The 2016 Cadillac CT6 delivers power and luxury
As a kid, I marveled at the Cadillac owned by my parents’ friend. You could roll down the windows with the push of a button! My father would comment that it was just another thing that would break. A few years later, you couldn’t roll down two of the windows on that car. For a while that was what car buyers could expect from the American luxury brand: features that failed after a few years. Flash forward to now and all those bells and whistles that caught my attention as a child are now standard on most cars. So now Cadillac has to up both its game and build quality, and with the 2016 CT6, it succeeds.
Before we get to the drivetrain and the technology that surrounds you in driver seat, let’s talk about the design of the car. It looks something out of the art deco-inspired Batman: The Animated Series, and that’s a good thing. From the driver’s seat, the outermost peaks on the hood resemble knives slicing through wind. It’s a striking, angular style that doesn’t take away from the car’s luxury heritage, which is usually rooted in a more subtle design. On more than a few occasions, friends remarked that it seemed like I was either transporting a VIP or was living a bit larger than I should.
My new baller lifestyle continued inside the car. As you would expect, Cadillac went all out when it comes to interior technology. There’s a bevy of buttons controlling a new generation of bells and whistles — most of which more geared toward safety than impressing the neighbors. Like luxury vehicles from BMW, Mercedes and Audi, the CT6 has lane assist and adaptive cruise control. The system kept me from veering off my path while rolling down the freeway without being overly aggressive.
Cruise control was equally valuable during long drives. To test its adaptive properties, I set the speed to a completely illegal 121 mph (don’t try this at home). The CT6 kept a safe distance from all the vehicles it encountered (they were usually doing about 65 to 70 mph). When I switched lanes, it gradually sped up to match the pace of the car it was overtaking. It did this without slamming on the accelerator.
The infotainment system (Cadillac calls it Cue) felt just as refined. The 10.2-inch touchscreen in the dash was easy to read, and I never had problems with glare, even with the sunroof open. In addition to the usual navigation, phone, climate, audio controls and Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay support, the Caddy uses its exterior cameras to record when there’s motion outside the vehicle. So now if it’s vandalized or broken into, you have evidence you can share with the authorities.
Although the center display is close enough that you don’t have to stretch to reach it, Cue can also be controlled by a center console touchpad with haptic feedback. The one issue with the touchpad is that it doesn’t work with Apple’s CarPlay.
For passengers, CarPlay and Android Auto are of little concern. The Cue’s infotainment amenities for riders are impressive. The backseat displays not only support DVD playback but also media on USB sticks, and there’s an HDMI port. The CT6 supports 4G LTE and creates its own WiFi network. So you could plug in Chromecast, Roku, even an Apple TV (there’s an AC outlet in the rear center console) into the HDMI port and start streaming. There’s also a plethora of USB plugs to keep all your devices charged.
Finally there’s my favorite feature: the rearview camera display that’s in the mirror. We briefly tried it out on the Chevy Bolt (another GM vehicles) this past January driving around a parking lot. It gives a wider field of view that isn’t blocked by rear passengers. It nearly eliminates blind spots, and after training my brain to understand that the cars in the in the display are smaller than they would be in the mirror, I found it invaluable. I can’t wait until this is on all passenger cars.
Once I was comfortable with all the luxury trappings of the CT6, it was time to take the twin turbo V6 out on the open road, and for the most part, the car doesn’t disappoint. While hitting the twisties on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, I was immediately impressed with how well it handled. It stuck to the switchbacks almost as well as a mid-sized sport coupe. What did hurt the experience was the combination turbo lag (the delay between punching the gear and the turbo spinning up and delivering power to the wheels) and the eight-speed transmission trying to catch up with that burst of power. Accelerating out of corners was met with an annoying jerk as the car tried to get back into sync. Switching to manual mode and using the paddle shifters solved the issue, but even when driving around town, if you hit the accelerator too hard, the car lurched enough for the passengers to notice.
This could just be an issue with the $88,000 CT6 Platinum AWD version of the car we tested. It’s huge twin-turbo 404-horsepower V6 engine might just be too much for the transmission to handle. There’s a lot of power on the hood. We haven’t had a chance to get behind the wheel of the more subtle and cheaper models (starting at $53,495) that have lowly 2.0 liter and 3.6 liter engines.
But if you happen to need a luxury sedan that sounds like it’s storing a bear in the trunk every time you step on the gas and you can tame the turbo lag / transmission issue, the Platinum version is fun to drive.
Whichever flavor of CT6 engine you pick, the features inside this Cadillac deliver on the promise of a tech-based luxury sedan the automaker has been making for decades. The CT6 is the automaker’s flagship, and for some, it could be the American car that pulls drivers away from the high-end vehicle world dominated by German companies.
Source: Cadillac
Reddit will let advertisers sponsor your post
Reddit needs to earn money, and one that it’s planning to do that is by letting advertisers put their cash behind your posts. In an interview with AdAge, co-founder Steve Huffman explained how his website is going to attempt to be as big with brands as Facebook. The way it works will involve companies searching Reddit for pieces of what advertisers like to call “viral content.” Let’s say that you spend a weekend making a giant replica of a Taco Bell hot sauce packet, and the fast food chain spots your artwork. Taco Bell could then hand Reddit some cash for it to spread the post around different subreddits and increase its visibility. The user that made the original post needs to consent, of course, and won’t get any financial compensation, but will get a lifetime’s supply of Reddit Gold, worth $3.99 a month, for free.
If there’s a problem with all of this, it’s that Redditors, in the words of Huffman himself, “don’t like being bullshitted.” He goes on to say that his site often sees advertisers and brands getting called out for their tactics or communications that seem cynical. Then there’s the fact that, if a Reddit thread gets very popular, there’s a more than 70 percent chance that someone’s going to mention Hitler. Because if there’s one things that brands love more than anything else, it’s being associated with that guy.
Via: The Verge
Source: AdAge
RedTube, which helped kill porn mags, launches a porn mag
Last year, Playboy Magazine announced that it would stop printing fully-nude pictures because, hey, the internet exists. But, one of the outfits that caused Playboy to abandon such imagery is now launching a competing publication in the real world. RedTube Magazine has been described by its founders as a “men’s general lifestyle monthly with a photo-heavy emphasis on explicit sexual content.” The company also explains that the new venture will serve as a bridge between the jazz magazines of the 20th century and whatever the hell you can get on Google if you disable SafeSearch.
It’s hard to tell if the move is a cynical publicity stunt or another example of web businesses trying to recreate what they’ve already destroyed. After all, just a few years after Amazon had rinsed the traditional bookstore, the company revealed that it would open… a physical bookstore. But while there’s still some value in actually grasping a book in your hand and reading your new purchase while grabbing a coffee, does that experience carry over?
The big challenge for RedTube Magazine will be that almost everyone has access to the internet wherever they go. In every adult’s pocket is a digital device that can bring up almost anything your heart (and other things) desires in a matter of seconds. Given that you can pinch-to-zoom any lurid detail that you wish in this new world, is the notion of printed and laminated material going to cut it?
As for content, RedTube’s Alex Taylor says that the company will work with “top bloggers, journalists and online influencers.” Rather than attempting to copy Playboy’s more heavyweight stable of names, the publication will seek to “capture a web feel” and talk about everything from “scotch tasting to the art of the ethical threesome.” If that sounds like something you’d read, then you can grab the first issue in December for $10.
Fix Britain’s Internet: ISPs campaign to tear BT and Openreach apart
After reviewing the tangled relationship between BT and its broadband infrastructure subsidiary Openreach for more than a year, Ofcom yesterday put forward its plan to create a greater distinction between the two businesses. Under the proposals, Openreach would become “a legally separate company,” whilst remaining under the BT Group umbrella; a move Ofcom says is the most cost-effective and least disruptive way of giving Openreach greater independence. But — surprise, surprise — BT competitors, which are also Openreach customers, believe Ofcom hasn’t gone far enough.
Ofcom wants Openreach to have its own board, its own directors and its own CEO, with none of these execs reporting to anyone within the larger BT machine. Openreach will then be free to make decisions on strategy and investment without a perceived bias towards BT’s agenda.
As soon as Ofcom announced last year it was putting BT and Openreach under the microscope, the likes of Sky and TalkTalk (which use Openreach’s network to underpin their own services) called for a full split. Criticisms included a lack of investment in broadband infrastructure, particularly fibre, as well as a general poor quality of service, including slow installations and fault resolutions — all stemming, they argue, from Openreach’s focus on BT’s interests above all else.
Sky half-heartedly accepted Ofcom’s proposals yesterday, though it did admit they fall short of expectations. TalkTalk voiced similar views. Three even piped up to vent its disappointment — the company still reeling after its merger with O2 was denied after BT’s relatively smooth road to acquiring EE. Industry lobbying-slash-moaning isn’t looking like it’ll quiet down any time soon, however.
A group that includes Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone have today launched the “Fix Britain’s Internet” campaign, which basically parrots all the criticisms of BT and Openreach we’ve heard time and time again. The campaign’s website urges you to email Ofcom and your local MP — through a handy form that does most of the work for you — to express your dissatisfaction at the current status quo. You don’t exactly have to read between the lines to also see the prepared statement implies Ofcom could be bolder in its proposals.
Ofcom’s tango with BT isn’t over yet. Its proposals aren’t set in stone and it will have to work with the company for some time while the greater separation of Openreach plays out. But Sky and Co., it seems, are a tough crowd to please, and one that isn’t going to stop pushing its own agenda of a full separation until there are no open ears left to listen.
Via: ISPreview
Source: Fix Britain’s Internet
Comet lander Philae says goodbye as communications are cut
Farewell Philae, it was a short but wild ride. In February, mission controllers said goodbye to the comet lander, but kept comms open with mother ship Rosetta on the slight chance it might wake up. “It’s cold & dark on #67P … but I won’t give up just yet,” Philae tweeted hopefully. However, controllers elected to cut Rosetta’s “ESS” lander radio at 5AM ET today to preserve its precious remaining power.
At nearly 520 million km (323 million miles) from the Sun, the probe is losing power at the rate of 4 watts a day and needs to keep working for another two months. On September 30th it’ll crash into the surface of the comet, but take numerous final photos and measurements on the way down.
It’s cold & dark on #67P & chances of communicating with @ESA_Rosetta are decreasing, but I won’t give up just yet. https://t.co/HAJIbi59KO
— Philae Lander (@Philae2014) February 12, 2016
Philae had problems from the get-go after it bounced off its intended landing site and settled in a rocky area, but was by no means a failure. It managed to take a few dramatic pictures and did 80 percent of the research it was tasked with in a frenetic 64 hour period after the landing, according to ESA. For instance, it found many organic compounds that could be precursors to life-giving amino acids and sugars, and calculated the temperature range on the comet.
Controllers figure that Philae was not only trapped in a low-light area, but also in an awkward position and covered with dust. Rosetta did get a signal from Philae several times last year and received a final batch of scientific readings on July 9, 2015. Despite maneuvering to within seven precarious miles of the comet’s surface, however, it never regained contact with the lander.
It’s time for me to say goodbye. Tomorrow, the unit on @ESA_Rosetta for communication with me will be switched off forever…
— Philae Lander (@Philae2014) July 26, 2016
Philae’s team was satisfied with the mission, though. “Although some measurements could not be carried out, overall, Philae was a success,” planetary scientist Ekkehard Kührt said in February. “We ended up in an unknown environment and for the first time ever, gathered scientific data from a comet’s surface, which we were able to complement with measurements from the orbiter.” Considering the extreme difficulty of the mission and nearly 400 million km (250 million miles) distance, we’d second that. If you want to say goodbye to the lander yourself, send a picture here.
Via: Wired
Source: ESA
‘Microsoft Pix’ for iOS Introduces Smart AI to Automatically Adjust Photos
Microsoft today launched a new camera app for iOS devices called Microsoft Pix, which uses an artificial intelligence to adjust settings, choose the best photos, and automatically enhance each picture you take. The app will work on the iPhone 5s or newer, running iOS 9.0 or newer, with the company planning an Android release in the future. It did, however, remain curiously silent on introducing the new app’s features into its own Windows Phone line.
In order to obtain the very best image, Microsoft Pix takes a burst of shots before and after the image capture shutter button is tapped, similar to holding down the button for a burst shot in Apple’s first party camera app. The new app goes one step further, however, and intelligently siphons through each shot to choose the best image, and delete whatever is left over to save memory. This usually ends up with up to three “Best Images” for you to choose from.
Microsoft calls the app “people-centric,” with the AI’s biggest enhancement feature centering around its ability to focus in on faces within a photograph to enhance and adjust the focus, color, and exposure “so people look their best.” The app’s underlying algorithms can even detect whether a person has their eyes open or closed, and use that information as another factor in picking the best photo.
“They are building this for people who aren’t photographers but who like to take pictures — and would like to take better pictures — but don’t want to take the time to learn what goes in to making better pictures,” says Reed Hoffman, a Kansas City-based photography consultant and instructor with the Nikon School of Photography who tested beta versions of Microsoft Pix.
Once a picture has been taken, Microsoft Pix even lets users filter back-and-forth between the “normal” shot without any of the app’s tinkering, and the higher-quality, post-enhancement photo.
When “interesting motion” is detected in a picture, Microsoft’s app functions similarly to Apple’s Live Photo feature in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The app will create a “Live Image” with these motion-based images, that loop an animation repeatedly instead of requiring a user to impress upon them to begin their animation, like in Live Photos. A handful of other features include automatic stabilization, or “Hyperlapse,” syncing with Apple’s Camera Roll, and easy sharing to social networks from directly within the app.
Users can download and try out Microsoft Pix for free on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Tag: Microsoft
Discuss this article in our forums
Motorola Moto E3 (2016) vs Moto G3 (2015): What’s the difference?
Lenovo-owned Motorola has launched a flurry of smartphones this year, one of which is the new Moto E.
It’s being called the Moto E3 and it offers some pretty decent specs for its £99.95 price tag. With last year’s Moto G now starting at just £129 though, which model should you pick?
Here is the Moto E3 (2016) up against the Moto G3 (2015).
Motorola Moto E3 (2016) vs Moto G3 (2015): Design
The Motorola Moto E3 features a similar design to the more recent Moto G family, offering a more refined appearance compared to last year’s Moto G.
It measures 143.8 x 71.6 x 8.55mm and weighs 140.6g, meaning it is slimmer, narrower and lighter than the Moto G3, but ever so slightly taller.
The Moto G3 measures 142.1 x 72.4mm and has a curved rear between 6.1mm and 11.6mm. It hits the scales at 155g and it has a water resistance rating of IPX7.
Motorola Moto E3 (2016) vs Moto G3 (2015): Display
The Motorola Moto E3 and Moto G3 both have a 5-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. This puts both their pixel densities at 294ppi.
The two devices’ screens are also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and they both use IPS LCD technology so you can expect a very similar experience when it comes to the display.
Motorola Moto E3 (2016) vs Moto G3 (2015): Cameras
The Motorola Moto E3 has an 8-megapixel rear camera, coupled with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
It is capable of 720p video recording at 30fps and for the first time in the E range, Motorola has added a single LED flash to the rear camera.
The Moto G3 has a higher resolution sensor on the rear at 13-megapixels. It has an aperture of f/2.0, there is a dual-LED flash on board and it is capable of 1080p video recording.
The front-facing camera of the Moto G3 is the same resolution as the Moto E3 at 5-megapixels. The G3 has an aperture of f/2.2 and there is a display flash on board too, something that isn’t present on the E3.
Motorola Moto E3 (2016) vs Moto G3 (2015): Hardware
The Motorola Moto E3 features a 1GHz MediaTek processor under its hood, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.
Storage is expandable up to 32GB via microSD and there is a 2800mAh battery capacity to get you through the day.
The Moto G3 opts for the 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, which is supported by either 1GB or 2GB of RAM, depending on the storage model.
Storage options are 8GB or 16GB, both of which are expandable up to 32GB via microSD, and both of which have a 2470mAh battery capacity.
Motorola Moto E3 (2016) vs Moto G3 (2015): Software
The Motorola Moto E3 launches on Android Marshmallow, while the Moto G3 launched on Android Lollipop but has since been updated to the latest software.
Both devices feature very little bloatware, with only a few pre-loaded Motorola apps rather than an entire skin. This means you’ll not only get a close to vanilla Android experience with Moto devices, but they also are some of the first to get new software updates.
Motorola Moto E3 (2016) vs Moto G3 (2015): Conclusion
This year’s Moto E3 and last year’s Moto G3 are pretty similar in terms of specs, as well as price, now that the 2015 Moto G has been reduced.
The Moto E3 has a more updated design and it is lighter and slimmer than the Moto G3, as well as featuring a larger battery capacity. The two devices have the same size and resolution display but the Moto G3 has a faster processor, the option of more RAM and storage if you pay more, and more capable cameras.
We will update this feature with our review experience when we have spent some more time with the new Moto E3. For now, you can read our opinion on the Moto G3.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 battery woes attributed to software
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 has had a fairly significant issue that the company had yet to officially comment on, until now. The company has finally come forward with a statement, and it looks like the problem that’s causing some Surface Pro 3 units to suffer from reduced battery life is actually software-based.
According to Greg, a forum moderator on the official Microsoft forums, the team has “isolated” the problem to a limited number of customers. The company has confirmed there are no issues with the batteries themselves and are “working through the details” on how to deliver a software-based fix.
Additional information on how the fix will be shared to Surface Pro 3 users with battery issues will be posted on the forums as it becomes available. This likely comes as a great surprise for buyers who were previously concerned their devices may be permanently damaged, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully Microsoft is spot on about the issue so it can be resolved in an expedient manner.
Via: The Digital Lifestyle
Nintendo’s NES retrospective book looks like a game cartridge
Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition isn’t the only nostalgia bomb the company is dropping this fall. Nope, Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics from strategy-guide publisher Prima Games is en route for this November as well. The hardcover boasts 320 pages of interviews from the NES era, bits of old-school advertising and “priceless excerpts from Nintendo Power magazine back issues.” Oh hey, hand-drawn maps and character art are on tap as well. Here’s to hoping some of those are from Howard and Nester artist Bill Mudron.
To complete the yesteryear theme, the whole thing looks like an old NES cartridge. In addition to the bits mentioned above, retrospectives on some 17 games will be packed as well, covering Super Mario Bros. 3, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda among others. Yearning for your childhood yet? The book is available to pre-order now for $26.99, and it ships out November 18th — a week after the NES Classic does.
Via: IGN
Source: Prima Games
Microsoft’s new camera app brings AI to your iPhone
Microsoft sure loves it when research projects beget actual products, and it just released another for the masses to play with. Pix is a replacement camera app (what?) available for iPhones and iPads (what?), and in short, it promises better photos of the people around you without any extra work on your part. It’ll run on just about every iOS device from the iPhone 5s newer, too, and an Android release is in the works too. (Microsoft didn’t have a firm answer when I asked if these features would make their way into the Windows 10 Mobile camera.) And you know what? In some ways, I wish this was the camera app that Apple built in the first place.
First, the basics. Here’s the really important thing about Pix: it’s been tuned to make your pictures of people look better.
“There are things the Apple camera does that we don’t do and might not ever do,” Weisberg told Engadget. “The goal was around people photos — can we make better people photos than the stock camera? And we succeeded.”
From the moment you start Pix, it’s capturing what your camera is pointed at – you can never tell when something’s about to happen, after all. Once you press the shutter button, Pix snaps ten frames in an instant and Weisberg says that’s where the magic really kicks in. Algorithms evaluate those ten frames for obvious things like sharpness or exposure, but also underlying characteristics like whether a person in the shot seems happy or sad. When that near-instantaneous process is done, you’ll be given up to three “Best Images” – the image data from the leftover photos is used to enhance those winners before being deleted. All of this happens on the fly and without any extra fiddling, too, so you don’t need to be a photo buff to snap some great shots.
If the app detects multiple similar photos, it’ll stitch them into a Live Image, but only when it thinks what’s going on in the photos is interesting. Oh, and the Hyperlapse feature that Microsoft has been working on for years is here again too. This time, though, you can turn existing photos into time-lapses, or just use it to stabilize video you just shot.
Using Pix is very much a learning process, and I don’t just mean for you, the user. According to Weisberg, the app sends anonymized bits of “telemetry” — settings data and what Best Images people fave’d or deleted — back to the mothership, where human judges will examine them and adjust the image processing algorithms accordingly. Basically, the more you use Pix, the more insight it gains into what makes a photo really good. Most importantly, Weinberg was right – it really is helpful for improving your photos of people. Well, most of the time anyway.
In no time at all, I was snapping photos using Pix that came out punchier and with a greater emphasis on the people in the shot. When the testing period inevitably overlapped with post-work drinks at a local dive, Pix shined even brighter. I mean that literally, too. Smartphone camera sensors often flounder in dim, dank conditions, leaving software to do the heavy lifting required to make a passable photo. Microsoft’s photo processing was both super-fast and mostly great at brightening up pictures of my colleagues and removing grain without making things look unnatural. I was utterly impressed… until I wasn’t.
(Microsoft Pix left, Apple camera app right)
My biggest issue with Pix in its current form is all about consistency. Sometimes the photos it produced were clear improvements over what I squeezed out of Apple’s camera app. Other times, though, the stock camera app had a clear edge. Take landscape photos, for instance – even before Microsoft’s instantaneous image processing did its thing, the app had trouble exposing shots with bright backgrounds. Pix’s outdoor shots tended to be a little blown out, while Apple’s camera software was generally better at balancing exposure levels. And for all the work that went into teaching Pix to enhance photos of people, it can still struggle at times. A “Best Image” it suggested of a colleague in the dimly lit dive mentioned earlier was noticeably less crisp than the image the camera actually captured; in the app’s zeal to brighten up her face, it smoothed out her features a little too much. Long story short, the version of Pix I played with was still more hit-or-miss than I had hoped.
(Microsoft Pix left, Apple camera app right)
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it. In fact, I’d strongly recommend giving this a download, even if you’re not the sort of person that already juggles multiple camera apps. The benefits of better image processing can be seen from the get-go, but the weightier, far more fascinating goal is to see how much Microsoft’s system can learn about good photographs. In a way, it’s almost as though we’re collectively training it to better understand art. The very nature of Microsoft’s algorithmic processing means these early issues will probably get ironed out over time, and I’m honestly fascinated to see how long it takes before Pix gets to be great in every situation.
AIVAnet 