AngelList buys tech discovery site Product Hunt
Product Hunt’s discovery site for genuinely useful technology has been bought by AngelList. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, however Recode is putting the number at around $20 million. The acquisition involves a mixture of cash and stock, and will see ProductHunt “remain an independent platform,” according to its CEO Ryan Hoover. “We’ll continue to use excessive emojis, drink Philz, and build in public with our community,” he wrote on Medium. ProductHunt launched in 2013 with a simple premise: surface the hottest startups and services. It’s since become a Silicon Valley darling, expanding into games, books and other categories.
AngelList, meanwhile, is aimed squarely at the startup world. The site helps founders to recruit and raise funding from the oftentimes daunting investor community. Graham Jenkin, COO at AngelList, believes the two can work together as “one network where technology companies can fundraise, recruit and launch.” The synergy makes sense, but so does keeping them separate for now; ProductHunt is a fun, approachable site that anyone can use. Merging it with AngelList could threaten that accessibility for people who just want a cool new Chrome extension.
Source: AngelList, ProductHunt (Medium)
Plex can pull media from Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive
Plex has added support for Google Drive, OneDrive and DropBox to its Plex Cloud service. The original idea with the service, which debuted in beta this September, was to void the need for a dedicated media server or network attached storage (NAS) drives. That way, assuming you have a decently fast internet connection, you can stream your movies or songs wherever you are via files that are parked securely in the cloud.
When Plex Cloud first launched, it only offered support for Amazon Cloud Drive. However, the company acknowledged on Reddit that “we have run into technical challenges with the Amazon Drive integration,” adding that it’s “working hard to resolve the issues.” According to comments on the Plex forums, the problem seems to be that Plex Media devices suddenly won’t sync with Amazon’s Web Services after working before. Users who paid for a $60 yearly Amazon Cloud subscription just for Plex Cloud are concerned that the retail giant is limiting Plex access, possibly over excessive uploading.
Users now have a lot more options, however, and many who’ve already tried Google Drive say it’s working fine. Plex streaming is available on most devices including PCs, smartphones, consoles, smart TVs and dedicated streaming boxes. If you decide to try the Plex Cloud service in beta (you have to score an invitation), you’ll need a $5 per month ($40 per year) Plex Pass. Also, beware that all of those services prohibit pirated content and you may even have issues if you legally rip and upload DVDs or other media.
Source: Plex
Drone Assist app tells UK pilots where it’s safe to fly
One of the trickier aspects of drone ownership is knowing where it’s okay to fly. Some places are obvious — you should avoid airports, for instance — while others can be a little more ambiguous. Your local park might seem like a harmless place to fly, but up above there could be restricted airspace. Drone Assist, a new app from the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), wants to help with a map that indicates if you’re close to airspace used by commercial air traffic. It will also highlight power lines and buildings that could pose privacy concerns, such as schools and sports stadiums.
NATS is a leading provider of air traffic control services in the UK. The company manages “all upper airspace” in Britain, which covers 2.4 million flights and 250 million passengers each year. To build the app it’s teamed up with Altitude Angel, a company set on building the “Internet of Flying Things.” In regular speak, that means creating a system that allows anyone, developers and consumers, to easily access airspace and regulatory data. The hope is that an app like Drone Assist, which launches on Android and iOS tomorrow, can stop future sightings and near-misses at airports.
“With the number of drone incidents on the rise, it’s clear that many people are unaware of the rules of their legal obligations as pilots,” Phil Binks, drone lead for NATS said. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which sets and upholds the rules around UK drone ownership, recently revised its “dronecode” for new pilots. The rules are now a handy mnemonic, spelling “DRONE” over five quick points: (D)on’t fly near airports, (r)emember to stay below 400 feet, (o)bserve your drone at all times, (n)ever fly near aircraft, and (e)njoy responsibly. British law is a little more complicated than that, however, so for a full rundown be sure to read our guide.
Via: BBC
Apple’s Profit Downturn and Negative Customer Opinions Threaten ‘Decade-Long Malaise’ for Company
Analysts at financial firm Oppenheimer today added to the pile of criticisms aimed at Apple and its current, and future, state of innovation within the technology industry. In a recently published note (via Business Insider), the firm addressed a few “strategic issues” it currently has with Apple, as well as concern for the future trajectory of the company.
In the near-future, Oppenheimer believes that iPhone sales will peak, specifically in 2018, and that “the company lacks the ability to raise prices across its iPhones, iPads and Mac products,” which is hurting its growth. The firm also described a disharmony between “Apple’s primary role as ‘the hardware platform’ … with its secondary role as ‘the software and service provider.’”
“We believe Apple lacks the courage to lead the next generation of innovation (AI, cloud-based services, messaging); instead will become more reliant than ever on the iPhone … We believe Apple is about to embark on a decade-long malaise. The risks to the company have never been greater.”
While the “Apple is doomed” mindset has been prevalent for much of the company’s lifespan, the “universe of negativity” surrounding the company became more noticeable throughout 2016. In April, Apple reported its first year-over-year decline in iPhone sales and quarterly revenue since 2003, and although initial shipments of the new Touch Bar MacBook Pro models were reported as strong, subsequent user experiences have largely varied between positive and negative opinions.
In October, Apple forecasted a return to growth for the last half of 2016 thanks to the holiday shopping season, potentially putting an end to the company’s downturn after its first annual revenue decline since 2001 and three consecutive quarters of negative growth. The constant bright spots in Apple’s revenue remain its services category, including the App Store, iCloud, and Apple Music.
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Apple Adds Early 2011 13-Inch MacBook Pro to Obsolete Products List
Earlier this week, we reported on Apple’s plans to add select 2009 to 2011 model Macs to its vintage and obsolete products list on December 31, including 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models from early 2011.
In the meantime, Apple today added the smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro from early 2011 to the list. The notebook is classified as “vintage” in California and Turkey, and “obsolete” in the rest of the United States and world.
The early 2011 13-inch MacBook Pro is no longer eligible for hardware service or new parts from Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers, except in Turkey and California, where Apple will continue to provide repairs and documentation for up to two years, or roughly December 2018 in this case, as required by local statutes.
Meanwhile, the iMac (20-inch, Early 2009) and iMac (24-inch, Early 2009) are now considered fully obsolete worldwide. This means the pair of iMacs have lost their “vintage” status in California and Turkey, and are no longer eligible for hardware service or new parts from Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers anywhere.
Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured by Apple for between five and seven years. Obsolete products are those that were discontinued by Apple more than seven years ago. Apple and Authorized Service Providers make no distinction between obsolete and vintage products outside of California and Turkey.
Tag: vintage and obsolete
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Former Foxconn Manager Faces 10-Year Prison Sentence for Profiting $1.5M on Stolen iPhones
A former senior Foxconn manager was recently indicted for stealing 5,700 iPhones in China to pocket around $1.56 million. Factoring in his accomplices, the entire scheme made $2.2 million between 2013 and 2014 by stealing only the iPhones which were supposed to be scrapped on the manufacturing line, and selling them to various shops in China, according to a report by Asia One (via Business Insider).
The ringleader, identified only by his family name Tsai, was reported as having instructed eight other employees to smuggle out thousands of iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s devices in order to sell them illegally. The operation was caught during an internal audit of the Shenzhen-based Foxconn factory, and Tsai was arrested this year for running the operation, and then released on bail.
Tsai has now been charged with breach of trust and faces a maximum of ten years as a jail sentence if found guilty. It wasn’t made clear when the final verdict on the matter will be reached.
Tsai and his accomplices sold the testing phones, which were supposed to be scrapped, to stores in Shenzhen and made nearly Tw$50 million (S$2.2 million) from 2013 to 2014, said the New Taipei district prosecutor’s office. Foxconn reported the case to Taiwanese authorities following an internal audit and Tsai was questioned after he returned to the island earlier this year and was released on bail.
In August, it was reported that Foxconn’s profits had declined 31 percent in the second quarter of 2016, affected by the iPhone sales slump Apple faced at the same time this year. For the entire quarter, Foxconn made 17.7 billion New Taiwan dollars, down from NT$25.7 billion a year prior.
Tags: Foxconn, iPhone 5
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The Morning After: Friday, December 2, 2016
Congratulations, it’s Friday!
Before you configure a new Chevy Bolt, check out all the highlights and trailers from last night’s videogame awards show or wax nostalgic about manual transmissions, first make sure you sign up for a chance to win a smart home surveillance kit, courtesy of Synology — the entry window closes tonight at 11:59PM ET.
So long, stick
The slow death of the manual transmission
Cars with a stick shift are already hard to find, but the advent of EVs could put the final nail in the coffin. Like many of you, Roberto Baldwin will miss the satisfaction and control that driving stick offers, even if a “solid, utilitarian” Bolt can drive to your destination stress-free.
XBMC everywherePlex Media Player is free, and Plex has an official plug-in for Kodi
DIY media center fans don’t have to choose between offshoots of the XBMC family tree. Plex is not only releasing its Media Player software for free, it’s releasing an add-on for Kodi (fka XBMC) so that its users can easily access their content from that front end as well. The add-on is available now in beta, for Plex Pass subscribers.
Oregon and California exclusiveChevy puts the Bolt configurator online
Can’t wait for a Model 3? Chevrolet’s all-electric EV is now on sale in a couple of states. You can spec out a Bolt on its website no matter where you live, with options that put the price between $37,495 and $44,950 (before any tax credits).
An “anomaly”Russian ISS resupply mission destroyed during launch
Yesterday morning at 9:51AM ET, ISS Progress 65 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. What happened after that is unclear, but ground control lost contact with the rocket during its third stage, and has confirmed the ship is destroyed. Astronauts aboard the space station are safe, and Japan’s JAXA has a launch scheduled for December 9th.
“We want to tell people it’s not magic”Facebook revealed a series of videos to explain how artificial intelligence works
These days, it’s possible to use AI without even knowing it, and a series of videos released by Facebook are trying to explain its role in our daily lives. Whether it’s a Siri response, automatically tagged image or algorithmically sorted News Feed, computers are making a lot of the behind-the-scenes decisions on their own. Yann LeCun, Facebook’s director of AI research, says “AI is going to affect our lives … It’s very important for people to have some idea on how it works and what it can do.”
One more reason to cut the cordNow you can add HBO or Cinemax to Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime already offered premium options like Showtime and Starz, but now it’s adding HBO and Cinemax to the mix. Coming just in time for you to catch up on “Westworld” or “Insecure,” it won’t beat the price of a cable add-on package (or standalone HBO Now), but if Amazon is how you watch TV, it keeps everything in one place. Branded “Amazon Channels,” the company says it now offers over 80 video subscriptions.
It’s coming in 2020This big rig doesn’t run on gasoline or diesel
Meet the Nikola One, a class 8 hauler that ditches traditional fuel sources for the sweet flavor of hydrogen. Nikola says it’s capable of going 800 to 1,200 miles on a tank, which is good, because hydrogen fuel stations are hard to find in the US and Canada right now. There’s time for that to change before the truck launches in 2020, however, and it plans to break ground on refueling stations starting in 2018.
But wait, there’s more…
- Review: Korg’s Electribe sequencers
- Fitbit is reportedly buying Pebble for between $34 and $40 million
- How the obscure “Rule 41” lets law enforcement search any computer
The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.
Chemists officially add new elements to the periodic table
Kids have to memorize four new elements, now that the powers that be in the world of chemistry have expanded the periodic table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has accepted the official names for elements 113, 115, 117 and 118, which it recognized in late December 2015. Previously known by their unappealing placeholder names ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium and ununoctium, the elements have been christened Nihonium (Nh), Moscovium (Mc), Tennessine (Ts) and Oganesson (Og), respectively.
These four superheavy elements — they break down into lighter elements quickly — were synthesized between 2002 and 2010 by Japanese, Russian and American teams. The scientists sent in their name proposals in June but had to go through a five-month waiting period.
Wondering how the teams came up with those names? The Japanese researchers who created element 113 based Nihonium from the word “Nihon,” which means Japan in the country’s language. Element 115’s Russian creators named it Moscovium after Moscow, while their countrymen who made element 118 (with the help of American scientists) named theirs Oganesson after Yuri Oganessian. He’s a Russian nuclear physicist who helped discover the heaviest elements in the periodic table. Finally, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists, who also helped create element 115, named element 117 Tennessine after their home state of Tennessee.
Source: The New York Times
99 Percent of Fake Apple Chargers Sold Online Fail Safety Tests
New research conducted by a global independent safety firm has revealed that 99 percent of fake Apple chargers sold online fail a basic safety test (via BBC).
The tests were commissioned by the U.K.’s Trading Standards and undertaken by Illinois-based global safety specialists UL. The insulation tests applied a high voltage to the chargers, which were bought online from eight different countries, including the U.S., China, and Australia.
According to the results, only three out of 400 counterfeit chargers were found to have adequate insulation to ensure protection against electric shocks. Leon Livermore, the chief executive of Chartered Trading Standards Institute, described the counterfeit chargers sold online as an “unknown entity” and urged shoppers to buy electrical goods only from trusted suppliers.
“It might cost a few pounds more, but counterfeit and second-hand goods are an unknown entity that could cost you your home or even your life, or the life of a loved-one,” he said.
Earlier this week, Amazon acknowledged a worsening counterfeit problem on its site and said it had made fighting the fake products a “major goal” going forward. The announcement followed a lawsuit filed by Apple last month against a company it accused of selling fake power adapters and cables on Amazon. Apple conducted its own tests and said it found that almost 90 percent of so-called genuine Apple products and accessories it had purchased from Amazon over the last nine months were actually counterfeit.
“Counterfeit electrical goods are likely to be poor quality and in the worst cases unsafe,” said Gillian Guy, chief executive of the U.K.’s Citizens Advice. “Look out for tell-tale signs of counterfeiting such as mistakes in brand names or logos, and check plugs for safety marks – all genuine electrical items made in the EU should have a CE mark on them.”
Trading Standards included guidelines in its press release to help consumers in the EU spot a fake charger, advising them to check pin size, look for regulation markings, warnings and instructions. In addition, Citizens Advice urged consumers not to overcharge appliances and to never cover devices when charging or use a charger with a cracked case or frayed cable.
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YouTube App Update Adds Progress Bar to Previously Watched Videos
Google issued an update to its YouTube app for iOS this week that adds a progress bar to the thumbnails of previously watched videos, allowing users to resume playback from where they left off.
Ever have trouble remembering if you’ve seen a video or how far you made it through the video? We have added a progress bar to all previously watched thumbnails that lets you know how far you made it through the video. Partially watched videos will resume from where you left off.
The version 11.45 progress bar update follows a recent redesign of the YouTube app which also brought in-app video editing tools to make videos.
YouTube for iOS is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Tag: YouTube
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