Volkswagen reaches deal for remaining 80,000 Dieselgate vehicles
Even though it’s been over a year since Volkswagen was caught lying in the Dieselgate scandal, it’s finally going to be done paying for it. The company recently reached a deal with US regulators whereby it’ll account for the remaining 80,000 diesel vehicles that were programmed to cheat on emissions tests. There’ll be an option to buy back at least 20,000 of the vehicles and all car owners will get “substantial compensation” for the inconvenience.
The company had already committed to spending around $2.7 billion over three years to cover the cost of the 475,000 2-liter cars caught up in the scandal. The 80,000 vehicles mentioned here are 3-liter models that weren’t included in the earlier estimate. On top of that, Volkswagen has also agreed to cough up $200 million to a US environmental fund. It’s not sure yet if other European countries will step in to punish the company even further. In the meantime, Volkswagen has been busy trying to revamp its image as an EV maker. With a $14.7 billion settlement, the Dieselgate scandal is considered one of the largest class-action suits in US history.
Office 365’s latest updates simplify accessibility options for everyone
At the company’s big Surface event earlier this year, Microsoft made a point of highlighting many of the accessibility features baked into its hardware and software. This month, Redmond continued that work, announcing new Windows 10 accessibility features like support for braille and updates to its Narrator text-to-speech program. Today, Microsoft is going one step further and introducing a few new Office updates designed to help users more easily create content that can be accessed and read by anyone.
First up, Microsoft’s Office VP Kirk Koenigsbauer notes that his team has moved the new Accessibility Checker front and center in every major Office app from Word, Excel and PowerPoint to OneNote, Outlook and Visio. The feature, which is found under the Review tab, analyzes your document and will recommend changes or fixes that will “ensure your content can be consumed without barriers by people with varying levels of vision, hearing, cognition and mobility.” Aside from making sure anyone can read your documents, the idea is to help users get better at creating widely accessible documents over time.
Outlook will also be taking advantage of the Accessibility Checker by adding a MailTip that will alert your coworkers to any accessibility preferences you might have when they start composing an email to you. The MailTip will remind your coworkers to run the Checker before sending in order to make sure everything will be readable by everyone on the team.
And finally, Word and PowerPoint will also soon offer intelligently generated alternate text for images in documents and presentations. Using Microsoft’s in-house Computer Vision Cognitive Service, Word and PowerPoint will analyze your images and save users time by proposing text-based descriptions for users with visual impairments.
While the Accessibility Checker is available now on Windows machines and several Office for Mac apps, the intelligent alt-text suggestions are still “coming soon,” according to Microsoft. Meanwhile, the company is also adding more easily accessible hyperlinks for recently accessed documents, new cloud storage options for Office on Android and Visio is launching on the web and iOS.
Source: Microsoft Office Blog
7-Eleven has already made 77 deliveries by drone
Sure, Amazon made its first drone delivery last week, but 7-Eleven already has it beat. Today, the convenience store company announced that it has already made a total of 77 deliveries by drone in the state of Nevada. Of course the caveat here is that 7-Eleven relied on Flirtey, a drone delivery service company that’s already made a name for itself by delivering Domino’s in New Zealand and textbooks in Australia. It also made the first FAA-approved urban drone delivery earlier this year.
Though the deliveries kicked off in July, it was in November when the company started making regular weekend deliveries from a 7-Eleven store to about a dozen customers. They used a custom app to place their orders, which included everything from hot and cold food to over-the-counter medication. The items are then loaded into a special drone container. The app tells them when the drone is loaded up, when it’s left the store and when it’s arrived at their home. According to a press release, deliveries took less than 10 minutes.
“Flirtey is the world’s leader in the drone delivery industry and we have now successfully completed the first month of routine commercial drone deliveries to customer homes in partnership with 7-Eleven,” said Flirtey CEO Matthew Sweeny in a statement. “While other companies in this space are shipping jobs overseas, Flirtey’s goal is to make delivery instant, and in the process create jobs at home for hardworking Americans and veterans. This is a giant leap towards a future where everyone can experience the convenience of Flirtey’s instant store-to-door drone delivery.”
The deliveries are isolated to just Nevada for now, but 7-Eleven and Flirtey hopes to expand their drone services next year.
Via: Techcrunch
Source: Flirtey
Soylent partner cuts supply after shouldering blame for recall
Soylent supplier TerraVia really, really doesn’t appreciate being blamed for making people sick. The nutrition company has suspended its ingredient supply out of a “high level of concern” that Soylent is perpetuating a “pattern of behavior” that hurts TerraVia’s bottom line. Supposedly, Soylent didn’t do enough research into gastrointestinal problems before blaming TerraVia’s algal flour and removing it for the recently released Powder 1.7 meal. The food alternative firm didn’t offer any evidence, TerraVia says, citing an industry expert who doubts that the flour (or any one ingredient) is the obvious cause.
The flour meets FDA regulations, TerraVia adds. It has been used in “more than 20 million servings” without proof of adverse effects.
Soylent isn’t exactly ruffled by the move. It tells us that the cutoff will have “no impact,” since Powder is already algal flour-free and will eventually be joined by a reformulated Bar. It already has algae-free versions of its drinks to be on the safe side, too. The company didn’t address TerraVia’s specific allegations in its statement (available below), but it might not have to — as far as it’s concerned, business continues as usual.
“This will have no impact on our business. We have already re-released Powder (v 1.7) without algal flour and halted shipments of Bar until it is reformulated. Although our ready to drink line does not contain the ingredients of concern, we have already developed versions without algae out of an abundance of caution. Customers will continue to receive Powder, Drink and Coffiest without delay.”
Via: FoodNavigator-USA
Source: BusinessWire
Apple Offering Refurbished Series 1 and Series 2 Apple Watch Models
Apple today updated its online store for refurbished products, introducing refurbished Apple Watch models for the first time since the Apple Watch was released in the spring of 2015.
The Apple Watch refurbished section includes both Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 models at 14 to 16 percent off depending on configuration. No original Apple Watch models are included.
Both aluminum and stainless steel Apple Watch models are included, in 38 and 42mm size options. All Apple Watches listed in the store feature Sport bands in a variety of colors.
Aluminum Apple Watch models start at $229 for the 38mm version ($40 off), while 38mm stainless steel Apple Watch models start at $469 ($80 off).
Refurbished stock varies on a day-by-day basis according to the models that Apple has on hand, and supplies can potentially go quickly. Refurbished stock is refreshed on a regular basis, however.
All of Apple’s refurbished Apple Watch models include magnetic charging cables and a full one-year warranty, just like non-refurbished products. Series 2 models ship with a power adapter, while Series 1 models do not.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Best Buy’s Last Minute Holiday Deals Include $125 Off iPad Pro, Up to $200 Off Macs
With Christmas less than a week away, Best Buy has decided to offer some last minute holiday deals on Apple products for customers who still need to purchase a gift. Deals include discounts on the iPad Pro, the iPhone 7, and Apple’s line of MacBooks.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy and may earn commissions on purchases made through these links.
iPads
Best Buy is discounting all 9.7-inch iPad Pro models by $125, which drops the price on the entry-level 32GB model to $474.99.
The discount applies to all 9.7-inch models, both Wi-Fi only and Cellular, in all capacities.
iPad mini 4 models are also available at a $100 discount, dropping prices on the entry-level 32GB model to $299.99.
Macs
Select MacBook Pro and MacBook Air machines are discounted by up to $200, with models listed below. Deals are available on the latest machines, including the 2016 MacBook Pro with no Touch Bar.
- 13-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz/8GB RAM/128GB SSD – $874.99, $125 off
- 13-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz/8GB RAM/256GB SSD – $1074.99, $125 off
- 13-inch MacBook Pro 2.7GHz/8GB RAM/128GB SSD (2015) – $1,099.99, $200 off
- 15-inch MacBook Pro 2.2GHz/16GB RAM/256GB SSD (2015) – $1,799.99, $200 off
- 13-inch MacBook Pro 2.0GHZ/8GB RAM/256GB SSD (2016, Space Gray) – $1,374.99, $125 off
- 13-inch MacBook Pro 2.0GHZ/8GB RAM/256GB SSD(2016, Silver) – $1,374.99, $125 off
iPhone 7
Best Buy is offering a $250 Best Buy gift card with the purchase of an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus when a customer trades in an iPhone 6 or newer and activates a billing plan on Sprint, Verizon, or AT&T. The deal is only available in store.
Best Buy is also discounting the 32GB iPhone 7 to $49.99 with activation and a two-year contract on the Verizon network.
A $200 Best Buy gift card is available with the purchase of an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus on Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint.
Other Deals
Best Buy has a range of other Apple accessories and products on sale at a discount, and the full list can be found in the deals section on Best Buy’s site.
Shipping
Best Buy is offering free two-day shipping on all orders, but for gifts to arrive by Christmas, orders will need to be placed by 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, December 21.
After that cutoff point, customers will be able to use in-store pickup to get gifts until 6:00 p.m. local time on Christmas Eve.
For more deals on Apple products, including price charts that have the lowest prices on Macs and iPads, make sure to check out our deals roundup.
Tag: Best Buy
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