Solar road tiles get their first public test

No, that’s not an elaborate new Lite-Brite kit– that’s the possible future of energy. After years of work (and some last-minute delays), Solar Roadways has installed its first public energy tiles in Sandpoint, Idaho as part of a test. On top of producing a light show, the panels will generate power for the fountain and restrooms in a public square. They have heating elements, too, so they should keep running even in the heart of winter. And if you’re not sure how well they’ll work in practice, you can check on them yourself — Sandpoint has a live webcam pointed at the tiles.

It’s a modest dry run with just 30 panels, and it’ll be a long while before you see them on the streets they were designed for. However, it shows that they’re more than just theoretical exercises. And if a small number of tiles can power a town square by themselves, it’s easy to imagine full-fledged solar roads shouldering a significant amount of the energy demand for whole cities.

Via: KREM2

Source: Solar Roadways (Twitter), Sandpoint

Carphone Warehouse spills all the Google Pixel beans: Specs and images aplenty

A completely comprehensive leak, again by a retail partner.

Canadian carrier Bell definitely has egg on its face after leaking pictures of the Pixel and Pixel XL, but now UK retailer Carphone Warehouse has outdone it. As pointed out in our forums, CPW has full product pages for the upcoming Google Pixel and Pixel XL including various photos and specs.

If the leaked specs are to be believed, things are breaking down roughly as expected from earlier leaks.

The Pixel XL is listed with a 5.5-inch 2560×1440 AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 4, and a 3450 mAh battery. The standard Google Pixel lines up with a 5-inch 1920×1080 AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 4 as well, and a 2770 mAh battery. The common points between the two are a 12MP rear camera with 1.55-micron pixels and an f/2.0 aperture, an 8MP front-facing camera, one-touch fingerprint sensor, Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB of RAM and a choice of 32 or 128GB of storage. Google Assistant is also highlighted as a main feature of the phones.

A microSD card slot is listed also … but we’re not putting weight behind that. We should take many of these specific specs with a grain of salt as these pre-release pages are often filled with placeholder information. Just scanning through the pages you can see a few typos and odd issues in the spec sheets.

Going beyond the specs, CPW also includes various product shots of the phones, giving us better looks at them than we’ve seen in previous leaked blurrycam shots and renders.

There’s still a whole lot to learn about the new Pixel phones from Google, but CPW jumping the gun has definitely pulled back the curtain further than before to show us what’s coming up next from Google.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Everything we know so far
• New navigation buttons
• Google UI + circular icons
• Android 7.1 Nougat
• Pixel vs Pixel XL
• Older Nexus phones

HIV researchers edge closer to a cure

Most recent news on the fight against HIV has focused on preventative medicine and suppression, but British scientists might be inching toward an honest-to-goodness cure. A 44-year-old social worker in London appears to be completely free of the virus after undergoing an experimental “kick and kill” treatment as part of a trial. The patient first took a vaccine to help his immune system detect infected cells, and then took Vorinostat to activate dormant infected cells that normally don’t get caught. After that, it was just a matter of letting the healthy parts of the immune system kill off all the HIV, theoretically eliminating any chance of the virus coming back.

The researchers are quick to stress that there’s a long, long way to go before they’re shouting about this therapy from the rooftops. The social worker is just the first of 50 to finish the trial, and he’ll have to wait months to confirm that HIV is no longer in his system. There’s also a chance that the patient’s doses of conventional medicine are contributing to the seemingly clean bill of health. And even if everything is fine after this first experiment, the tests will carry on for another 5 years.

Still, the findings are promising. A drug cocktail like this is relatively straightforward compared to more elaborate attempts to kill or neuter HIV, such as gene editing. If it clears all the necessary hurdles (and HIV doesn’t evolve to resist the medicine), the virus won’t pose nearly as much of a threat as it has in decades past.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Sunday Times (reg. required)

Blue Apron’s meal kit service has had worker safety problems

Popular internet companies have a tendency to devote relatively little attention to their warehouse workers, lavishing the most attention on their software engineers. It’s their code that makes it all possible, right? However, internet meal kit giant Blue Apron is getting a harsh lesson in the importance of taking care of all its employees. BuzzFeed has learned that Blue Apron’s Richmond, California fulfillment center has had numerous crime and safety incidents, including employee violence and OSHA violations. There have been instances of staff brandishing knives, for example, and workers suffering accidents using equipment they’re not certified to use.

There have also been complaints about excessive hours (thankfully with overtime), a lack of stringent hiring practices and high stress levels, all of which are the product of Blue Apron’s business model. It has to regularly ship meals sourced from a wide array of locations, with both maximum convenience (you can change your order a week before delivery) and extremely low waste levels. Combine that with rapidly growing demand and there’s frequently zero tolerance for error, whether it’s inventory levels or shipment rates. High employee turnover has reportedly been common, and the company says it had problems with temp agencies recruiting workers with criminal records and other sub-standard behavior.

For its part, Blue Apron tells BuzzFeed that it has “learned from the operational challenges” of earlier times, and is “always working to improve” its environment. And there’s evidence to support this. The company has reduced the volume of police visits, hired a safety manager and purposefully slowed its growth. The problem is that Blue Apron didn’t fully grasp the importance of these issues early on — like many tech startups, it was primarily focused on keeping up with its ever-larger customer base. The investigation is a reminder that internet firms have to think about every aspect of their company when they grow, not just their code or subscriber counts.

Source: BuzzFeed

Best Phones for Rooting and Modding

Tinker to your heart’s content with these Android phones.

Best overall

Nexus 5X

See at Amazon

If you’re not content with the software some company decided you are allowed to use and are willing to roll up your sleeves and do something about it, the Nexus 5X is the best phone to do it with.

Because it’s a phone directly from Google, the bootloader is easy to unlock using tools and directions Google gives you, and you’ll have no restrictions on the software you can install. If you keep going until the phone just stops working getting back to the factory software is just as easy, and Google provides a downloadable image you can use to restore.

Just as important is the price. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a phone to enjoy modding it, and the Nexus 5X’s low price has made it a popular favorite. You’ll find a large online community of people doing the same things with their Nexus 5X that you’re interested in doing.

Bottom line: The value-priced Nexus 5X has a large development community and there are no restrictions on what you can do on the software side.

Why best

The Nexus 5X is open and affordable.

Phones direct from Google all share one common trait — they are easy to root and mod the software. The reason we think the Nexus 5X is the best is because the low price means the community is huge.

Most things that can be done on one Google phone can also be done to the others, but every once in a while a device-specific issue arises and when that happens, the best thing you can have is a large group of people that act as a support channel. Routinely checking in under $200 USD, the 5X is also a great phone to get if you’re looking for a second device to play around with while you use your primary phone to hold all your personal data without compromising its security.

Whether you’re new to phone modding or an old hat, we can’t help but recommend the Nexus 5X as the best phone to do any of it.

A higher-spec option

OnePlus 3

See at OnePlus

OnePlus phones have been a fan favorite among Android enthusiasts since the company was started, but the OnePlus 3 is different — it’s the first phone from them you can buy without an invite.

It’s easy to unlock the bootloader and install alternative software, and like the Nexus 5X, the relatively low price makes for a large development community. A strange positive is that issues with the factory software mean that more people are interested in modding the OnePlus 3, which makes a large community even larger.

If you are willing to spend more and get better internals on the phone you intend to break open, the OnePlus 3 is worth looking at.

Bottom line: High-end specs and a budget price make the OnePlus 3 a contender. Easy modifications and a large community also make it an excellent choice for rooting and modding.

The flagship option

Nexus 6P

See at Amazon

If you love tinkering and modding your phone enough to spend serious money, you’ll love the Nexus 6P. Poised as the Android platform reference model in 2016, the Nexus 6P can handle any task thrown at it for when you need it to work as intended, and the open nature that comes with being a phone direct from Google means you’re free to do whatever you like with the software.

Just like the Nexus 5X above, everything you need to modify, break, then get things working again for the Nexus 6P is available from Google, who actively encourages and participates with the people doing the software development for third-party Nexus 6P ROMs and mods.

Paying more for a phone you intend to alter right out of the gate may sound a bit silly, but for many the experience can’t be beaten.

Bottom line: Everything you want or need to do is possible with the Nexus 6P, but the price is higher than the others on the list. This is definitely not the value choice.

Conclusion

You can root and mod almost every Android phone. We tend to focus on the ones you can’t because they are outliers. But being able to do it through an exploit or other sometimes difficult process isn’t ideal.

If you’re looking ahead and know you’ll want to change something on your next phone that requires custom software or root access, these phones are the best options.

Best overall

Nexus 5X

See at Amazon

If you’re not content with the software some company decided you are allowed to use and are willing to roll up your sleeves and do something about it, the Nexus 5X is the best phone to do it with.

Because it’s a phone directly from Google, the bootloader is easy to unlock using tools and directions Google gives you, and you’ll have no restrictions on the software you can install. If you keep going until the phone just stops working getting back to the factory software is just as easy, and Google provides a downloadable image you can use to restore.

Just as important is the price. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a phone to enjoy modding it, and the Nexus 5X’s low price has made it a popular favorite. You’ll find a large online community of people doing the same things with their Nexus 5X that you’re interested in doing.

Bottom line: The value-priced Nexus 5X has a large development community and there are no restrictions on what you can do on the software side.

Simulation of hidden ocean tides could lead to better sonar

There’s a lot of tidal movement under the ocean’s surface, but we haven’t had a great understanding of it so far. Internal tides, created around continental shelf breaks, are far more difficult to predict than the ocean waves you can see. However, MIT researchers just made a breakthrough: they’ve accurately simulated those hidden tides for the first time. They melded a hydrodynamic model with data from a coastal sound wave study to replicate an ocean environment (in this case, a shelf break near the US’ eastern coast) with a previously unseen level of complexity, complete with background elements like currents and eddies. The technique should be useful for predicting climates and fishing populations, but it could lead to a surprising amount of technological progress, too.

To begin with, knowing how those internal tides work could help develop more advanced sonar systems that are better at accommodating underwater conditions. The simulations could also lead to better protection for offshore structures like oil rigs and wind farms, since builders can better account for once-unpredictable threats. MIT will have to conduct further tests to make sure its modelling holds up, but the chances are that you’ll soon have a much clearer understanding of what happens well beneath the water line.

Source: MIT News

Huge Pixel and Pixel XL leak gives us a good look at the Made by Google phones

Google is expected to unveil its new handsets on Tuesday 4 October and it looks like launch-day images have just leaked, thanks to Canadian carrier Bell.

Rumours have long suggested that Google will be calling these phones the Pixel and Pixel XL and that’s conveniently confirmed, with the Bell website offering the Pixel and Pixel XL phones for pre-order.

Shared via Steve Hemmerstoffer on Twitter, but also appearing at a similar time on Reddit, we’re treated to very clear images of these two Made by Google phones.

The design matches a number of leaks we’ve seen previously, most noticeably from VentureBeat, which displayed phones of the same design.

Bell

Thought to be manufactured by HTC, the white Pixel reminds us a lot of the HTC One A9 and if the quality of build is the same then we’d be totally happy. The Pixel is expected to be a 5-inch device, while the Pixel XL is thought to be 5.5 inches.

• Made by Google: What to expect at Google’s 4 October Pixel event
• Google Pixel and Pixel XL: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know about the next Nexus
• Pixel Launcher: Leak shows the fresh Android face of the Pixel and Pixel XL

From these images alone we can’t draw too many additional conclusions, but what we can see Pixel Launcher that recently leaked, with a new apps tray that opens with a slide up and refreshed home button.

You’ll also notice the round icons. While Chrome has always been round, it looks like Google might be pushing round icons on us.

We’ll know everything on 4 October and we’ll bring you all the confirmed details in a few days.

Tesla’s electric car deliveries surge by 70 percent

Tesla didn’t have the best spring thanks to sub-par deliveries, but it made up for that in style this summer. The company reports that it delivered 24,500 electric vehicles in the third quarter, or a whopping 70 percent more than it did in the second quarter — and over twice the 11,580 it shipped a year earlier. It’s not simply a matter of clearing a backlog, either, as production was up 37 percent (to 25,185 cars) over the second quarter.

Elon Musk and company haven’t explained what led to the spike, although it’s easy to see Tesla’s more accessible lineup playing a part. The return of the Model S 60 opened the door to buyers who couldn’t quite justify the previous EV line. A more affordable 2-year lease program likely helped, too. On the other end of the spectrum, the P100D variants of the Model S and Model X gave the spare-no-expense crowd a reason to take a closer look.

The surge hints that Tesla shouldn’t have much trouble hitting its target of 50,000 deliveries in the second half of 2016. It’s predicting that its fourth quarter deliveries will be as good or better than it managed last year. The big challenge comes in 2017, as it gets ready for the Model 3. Tesla will have to ramp up Gigafactory production and deliver many, many more EVs to eager drivers.

Source: Tesla

Angela Ahrendts is Now Simply Senior Vice President of Retail as Apple Drops ‘Online Stores’ From Her Title

Apple updated its leadership page this weekend to reflect a minor change to Angela Ahrendts’ title, which has been simplified to “Senior Vice President, Retail” as “Online Stores” has been dropped.

Ahrendts remains responsible for “strategy, real estate and development, and operations” of both Apple’s physical stores and online storefront, according to her slightly updated bio.

Angela Ahrendts is Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Angela is responsible for strategy, real estate & development, and operations of Apple’s physical stores, Apple’s online store and contact centers.

Since joining Apple in 2014, Angela has integrated Apple’s physical and digital retail businesses to create a seamless customer experience for over a billion visitors per year with the goal of educating, inspiring, entertaining and enriching communities. Apple employees set the standard for customer service in stores and online, delivering support from highly trained Geniuses and expert advice from Creative Pros to help customers get the most out of their Apple products.

The title change is likely in line with Apple’s simplified retail branding, including dropping the “Store” moniker when referring to its retail locations by name. Apple has also been attempting to converge its physical and online retail experiences over the past few years, and Ahrendts’ new title reflects those efforts.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
Tags: Angela Ahrendts, Apple retail
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