AT&T is done with the Note 7 as another fire is reported in Virginia

AT&T is done and has officially stopped selling the Note 7. The carrier reached out to media outlets with the following:

Based on recent reports, we’re no longer exchanging new Note7s at this time, pending further investigation of these reported incidents. We still encourage customers with a recalled Note7 to visit an AT&T location to exchange that device for another Samsung smartphone or other smartphone of their choice.

They also want to reiterate that anyone who has purchased a Note 7 and would like to exchange it should come to a store and do so, as announced on Friday.

In related news, the Verge writes that a Richmond Virginia man has contacted them with yet another story of the Note 7 and its fiery ways. Shawn Minter says his replacement Note 7 went up in flames and filled his bedroom with smoke early this morning. He provided receipts and images, which corroborate his story.

Don’t buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Disney’s one-legged robot will hop its way into your heart

Disney’s research division revealed last year that one of the company’s goals is to bring its fictional characters to life… as robots. Well, folks, we may now be witnessing the birth of a robotic Tigger. The House of Mouse’s scientists have designed a bouncy machine with one leg that can hop around without support. It can only stay upright for around 19 hops before it adorably topples over, but according to its creators, other one-legged robots and aren’t as portable and can’t balance on a single limb without a tether.

Tigger-bot, however, can naturally bounce on its own. The secret lies in its leg mechanism that the researchers call “Linear Elastic Actuator in Parallel” or LEAP. It uses compression springs to support the structure’s weight and a voice coil that pushes against the ground. We’re sure it helps that the whole leg can move forward, backward, right and left instead of staying rigid.

It will likely take a long, long time before you can buy an actual bouncy Tigger toy based on this design, though. Disney hasn’t even admitted that it’s making a robotic version of the friendly feline. For now, you can watch the video below and imagine the hopping machine as Pooh’s friend, happily bouncing on his tail.

Via: The Verge, Gizmodo

Source: Disney Research

Tesla drops the entry-level Model X 60D from its lineup

We hope you weren’t scrimping and saving to put the entry-level Model X in your driveway. Tesla has quietly dropped the 60D version of its electric crossover, leaving the 75D as your only choice. While the Model X wasn’t exactly a budget vehicle to start with, that definitely raises the price of entry. You now have to spend $85,500 before tax credits to get past those falcon wing doors, or about $11,500 more than you did while the 60D was around.

We’ve asked Tesla if it can say why the 60D is leaving a mere 3 months after it made its debut. There’s a chance (however slim) that it could tie into the company’s looming October 17th event. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if the starter Model X occupied an awkward middle ground and just wasn’t selling as well as the company liked. After all, frugal buyers (relatively speaking) are more likely to skew toward the Model S 60, which starts at $66,000. If you can afford to spend thousands of dollars more for the X, why not splurge on the longer range of the 75D? Tesla wants to deliver more of the EVs it makes these days, and that likely means scrapping any vehicles that aren’t strong sellers.

Via: Electrek

Source: Tesla

Android and chill: Do the right thing

It’s piling up so fast you almost need wings to stay above it.

That line (paraphrased) from Martin Sheen’s character in Apocolypse Now perfectly describes this weekend for Samsung. I had what I thought was a really well-written and thoughtful article ready yesterday about the price of phones, our reactions, and how we can’t judge what anything is worth to someone else. A big part of it was about the Note 7, which set off the most recent chain of phones that cost “a lot.”

Yeah, that went off the rails. That’s what I get for trying to talk about things that move as quickly as mobile tech. This week’s Android and chill isn’t so chill.

The Note 7 has turned into a dumpster fire. We really have no idea what’s going on, yet we’re seeing people with replacement phones doing the same exact thing the original ones did. The ones that Samsung, Health Canada, and the CPSC all deemed as unsafe. Why this is happening is anyone’s guess. I imagine that even Samsung isn’t quite sure. Worst of all, people who spent nearly $1,000 USD on a new phone, universally touted as the best you can buy, have no idea what the hell is going on. And that’s not fair. Not even a little.

I imagine even Samsung is unsure about exactly what is happening right now.

I’m done believing some story about anode-to-cathodes and other assorted nonsense as the explanation for phones exploding, catching fire, and in a few cases putting people in the hospital. Especially now that the miracle cure seemingly did nothing. And if there isn’t another wide-spread issue and these were isolated incidents that had the most terrible timing imaginable, I don’t care. The Note 7 is damaged goods, never to be redeemed. The public doesn’t want it, the carriers don’t want it, and even if the people who do still want it bought three of them each, that’s not enough to save it. Kill it. Take it out back with one bullet like the thing you love that could turn rabid and hurt you at any time.

Photo courtesy KTSP News

Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note 7. We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause. Once we have examined the device we will have more information to share

That was Samsung’s response when a man’s replacement Note 7 burst into flames while he was boarding his flight to Baltimore. Seeing that is when I realized that things were once again out of control. No mention of concern for the people involved or relief that nobody was injured, no empathy for worried customers who shelled out $1,000 and no tact. How hard would it have been to say that “Samsung is thankful that nobody was injured during the incident and we are ready to assist the investigation in any way we can.” Or better yet, how about you get your lead engineers and someone in a suit and tie with a VP title on a Goddamn plane and find out what’s going on while you’re saying it? Instead, the response sounds accusatory towards the victim and frankly has the vibe that Samsung is in damage-control mode and doesn’t care about anything else.

Bad hardware can happen to any company. Unlike many others, I praised Samsung for moving forward with a voluntary recall while waiting for government agencies to churn out something. Getting the Note 7 off of the streets was the single most important thing that needed to be done at the time and Samsung did it without being forced. Supply issues and replacements were something that can be worked out after you’re sure nobody else is going to get hurt. That goodwill I felt is quickly slipping away as Samsung remains silent after another round of high-profile battery failures.

The Note 7 is damaged goods, never to be redeemed. Even if there’s nothing wrong with it.

We need to know what’s happening, Samsung, or we need an avenue for an instant refund of every dollar spent so we can buy a different phone. If I or anyone in my family had a Note 7, it wouldn’t leave my office. My wife wouldn’t be carrying one, nor would my children. Not until I knew it was safe, and I’m afraid I’ll never know that. I’m not advising anyone else on what they should do with my unsolicited opinion. But I know the bad taste this is leaving behind might have been avoidable had Samsung said something, anything, as soon as they had reports of the replacement Notes having these familiar issues. I’m not going to entertain the thought that Samsung knew there was a problem before phones exploded in Korea, and Taiwan, and China, and Kentucky and Minnesota right now. I can’t.

I just know it’s time for Samsung to do the right thing and let us know what they know, tells us what they plan to do, and help us feel better about their phones.

Ben Heck’s guide to making your own Halloween costume

It’s almost time for Halloween! Ben and Karen put their heads together to design an electronics superhero costume, filled with sound effects and highlighted with electroluminescent wire. Ben starts to prototype the circuitry using an i2c connected LSM303DLH accelerometer sensor, which is connected to a Parallax Propeller development stick. Unfortunately, this isn’t actually that easy, and Ben is forced to debug the connections to the i2c circuit with an oscilloscope.

Once Ben has the code ready for testing, it’s time for Karen to calibrate the sensors with kicks, punches and a little dancing. Finally, what’s a superhero without the correct attire? Karen walks through the group’s ideas so far and considers laser-cutting skirts and trousers with a superhero logo to give them some extra style. Meanwhile, you can submit your own design ideas over at the element14 Community.

Tesla is holding a ‘product unveiling’ on October 17th

This October is a busy month for Tesla. On top of a SolarCity-linked event on the 28th, the company’s Elon Musk has revealed that there’s a Tesla-specific “product unveiling” event slated for the 17th. It’s not certain what will appear at the event (Musk says it’s “unexpected by most”), but there are already ideas floating around. Suffice it to say that this probably won’t involve pure energy products — those are more likely to wait for the 28th.
One possibility: this is Tesla’s chance to showcase the finished Model 3 design, and possibly to explain more about its options and features. Just what is the “obvious thing” for Autopilot on the upcoming EV? We also wouldn’t rule out further Autopilot improvements for existing cars, or hardware upgrades such as longer-ranged batteries. Tesla is fond of iterative tweaks to its vehicles, so there’s no guarantee that this will be an earth-shaking announcement.

Tesla product unveiling on the 17th (unexpected by most), followed by Tesla/SolarCity on the 28th

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 9, 2016

Source: Elon Musk (Twitter)