EU is suing member states over Volkswagen diesel scandal

The European Union isn’t happy some of its member countries still haven’t punished Volkswagen for cheating on emission tests. According to several sources, it has began taking legal action against seven nations, starting with the UK, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain for approving the carmaker’s vehicles to be sold in their countries but failing to haul it to court like the US did. Further, UK and Germany refused to share what they discovered from their own investigations. The EU is also suing the Czech Republic, Greece and Lithuania for not even having laws that can penalize the company.

To recap: researchers found something amiss with Volkswagen cars in 2014 and tipped off the US Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA then discovered the sneaky software that lurked in the cars, which switches on during emissions tests to dupe authorities. One of the software’s developers pled guilty in federal court a few months ago, while Volkswagen agreed to settle with the US and owners of the fraudulent vehicles in the country for a whopping $15 billion.

The European Union has a law prohibiting carmarkers from installing cheating devices like the US does. However, its still up to member states to enforce it — it’s apparently getting frustrated that the countries we mentioned earlier are still allowing VW to operate within their territories without repercussions. The scandal had a huge impact on Volkswagen despite EU nations’ lack of action, though: it vowed to build more electric vehicles in an effort to reinvent itself as an EV maker.

Source: BBC, The New York Times, Independent

First feathered dinosaur tail found encased in amber

Scientists have found dinosaur-era feathers and evidence of them in fossil impressions before. But this is the first time they’ve discovered a full-feathered tail section preserved in amber, ripe for forensic analysis and Spielbergian dreams.

Paleontologist Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences led the research, as detailed in a report that came out today in the journal Current Biology. The sample itself, known as DIP-V-15103 and unofficially as “Eva” after the wife of the report’s co-author, came from a mine in Kachin, a state in northern Myanmar. Based on the structure of the tail, it likely came from a Cretaceous-era young coelurasaur, a subgroup of therapods that includes everything from tyrannosauruses to birds, points out National Geographic.

While you should check your excitement for the possibilities of dino DNA, the preserved feathers gave the scientists forensic insight into their role. The encased plumage seems to be ornamental rather than functional: Previous research by the same team found that birds from this sample’s era had similar feathers to those of birds today. In short, if the rest of the tail looked like Eva, this dino likely wouldn’t have been able to fly.

Xing and his team didn’t dig the sample up, however — they collected it from an amber market in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin. Burmese amber is often used as jewelry, and Eva had already been shaped by the time it was collected with other samples in 2015.

Via: CNN

Source: National Geographic

‘Reality’ of Magic Leap could be further away than we thought

Over the last couple of years, we’ve repeatedly heard a lot about Magic Leap’s supposedly advanced augmented reality tech, but have seen very little. In 2014, a half-billion dollar round of investment that included Google ratcheted up the hype and it has not slowed down since. Now, The Information is reporting, based on sources and a hands-on demonstration, that the reality hasn’t lived up to all of the promises yet.

First up is Magic Leap’s jaw-dropping demo video from last year, which appeared with a caption indicating it was “just another day in the office” and an example of a game the company could play. According to The Information, however, there was no such game at that time, and the mockup video was created entirely with special effects. That said, the video prominently features a WETA Workshop logo and, unlike more recent, fuzzier videos, does not claim to be recorded using Magic Leap’s actual technology.

What is worrying, however, is that apparently the company’s patented fiber-optic technology isn’t working well enough for use in a wearable mixed-reality device and has been shelved for now. Because of this, The Information says it’s using different, otherwise unspecified technology to get its experience from the current helmet-sized prototype to something that will fit on a pair of glasses. While CEO Rony Abovitz reportedly showed a prototype compact “PEQ” device, it wasn’t turned on and he did not share details of the technology.

Since we still haven’t seen it, and there’s no window for a release, it’s hard to say what the technology will or could look like when we see it. Still, it could be a tall order to surpass actually-shipping mixed-reality tech like Microsoft’s HoloLens, no matter how expensive and rare it is. A Magic Leap demo video from April arrived alongside an in-depth profile of the company specifically noting “Shot directly through Magic Leap technology on April 8, 2016 without use of special effects or compositing,” and we’re sure everyone will be watching to see if future releases live up to what has been shown.

Source: The Information

Samsung may finally be disabling the Note 7 for good

Say goodnight, Gracie.

Apparently, the Verge received an image from a Galaxy Note 7 user on US Cellular today about the fate of the now-deceased Note 7 line. In the photo, a message saying it was from US Cellular states: AS OF DEC. 15, SAMSUNG WILL MODIFY THE SOFTWARE TO PREVENT THE GALAXY NOTE7 FROM CHARGING. THE PHONE WILL NO LONGER WORK.” The message, in all caps so you know they meant business, spells out what many have said would happen — the end of the Note 7.

Having Note 7 phones still in the wild is a liability issue for Samsung and carriers in the US.

While there is no way to determine the validity of the information provided to the Verge, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Samsung take more drastic measures to get the last remaining phones out of the hands of the knuckleheads diehards still clinging to it. New Zealand and Canada have said that they were killing functions up to and including disabling the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios and banning the use on cellular networks. Samsung has also sent out updates across the world to limit battery capacity. These companies are serious and want people to stop using the phone.

We all know how the saga went down. Some note 7 batteries ruptured and exploded and caused fires. The phone was recalled in September of 2016, and replacements had just started filtering out — and subsequently doing the same thing and burning more stuff — in October. Samsung finally pulled the plug and ate the loss. Most phones have been returned, but Samsung and the people who actually sold them are determined to get them all back or in a landfill somewhere in New Jersey. They know people intransigent enough to keep using a Note 7 would also be the same people who would hold others liable when things take a turn for the worse.

if you’re still holding onto a Note 7, for God’s sake just turn the damn thing in already.

Everything you need to know about the Galaxy Note 7 recall

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

• Galaxy Note 7 fires, recall and cancellation: Everything you need to know
• Survey results: Samsung users stay loyal after Note 7 recall
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
• The latest Galaxy Note 7 news
• Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!

Pokemon Go: Now you can get Starbucks and still catch ’em all

From now on, when you’re on the way to work in the morning and make a Starbucks stop to get a cup of joe, make sure to have your phone in hand, because you may have the chance to catch eggs or even battle.

Confused? Allow us to explain.

Niantic labs, the developer behind Pokemon Go, has announced Starbucks is now an official partner of the game. Starting at 11 am PST on 8 December, 7,800 company-operated Starbucks stores in the US will become PokeStops and Gyms, giving you even more places to play the game. Starbucks has even created a special-edition Pokemon Go Frappuccino drink to celebrate the partnership.

Niantic Labs/Starbucks

This news comes just a few days after Niantic Labs revealed new Pokemon would come to Pokemon Go on 12 December, thanks to a partnership with Sprint in the US. Pokemon Go has made a number of changes in recent weeks and months since its heyday in the summer of 2016.

We’ve recently seen the nearby feature launch, Ditto added, and we’ve seen changes to a whole range of game mechanics too.

• How to use the Pokemon Go Nearby feature
• Pokemon Go: How to raise your XP level, power up and evolve your Pokemon
• Pokemon Go: Best Pokemon with highest CP
• Pokemon Go review, or The Trials and Tribulations of a Pokemon Go addict