standard island-style keyboard that doesn’t have the learning curve of something like the very flat keys on the MacBook.
BioLite’s PizzaDome will let you charge your phone while you cook a pizza
BioLite, which makes, among other things, camping stoves that can charge your phone, has introduced the PizzaDome, a new accessory for its larger BaseCamp stove. With the PizzaDome, you can easily cook pizza, flatbread, and more, all while your phone charges using the stove’s heat.
The PizzaDome is a set that contains a ceramic pizza stone and a lid with an integrated thermometer for keeping your food evenly cooked. While it’s sold separately from the BaseCamp for $69.95, BioLite is currently holding a special launch promotion that essentially gets you the PizzaDome for free for a limited time. The PizzaDome bundle includes both it and the BaseCamp for $299.95 until June 28.
For more on BioLite, be sure to read our review of the company’s Portable Grill and KettlePot.
See at BioLite
When will Android N be released?
We don’t yet know exactly when the next version of Android will land, but Google’s development timetable provides a few clues.
For about as long as Android has existed, a major new platform version has dropped every fall. And starting with 2014’s Lollipop release, Google has preceded that with developer preview builds designed to help devs get their apps ready for new Android releases. This year, that process kicked off a couple of months earlier than expected, with an initial Android N preview in early March.
That’s one of the many signs pointing to a slightly earlier release of “N” than in years past. So when exactly will Android N be finalized by Google and unleashed as a stable release? And when will we learn the version number and nickname of the next version of Android? Well, Google’s timetable offers a few clues.
Above is Google’s official dev preview timeline for Android N, which it has stuck to in the months since the first N preview. Right now we have Developer Preview 4, with final APIs and the ability to target N on Google Play. Next up is a “near-final” system image for “final testing.”
When will we know the Android N version number and nickname?
Seven comes right after six.
If the N release tracks with previous years — specifically M and L — it’s likely the announcement of N’s version number and “sweet treat” nickname will accompany the final developer preview build. Given the timing of previous developer previews, that should fall sometime in mid-July.
As for the version number itself, we’ve seen hints out of Google I/O that it’ll be Android 7.0. And that would be no surprise. Seven comes right after six.
The nickname might well remain shrouded in mystery until the final dev preview arrives. Certain Googlers have already hinted at Nutella, but the fact that Google sought fans help naming N makes another KitKat-style corporate tie-in less likely.
What about Android N’s eventual release date?
Google’s roadmap is less specific about when the final “stable” version of Android N will be released to developers and Nexus devices, offering only a vague “Q3” window. That all but guarantees a launch before the end of September, but we wouldn’t be surprised if, given the timing of the “near final” dev preview 5 in July, we saw something in mid-to-late August.
As in years past, any new Nexus handsets would likely arrive alongside the final release of N, whether it comes in August or September. This year, rumors are swirling around the possibility of a duo of HTC-made Nexus phones.
Android N Developer Preview
The Android N Developer Preview is just that — a developer preview. While it’s now “release candidate beta” quality we still have to issue a word of caution. Tread lightly.
- What’s new in Android N
- All Android N news
- Should you use the Android N Dev Preview?
- About the Android Beta Program
- Join the Discussion
When do you think Android N will eventually arrive? Any guesses on the nickname? Shout out in the comments and share your thoughts!
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