ICYMI: The US Government wants to limit big rig speeds
Today on In Case You Missed It: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing to mechanically limit the speed of buses and semis over 26,000 pounds to under 68 miles per hour. The idea focuses on safety concerns but also would improve fuel efficiency.
Meanwhile a doctor at University of California San Francisco found a way to apply 3D technology to existing CT scans, letting health practitioners select segments of a scan and turn tissue around to get a better look at formerly hidden sections.
If you’re interested in geology, we recommend the full Ice Age decomposition video here. Those interested in our work towards living on Mars will want to know about the simulated mission on Hawaii now being at an end. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Tim Cook Pens Open Letter on Tax Evasion Claims, Says Apple is Confident Decision ‘Will be Reversed’
Tim Cook has posted an open letter on Apple’s website in response to the European Commission’s ruling that Apple must pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in back taxes dating from 2003 through 2014.
Cook’s letter begins by discussing Apple’s long history in Ireland, which dates back to a small facility that housed 60 employees in 1980. That statistic has now expanded to 6,000 employees across Ireland in total, benefiting both the company and local economies.
As it’s grown, Cook says that Apple has become “the largest taxpayer in the world,” and that “Apple follows the law and we pay all the taxes we owe.” Directly confronting the European Commission’s ruling, Cook claims that the EC has “launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe.”
As responsible corporate citizens, we are also proud of our contributions to local economies across Europe, and to communities everywhere. As our business has grown over the years, we have become the largest taxpayer in Ireland, the largest taxpayer in the United States, and the largest taxpayer in the world.
Over the years, we received guidance from Irish tax authorities on how to comply correctly with Irish tax law — the same kind of guidance available to any company doing business there. In Ireland and in every country where we operate, Apple follows the law and we pay all the taxes we owe.
The Apple CEO points out that the claim — stating Ireland gave Apple a “special deal” on its taxes — is completely false and “has no basis in fact or in law.” Cook thinks the commission’s ruling also has the potential to set a dangerous precedent, because it is attempting to replace tangible Irish tax laws “with a view of what the Commission thinks the law should have been.”
The opinion issued on August 30th alleges that Ireland gave Apple a special deal on our taxes. This claim has no basis in fact or in law. We never asked for, nor did we receive, any special deals. We now find ourselves in the unusual position of being ordered to retroactively pay additional taxes to a government that says we don’t owe them any more than we’ve already paid.
Apple’s next move is to appeal the Commission’s ruling, which Ireland is said to be doing as well, with Cook remaining “confident” that the decision will ultimately be reversed and the company won’t have to pay the 13 billion euros after all. Throughout all of the current drama and turmoil, Cook reiterates that Apple is “committed to Ireland” and that the company has no plans to stop investing in a future not only for its customers there, but its employees as well.
Read Cook’s full letter about the European Commissions’ ruling here.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Tags: Tim Cook, corporate tax, European Commission, Europe, Ireland
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Instagram Tries to Differ From Snapchat by Curating ‘Stories’ in Explore Tab
Following in the wake of a few additions to the Instagram app that largely fell in line with rival service Snapchat — including 24-hour long posts and an “Events” channel — recently the popular photo sharing app announced a feature lacking in Snapchat, which will suggest new Stories for users to follow (via TechCrunch).
The suggestions will be based on who you already follow and the topics you care about, and will be placed atop the Explore tab in the app. Since Stories are tied to each user’s full Instagram account, you still have to follow each person’s full feed in order to gain daily access to their shorter, 24-hour posts.
According to Instagram, 100 million users visit the Explore tab every day (out of 500 million monthly active users), making it one of the more popular parts of the app and a way for Instagram to continue bolstering Stories for anyone who may not use the feature. Snapchat’s closest comparison comes in its branded “Discover” stories tab, which includes short news and entertainment updates from places like BuzzFeed, Mashable, and National Geographic.
Explore enhances Instagram’s biggest talking point here — that more people already have an interest graph and audience on Instagram than Snapchat.
Instagram refused to give specifics about how its version of Stories is growing, but Instagram’s Director of Product Management Blake Barnes did say “We’re really excited to see how quickly they’ve caught on, whether with everyday users or celebrities and brands.”
A few users are said to have already gotten the new update, but otherwise Instagram will be rolling out Stories into the Explore tab over the next few days. Although Instagram Stories are still new, Barnes said that the feature’s ability to make users worry less about likes and comments is making it a big hit with the service’s casual fanbase, concluding “it has the early signs of being a product people love.”
Instagram is available for free on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Tag: Instagram
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iPhone 7 May Have Fifth ‘Gloss Black’ Color Resembling 2013 Mac Pro
Japanese website Mac Otakara, which previously said Apple would introduce a darker color option to replace Space Gray for the upcoming iPhone 7 series, has shared a photo of an alleged SIM tray for the smartphone that suggests the color will be glossy black like the exterior of the 2013 Mac Pro.
The website now believes the new glossy black option will be part of a five-color lineup, including Gold, Rose Gold, Silver, and Space Gray. It previously said the new color will be a “much darker” variant of Space Gray that is “close to black, though not quite black,” and mockups of what an iPhone 7 in that color could look like, including the one above, quickly surfaced around the web.
Apple has announced it will be holding a September 7 media event at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, where it is expected to announce the iPhone 7 series, Apple Watch 2, and possibly more. Apple will also likely provide an update on the prospective launch dates of iOS 10, macOS Sierra, watchOS 3, and tvOS 10 over the coming weeks.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: macotakara.jp
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SanDisk Extreme 64GB is yours for just £17 on Amazon
Amazon is selling the SanDisk Extreme family of microSDXC cards, in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB variants. This promotion is part of Amazon’s Lightening Deals and will be ending at 2p.m. BST. The 64GB option is usually £30.99, but for the limited time it’s only £17.49.
The cards support up to 90MB/s and 40MB/s for read and write speeds, ideal for media storage and speedy transfers. So if you wish to save up to 44% on storage for your phone, tablet, PC and other devices, be sure to check out the deal before the promotion ends.
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Xiaomi’s latest smartwatch is the $120 GPS-enabled Amazfit
Xiaomi rolled out a smartwatch for kids earlier this year, and the vendor is now following up with a version for adults. Dubbed Amazfit, the wearable is manufactured by Xiaomi’s ecosystem partner Huami, the same company that makes the Mi Band.
Xiaomi has been offering wearables in the Amazfit line since September 2015, with the smartwatch becoming the latest addition to the series. The Amazfit watch doesn’t run Android Wear, but Xiaomi says that it will interface with the Mi Fit app to show activity and usage statistics.
The watch offers a 1.34-inch display with a resolution of 300 x 300, and runs on a 1.2GHz processor along with 512MB of RAM. You get 4GB of onboard storage, and the 200mAh battery is touted to last five days on a full charge, or 30 hours if you have GPS enabled. There’s also a heart rate sensor at the back, and Xiaomi has inked a deal with Alibaba to bring the AliPay digital wallet to the watch.
The ceramic bezel features scratch-resistant material, and you have the option of switching out the 22mm bands and adding your own. The Amazfit is certified IP67, making it resistant to dust and water.
As is the case with all Xiaomi products, the Amazfit smartwatch is priced very aggressively, with the watch slated to go on sale in China from August 31 for ¥799 ($120).
How to set up the iris scanner on the Galaxy Note 7
How do I set up the iris scanner on the Galaxy Note 7?
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is one of the best phones of the year. Aside from its great design and incredible feature set, it has one big thing that sets it apart: an iris scanner.
Here’s what it is, and how to set it up.
What is an iris scanner?
Simply what it sounds like: a tool that scans your eyes — or more specifically, your iris. It is used for biometric authentication, for logging in to your phone and various secure features within the phone, such as the Secure Folder.
The iris scanner uses two distinct pieces of hardware to achieve an accurate scan: a small, front-facing camera sensor; and an infrared sensor, that helps measure the unique aspects of your eye like its shape and depth. Combined, these prevent photos or other static interpretations of someone’s face from being used to dupe the system.
Should you use an iris scanner?
Iris scanning is an alternative to other forms of authentication, particularly the Note 7’s fingerprint sensor. It doesn’t replace any way of logging in, but can be used in conjunction with other secure login methods like a password, PIN, or pattern. The Note 7’s iris scanner is not always as reliable as its fingerprint sensor — both I and Andrew Martonik have had issues with it in anything but ideal lighting conditions — but it’s also accessible in situations where the fingerprint sensor isn’t a viable option. Use the iris scanner when your finger is wet or inside gloves, or when it just makes more sense to hold the phone upright.
How to set up the iris scanner
Setting up the iris scanner is easy, and can be done in one of two ways: the first time you set up your Note 7, or any time thereafter, through the Settings menu. We’ll be showing you the way to set it up the second way, but these steps also apply to the initial setup, as well.
Pull down on your notification shade.
Tap the Settings icon.
In Settings, scroll down and tap on Lock screen and security.
Tap on Irises.
Enter your pin code, password or pattern.
Read the instructions and tap Continue.
Go through the remaining steps to set up iris scanner.
Once completed, tap Turn on.
Optional step: Enable Web sign-in and Verify Samsung account.
That’s it! You can now access the iris scanner by turning on your phone and swiping up on the lock screen.
How to improve the reliability of the iris scanner on the Galaxy Note 7
Samsung recommends a few things to make sure the iris scanner works well every time you turn on your phone.
- Take off your glasses (or avoid wearing colored contacts)
- Hold the Note 7 25-35cm (9.8-13.7 inches) from your face
- Hold the Note 7 parallel to your eyes, making sure to look at the camera, not the screen
- Keep your eyes open fully throughout the scan
- Avoid scanning in direct sunlight
- Ensure both the IR sensor and the iris scanner camera lens are clean from smudges and scratches
Your turn
What has your experience been like with the Galaxy Note 7’s iris scanner? Let us know in the comments below!
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How to decipher those “rugged” ratings on your phone
How do I tell what those IP ratings on my phone really mean? Just because a phone is rugged doesn’t mean it will survive a dunk in the pool.
Several of the companies that make Android hardware build them a little bit tougher or more resistant to the hazards of daily life. It’s a big selling feature. If you’re an enthusiast and bought a recent phone from Samsung, Sony, Kyocera or Sonim, you probably know at least a little bit about them. What those numbers represent can be important or even a deciding factor when spending the cash on a new phone.
You’ll usually see “ruggedness” described with an IP rating or a MIL-STD rating. Those are standards (loose ones in some cases) that determine how resistant something is the elements — things like shock (both electrical and physical), temperature, air pressure, and a host of other things that want to ruin your phone.
The ratings and certifications were developed long before the invention of cellphones — they cover things like valves and electrical boxes. But more recently, they do apply to phones, and not just the ones that are built like tanks. Let’s break each rating down a little so you know what they really mean.
Ingress Protection
No, not the location-based game from those Pokemon guys, ingress protection refers to the ability for a product to prevent foreign objects — usually liquid and dust particles — from getting inside. And while the term IP usually stands in for ingress protection, it actually stands for International Protection, as in an International Protection Marking.
Never run your phone through a car wash to test its IP rating. Seriously.
The IP Code is designated by the initials IP followed by two digits and the presence or absence of an K. The K is something we’ll never encounter on small portable electronic devices; it refers to something that can withstand high-pressure, high-flow spray jets, like a car wash sprayer nozzle. In that situation your phone would be toast.
(Never run your phone through the car wash, unless it is one of these and you don’t mind breaking the car wash. We’re kidding. Don’t run even the Nokia 3310 through a car wash, people.)
The digits each represent a resistance rating. The first number stands for the level of solid particle protection (and is mandatory). The second number stands for liquid ingress protection (and is also mandatory). If a tested and certified device is not rated in either category, the number will be replaced by an X. Here’s how the numbers stack up.
Solid particle protection
| IP number | How effective is it? |
| 0 | Not protected at all against any size particle. |
| 1 | Particles larger than 50 mm |
| 2 | Particles larger than 12.5 mmThis is the minimum rating to protect against putting your finger into a thing. |
| 3 | Particles larger than 2.5 mm |
| 4 | Particles larger than 1 mm |
| 5 | Dust ProtectedDust must not enter in enough quantity to affect the normal operation. |
| 6 | Dust TightDust can’t enter, even in a vacuum. |
Liquid ingress protection
| IP number | How effective is it? |
| 0 | Not protected at all. |
| 1 | Protected against dripping water. |
| 2 | Protected against dripping water when tilted up to a 15-degree angle from its normal position. |
| 3 | Protected against spraying water when tilted up to a 60-degree angle from its normal position. |
| 4 | Protected against splashing water at any angle. |
| 5 | Protected against water sprayed by a 6.3 mm nozzle at 12.5 Liters/minute and 30 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes. |
| 6 | Protected against water sprayed by a 12.5 mm nozzle at 100 Liters/minute and 100 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes. |
| 6K | Protected against water sprayed by a 6.3 mm nozzle at 75 Liters/minute and 1,000 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes. |
| 7 | Protected against immersion in water up to one meter at normal pressure for 30 minutes. |
| 8 | Protected against immersion in water one meter or deeper at specifications detailed by the manufacturer. |
| 9X | Protection against water sprayed from high-flow and high-pressure jets at high-temperatureWater volume of 14 to 16 Liters/minuteWater pressure of 80 to 100 barWater temperature of 80-degreesDistance of 0.10 to 0.15 meters |
In addition (because this wasn’t confusing enough) the IP Code has letter designations for additional protection. Like any K rating, you’ll never see these on a cell phone but I’m putting them here because we’re going to be complete. Deal with it.
Additional protection designation
| Letter code | What it means |
| f | Oil resistant |
| H | High voltage protection |
| M | Motion during any testing |
| S | No motion during any testing |
| W | Weather resistant |
Yes, the “f” is not capitalized, and “Weather resistant” doesn’t tell us anything at all. We didn’t write the specification. Like everything else that happens now, I am going to blame Phil.
So when you buy a phone like the Galaxy S7 that has a rating of IP68 you can put it in a vacuum and dust can’t get in, or let it sit in more than one meter of water forever, right? Nope.
Phones sent to a testing lab passed. Yours might not.
The dust protection rating leaves zero wiggle room. The S7 is dust proof under any conditions a human being can be in. The liquid ingress protection of 8 is “specified by the manufacturer”, and Samsung says submersion up to 5.0 feet for up to 30 minutes.
Cool, let’s go play with it in the bathtub and take videos of a rubber duckie versus GI Joe Wet Suit Frogman battle royale. This will be epic.
Not so fast. Samsung also says your device is not impervious to water damage in any situation, which is a total buzzkill.
The Galaxy S7 phones used for testing and certification were able to withstand dust intrusion under any circumstances up to and including a vacuum, and immersion in water 5-feet deep for a half hour. Your phone might not. The certification facility can’t test every phone. The people who made it should be willing to talk about the warranty if you have an issue, though.
Lil Wayne can afford a dump truck filled with Galaxy S7 edges. Can you? Be smarter than Lil Wayne.
MIL-STD
This is a U.S. Military standard that specifies how something will fare against the environment during its lifetime. Android phones, watches and other electronics often carry the MIL-STD 810G certification, which means it was tested in a lab under conditions that simulate a gigantic list of environmental variables and still worked. Some of the things that are tested include temperature extremes, altitude, thermal shock, fungal ingress and being frozen solid. It’s an exhaustive list, and if your phone passed these tests you can expect it to survive anything, including a week with Bear Grylls, right?
Nope.
In essence, this certification is basically meaningless. For starters, the testing procedures clearly state that you only have to test simulated environments, which doesn’t mean it will withstand the real thing. If that’s not enough of a red flag, the fact that whoever does the testing gets to decide how anything is simulated and that the thing being tested doesn’t even need to pass should be. And feel free to see what happens to a phone with a battery when you freeze it and then thaw it out.
Ride with me in my way back machine, where we can see Dr. Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, Ph.D. explain it perfectly.
The MIL-STD-810G does not mandate standards or set minimum goals for the various tests; for the most part it simply describes how testing is to be conducted. This leaves considerable room for interpretation, and it is therefore important for manufacturers of rugged notebooks to provide detailed information on what tests were conducted, how exactly they were conducted, what the results were, and what those results actually mean. The claim that a product is “MIL-STD-810G tested” is not enough, and prospective customers should ask for more detail.
Saying something is MIL-STD 810G tested without providing a copy of the testing parameters and results means the same thing as “feels faster” or “excellent camera.” Never use this as a factor in your decision to buy an electronic device.
Seeing IP numbers and Military toughness ratings on a phone you buy is generally a good thing. Not all individual devices will pass all real-life testing, but someone somewhere made it a little tougher than normal.
Having an IP-spec phone is great protection against accidents like spilling a beer, and a MIL-STD 810G phone will probably fare an icy snowbank or fungal garden better than one without. Just remember, taking your phone scuba diving or spelunking just might mean time on a different phone with whoever handles the warranty.
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Google Cast now hardbaked into Chrome
After two years of beta testing, Google has baked its Cast functionality directly into Chrome.
For the last couple of years, you could mirror content in a Chrome browser to a compatible device using a Chrome Extension, but the feature is now part of the browser permanently.
You no longer need to install anything other than the browser itself to be able to use Cast. And those who already have Chrome should find that their browser has updated automatically.
Whenever you are on a site that supports Cast, such as Netflix, and you are on the same network as a Cast-enabled device, you will see the icon appear. Alternatively, you can Cast any website to your TV by selecting the dedicated option from the Chrome menu.
- Chromecast 2 review: Make any TV smart, effortlessly
There are plenty of devices out there that support Cast these days; Google’s own Chromecast dongles do of course, but also Android TV boxes, such as the Nvidia Shield box, and televisions. The Chromecast Audio will also work with music sites.
Google has also made improvements to the Cast quality from the Chrome browser. Casting sessions in HD are now available in order to sharpen up the experience.
Hopefully, with this change we might see a further update to the company’s own Cast products sometime soon.
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus cases arrive in stores, amazing leak confirms two major features
We know that Apple plans to launch something on Wednesday 7 September and are 99.9 per cent certain it will be at least two phones: the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. We now have confirmation of a couple of the much-rumoured features as licensed cases have started to arrive at stores in the UK and Pocket-lint has received a pic of one in the flesh.
A Gear4 protective case for the iPhone 7 has been spotted at a popular phone outlet in the UK. Our source sent us the picture as proof.
The trusted source also confirms that the headphone jack is no more, as long suspected. Instead, it has just a hole at the bottom for the Lightning port. The camera slot on this specific case is similar to that on an iPhone 6s equivalent, but we’ve also been told that the iPhone 7 Plus case has a larger camera cut-out, again suggesting that the oft-repeated rumoured about a double-lens camera is true.
- What to expect at Apple’s September 2016 event: iPhone 7 and more
- Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know
- Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 6S vs iPhone 6: What’s the rumoured difference?
We can’t mention which store in which the picture was taken, but can confirm that we have verified its validity. It is likely that multiple outlets have received the same stock in preparation for launch day next week.
There’s no mention of an iPhone 7 Pro, but as we’ve been hearing less and less about the potential third device of late, it’s highly possible it won’t be part of the forthcoming media briefing.
AIVAnet 