Google Wi-Fi now available to buy: How does the mesh router work?

Google has launched its new Wi-Fi router. It’s called Google Wi-Fi.

Last year, Google introduced the OnHub router with TP-Link and Asus, but this year, Google has made its own device called Google Wi-Fi. Each base station looks like a Scandinavian-style, double-stacked hockey puck that Google described as a “visually subtle” disk. But one of the coolest aspects about this router is that you can buy multiple ones to form a mesh network.

Here’s everything you need to know about Google Wi-Fi, including when and where you can buy them.

What is Google Wi-Fi?

Google has described Google Wi-Fi as a “new kind of Wi-Fi system that beams a powerful signal throughout your home”.

Google Wi-Fi is designed to be expandable, so you can use several of them in your home. It can also handle multiple devices, meaning you can stream in the living room and kitchen while someone games in the basement – and there should be no Wi-Fi congestion or a contest for bandwidth.

How does the Google Wi-Fi mesh network work?

You basically put several of these routers (aka points) around your home to boost your network. You will get Wi-Fi signal everywhere, from your bathroom to your basement. Think of Google Wi-Fi as an expandable system for better coverage. Instead of one router, multiple routers work together to deliver fast input to throughout your home, Google said.

It essentially offers mesh network-like coverage.

How many Google Wi-Fi routers do you need?

If you have a smaller home (up to 1500 sq ft), Google recommended that you start with a single Google Wi-Fi router. You can add more points if you need more coverage. Google is offering a three-pack set covers up to 4500 sq ft.

What else can Google Wi-Fi do?

Google Wi-Fi has a feature called Network Assist that allows it to actively manage and optimise your network behind the scenes so you don’t have to adjust settings. Google Wi-Fi handles networking automatically, picking channels, etc, and it keeps the signal strong in every corner of your house by transitioning your device to the best router for less congestion and better speed.

Does Google Wi-Fi come with an app?

Yes. Although Google Wi-Fi can optimise service without your input, you can still control it through a companion app. You can even manage several features, including the Wi-Fi access of your kids. As Google said, “You don’t have to shut down the router, just go to the app and hit pause.”

When will Google Wi-Fi be available?

Google Wi-Fi bundles are now available through Google Store, Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. According to Droid Life, they should begin shipping on 6 December. Google has said that Google Wi-Fi won’t be coming to the UK for now but “hopes to make it available in the future”.

How much is Google Wi-Fi?

Google Wi-Fi costs $129 for one base station or $299 for three.

Apple iPhone 8 might include two 5.5-inch models with dual cameras

The next iPhone – or iPhones – will be big and pack a dual-camera design. 

Apple is rumoured to be working on three new iPhone models for 2017, which happens to be the phone’s 10th anniversary. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities (via Apple Insider), two of those phones will be 5.5-inch models with dual-lens cameras. Also, one of the phones will be a redesigned OLED version, while the other will simply have a LCD display.

Kuo forecasted that between 65 and 75 percent of new iPhones shipped next autumn will boast “dual-camera displays”. Keep in mind he has said previously that the two-camera system would be an exclusive feature for iPhone Plus models. As for that third phone, it will have a 4.7-inch form factor and an LCD display, but it won’t launch with a dual-lens camera design. 

Other features rumoured for the next iPhone include a glass back, a curved screen, and a Touch ID sensor built into the display. Check out Pocket-lint’s rumour round-up for more details on what the phone could feature.

Oxford University will offer free online courses in 2017

The highest ranked university in the world will soon join prestigious institutions like Berkeley, Harvard and MIT in offering free massive open online courses (MOOCs). Starting in February 2017, Oxford University will partner with nonprofit online learning platform edX to teach a freely available economics class titled, “From Poverty to Prosperity: Understanding Economic Development.”

While the idea of free online learning has started to catch on in the United States — the New York Times declared 2012 “the year of the MOOC” — Oxford has held out on such programs until now. Appropriately enough, this particular course is a perfect fit for promoting accessibility in places of higher education: it will be taught by Oxford Economics and Public Policy professor Sir Paul Collier, and will “examine the vital role that governments play in boosting economic development,” according to a statement from the university.

“The School’s mission is to improve government around the world through research and education, and this requires better educated public officials, teachers, entrepreneurs, journalists and citizens,” Professor Ngaire Woods, the Dean of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government said. “We see this first massive open online course as an effective way to expand access to knowledge beyond the classrooms of Oxford, and to help people understand how their community and country can flourish wherever they are in the world.”

Enrollment is open now through edX’s platform and students can expect to spend about two to three hours per week on the six-week course. The materials will also be available to view after the course closes.

Via: BBC

Source: Oxford University

BMW expands its ReachNow car-share service to Brooklyn

At the LA Auto Show today, BMW announced that its car-sharing service, ReachNow is expanding to Brooklyn starting today. The city joins Seattle and Portland as municipalities that have access to BMWs and Minis for one-way rentals within a set geographic range.

The company also announced that in December it plans to launch a ride-hailing service similar to Uber and Lyft in the Seattle area called ReachNow Ride. The new service will use the same app the company already uses for car-sharing. Users will have the option of choosing a ride from someone or reserving and driving one of seven types of vehicles currently available for rent in the city.

What sets ReachNow apart from soon-to-be-rivals Lyft and Uber is that drivers will use the company’s vehicles instead of their own cars. But as with more established ride-hailing services, the folks behind the wheel will be considered contractors, not employees. There’s no word on when this service will expand to Portland or Brooklyn, where ReachNow car-sharing is already available.

Indeed, Brooklyn is especially important to BMW. “Part of the reason we choose Brooklyn was we wanted to make it clear we weren’t just a West Coast solution,” ReachNow CEO Steve Banfield told Engadget. “We weren’t just a regional product. Our mission has been from the beginning to cover the continent.”

And while there are no announcements about additional markets, the company has been aggressively courting other urban areas including San Francisco where it had a similar car-sharing service called DriveNow. Unfortunately, city regulations about parking shut it down. But ReachNow is hoping to return soon. “We would love to take a look and come back to San Francisco.”

But in the meantime it continues to expand and add more services. In fact, today it also announced a pilot program (ReachNow Share) that allowed Seattle owners of 2016 and 2017 Minis to rent their cars to ReachNow customers.

Source: ReachNow

Lucid Motors’ super-secret car makes an appearance

Automotive startup, Lucid Motors dropped by the LA Auto Show with its super-secret sedan today. Because it’s electric and doesn’t have a traditional engine taking up space, the company has designed the car to have a smaller footprint that a luxury sedan like the BMW 7-Series. But, boasts the roughly the same amount of cargo and passenger space as those high-end vehicles.

That’s not the only time the car has been caught on camera. Earlier in the day, the automaker released its own photo of the vehicle sitting between a BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class to show just how much smaller it is than those sedans.

The company says the yet-to-be-seen-without-camouflage sedan will have a 300 mile range and potentially fully autonomous features when it launches. Unfortunately, there’s no current information about when you’ll actually be able to buy one.

China completes first human trial with CRISPR-edited genes

As predicted, it happened: On October 28th, Chinese oncologists at Sichuan University were the first in the world to insert CRISPR-modified cells into a patient suffering from an aggressive form of lung cancer, according to Nature. The journal reports that this first round of treatment in a safety trial went well enough to warrant a second injection of the Cas9-edited cells, and that nine more people will undergo the treatments in the future. From there, the patients will be monitored for at least six months, if not longer, to “determine whether the injections are causing serious adverse effects.”

The idea behind the continued monitoring is to ensure that the edited cells act as they should. That is, that their (now deactivated) PD-1 proteins no longer halt a cell’s immune response and let cancer spread. “The hope is, without PD-1, the edited cells will attack and defeat the cancer,” Nature wrote.

This might not be the silver bullet against cancer, though. Naiyer Rizvi from Columbia University’s Medical Center posits that the gene editing process could encounter a roadblock because it’s a complex procedure and isn’t very scalable — especially compared to other methods like using antibodies.

“Unless it shows a large gain in efficacy, it will be hard to justify moving forward,” he said.

Source: Nature

MacBook Pro With Touch Bar Now Available for Purchase at Some Apple Retail Stores

Just a day after the first MacBook Pro with Touch Bar orders began arriving to customers, a select number of Apple retail stores have received stock and are offering limited quantities of the new machine.

MacRumors reader Nicholas was able to purchase a new 15-inch MacBook Pro at the Apple Store in La Brea, California, and according to a Reddit thread, several other stores across California have also been selling Touch Bar MacBook Pro models. New MacBook Pros have been spotted in Rancho Cucamonga, Fairview, Emeryville, and Walnut Creek, and one Redditor claims to have purchased a 13-inch MacBook Pro from the Soho Apple Store in New York, while a MacRumors reader says he found a MacBook Pro in New Jersey.

In other parts of the United States, stores do not yet have Touch Bar MacBook Pro models available for purchase, but multiple customers have been told to expect the machines to be in stock starting tomorrow. At some locations, however, customers have been told no MacBook Pro models will be available before Thanksgiving, so country-wide in-store availability may not happen for a few weeks.

Along with limited stock, Apple retail stores are expected to have display models on hand before the end of the week. In Hong Kong, the Touch Bar MacBook Pro has been on display since yesterday, and several customers have reported being told that display models will be in stores as soon as Wednesday.

In store pickup is not available for the new MacBook Pros, so customers hoping to skip the 4 to 5 week wait for a Touch Bar machine will need to call or visit an Apple retail store in person to check stock levels.

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