Apple Maps Expands Transit Data to San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth

Apple continues to build upon the transit coverage of Apple Maps, today adding the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and the City of San Antonio to supported areas in Texas. The support marks the first expansion of transit coverage beyond the state’s capital of Austin.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, Apple will now offer up routes that include transportation by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail commuter service and streetcar line, as well as the Skylink at DFW Airport.

In San Antonio, coverage is concentrated within the Connolly Loop (Interstate 410), and takes in the city’s VIA Metropolitan Transit system.

Transit directions were first added to Apple Maps in 2015 as part of iOS 9. At launch, transit information was only available in a handful of cities, but Apple has been working hard to expand the feature to additional locations.

Transit data is now available in more than 20 cities around the world, along with dozens of cities in China.

(Thanks, Ram!)

Tags: Apple Maps, transit
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Ultrasound can levitate large objects

Scientists have long dreamed of using acoustic levitation to float objects, but there has been one big catch: you couldn’t lift an object larger than the wavelength without being picky about what you’re lifting. However, it might not be a problem going forward. Researchers in Brazil and the UK have successfully levitated a polystyrene ball 3.6 times larger than the ultrasonic waves holding it up. The trick was to create a standing wave in the gap between the transducers and the object, instead of the usual pressure node between the transducer and a reflector. You can change the angle and number of transducers without messing with the effect, and it finally creates both horizontal and vertical lift — you don’t need physical support to prevent the object from drifting sideways.

The technology only works with stationary objects at the moment. Sorry, folks, you won’t see ultrasonic hovercars any time soon. Levitation that can manipulate large objects is on the cards, though, and it shouldn’t be limited to specific shapes or sizes. You could eventually see this used to hold on to liquid in space, or to study very hot objects (say, molten metal) that you wouldn’t dare touch.

Via: Phys.org

Source: Applied Physics Letters

Infiniti’s latest engine is a last hurrah for gas-powered cars

Hybrid and pure electric cars may be the future of transportation, but Nissan’s Infiniti badge has found a way to make the most out of gas engines while they’re still relevant. When the next-generation QX50 crossover arrives in 2017, it’ll carry the first-ever production variable compression turbo (VC-T) engine — a technology that promises to dramatically improve fuel efficiency without compromising on performance. By automatically adjusting the height the engine’s pistons reach, the VC-T motor can optimize its compression ratio for the task at hand. It’ll lower the ratio if you’re mashing the throttle (to prevent premature detonation and make the most of the turbo), but raise it when you’re putting around town and need to wring out better mileage.

If you ask Infiniti, the result is the best of both worlds. The future QX50 will kick out 268HP and 288lb/ft of torque, but gets up to 27 percent better fuel economy than Nissan’s widely used 3.5-liter V6. It’s lighter and smaller than similar conventional engines, too, and doesn’t need treatment to pass modern emissions standards. The big drawback is that it’s limited to four-cylinder engines, but this inaugural VC-T is powerful enough that it can go toe-to-toe with (and will likely replace) that previously mentioned V6. Nissan is also contemplating the possibility of pairing it with a hybrid system.

You should learn more about the engine at the Paris Auto Show on September 29th. Even at this early stage, though, it’s apparent that VC-T could be one of the last gasps for purely gas-powered cars in the mainstream. As the company explained to Reuters, it sees variable compression technology as an eventual replacement for diesel. It could be the go-to option for drivers who can’t (or won’t) switch to electric vehicles and are leery about diesel pollution, but still care about efficiency and running costs.

Via: Autoblog

Source: Infiniti

Adding custom ringtones and sounds to your Android

Android is all about customization.

Don’t like your launcher? Get a new one. Don’t like your gray keyboard? Change it up! Got the same ringtone as that annoying co-worker at the other end of the room? Just don’t like the lame, old sounds that came with your sweet, new phone? No problem – we have options. Once you get the hang of it, the world is your ringtone.

Let awesome ring.

Finding a ringtone

Now, maybe you already a ringtone you’ve been using since 2009, or maybe you need to find a new custom alarm that you can’t tune out when you need to get out of bed and catch your flight. There’s a lot of places to find ringtones, but far and away the easiest is Zedge. Zedge is a customization app that looks to personalize two of the aspects of your phone: your sounds and wallpapers. Zedge even streamlines the process, letting you download and set your ringtone from the same screen!

Once you find a ringtone in the app you like (browsing or searching), here’s how to set it:

Tap the blue download button on the right side of the screen.
(First time only) Allow Zedge to access your device’s storage so it can download the ringtone to your device.
Tap Ringtone to set your desired sound as your standard ringtone.

(First time only) When Zedge pops up a message explaining that it needs permission to modify system settings in order to set your ringtone, select Settings.
(First time only) In the Permissions menu for Zedge, swipe the toggle for Allow modify system settings to the right to enable the permission.
(First time only) Tap the back button to return to the Zedge app. You should see a white Standard ringtone updated message appear near the bottom of the screen.

Making your own ringtones

Have a song you’re never gonna get sick of? Have a catchphrase from a friend you’d like to use when they text you? Here are a few ways to make it into a ringtone or notification tone.

If you want to use one of your friends or family members’ voices, you’ll need to record it, which you can easily do with a voice recorder app, which your phone most likely came with. If you’re lucky, that voice recorder will even let you set your new recording as a ringtone. If not, you can save it as an MP3 and add it to the Android file system, which we’ll cover down below.

If you’re looking to turn a song into a ringtone, you’re probably going to want to cut it down so it starts at a good, attention-grabbing section rather than at the beginning. You’ll also want to trim it down because some phones still have a 300 KB file size limits for ringtones.

While I still firmly believe that the best way to edit a song into a ringtone is a desktop editor like Audacity, you can edit a song into a ringtone using an audio editor app like Stagelight or JRT Studio’s Ringtone Maker. No matter the program you’re using, here are a few tips for getting a good ringtone out of a song:

• Time your ringtone to start at one of the song’s natural transition points. The start of a verse or chorus usually sounds crisper and better than starting in the middle of a melody.
• Try to start and end your ringtone as a dip in the song’s waveform (the squiggly line that shows how the song sounds). Starting with a full blast from a peak will make it seem abrupt and jarring, and that’s not something we want to feel every time the phone rings.
• You can make any MP3 a ringtone, but most phones will go to voicemail after 15-20 seconds, so there’s no need to make your ringtone longer than 30 seconds.

Why can’t I use a song from Google Play Music as my ringtone?

Google Play Music and other subscription/streaming music apps encrypt the music it downloads from your web-based library, making it inaccessible by any other program on your phone. You can’t use these songs because the rest of the phone can’t see them. So if you do want to use a song from Google Play Music, you’ll need to download it on a computer using the Google Play Music Chrome app or the Google Play Music Manager — which means you have to own it, not just listen through your Play Music subscription — then clip it down and add it to the Ringtones folder like you would any other custom-made ringtone.

Adding custom ringtones through the Android file system

If you find your ringtones other places — or have one you just need to add to the phone — then you’ll need to get it into the proper folder in the Android file system, and that requires a file manager app. Now, some phones have file managers on them out of the box, but if not, you’ll need to download one from the Google Play Store, like Solid Explorer.

Once you’ve downloaded your new ringtone to the device, you’ll copy it from the Downloads folder into the Ringtones folder (or Notifications or Alarms, if that’s what you’re trying to set), then reboot your phone. Some phones will see the new ringtones in Settings right after copying it, but some devices will only recognize the new ringtones the next time it boots up.

Setting a custom ringtone in Android Settings

Open the Settings app.
In the Device section, open Sound & notification. (Note: due to some manufacturer differences in software, this section may be in a location or have a different name.)
Tap Ringtone or Phone ringtone to open the list of available ringtones.

Tap your desired ringtone. It should play for you to confirm the tone is correct and test the volume unless your phone is set to Silent.
Apply your new ringtone by tapping Apply or Done (varies by device).

So, what awesome ringtones are you setting on your phone? Share your most outrageous and hilarious ringtones in the comments below!

Experts think bitcoin’s tech is the future of finance

Even if bitcoin fades into obscurity, finance experts believe that the technology behind it will live on and even change how financial services work. According to a study conducted by Swiss non-profit World Economic Forum, the blockchain, which is the public ledger that makes bitcoin transactions possible without a central infrastructure overseeing them, has the potential to “reshape financial services.” The forum is known for holding an annual conference that brings business and finance experts together.

Weforum’s report says large central banks have already begun looking at how the blockchain can transform the way they move money, especially between countries. It will allow them to do more secure and faster transactions that also cost less than they do today.

The study also says that around 80 percent of banks might launch projects that use public ledgers by next year. What the report didn’t mention even once, though, is bitcoin itself. Financial institutions typically refuse to endorse the cryptocurrency, because it’s frequently used for crimes such as purchasing illegal drugs and firearms.

Since the technology will affect the inner workings of financial institutions, you might not even notice once they start adopting its use until you start enjoying faster money transfers and paying cheaper fees. The World Economic Forum admits, however, that there’s still a lot to be done to make sure it’s secure enough for use by major banks.

Via: The New York Times, Mashable

Source: World Economic Forum