Google says phone makers can’t ruin Nougat’s notifications if they want to get Google services

A clarification of existing rules means everyone will get at least one feature from Android 7.

It never fails that Google shows off something we think is pretty cool when they give us details about what the next Android version can do, then the people who make the phones don’t include it. There is always that one thing. But it won’t be the direct reply feature in Android 7 Nougat because Google explicitly says it has to stay.

Android Police noticed a line in the latest Compatibility Definition Document that not only reinforces an existing rule that managed API interfaces can’t be changed but explicitly mentions notifications by name.

Handheld device implementations MUST support the behaviors of updating, removing, replying to, and bundling notifications as described in this section.

This means that the folks who make your phone have to include the bundled notifications feature as well as inline and direct replies if they want access to Google Play and all the other Google services. Peeking — think of that as a smart pop-up if you’re not familiar with the term — and bundled or inline conversations in peek cards isn’t addressed, so that’s still going to be up to the manufacturers and app developers to support. As it should be.

Android 7.0: Better and more interactive notifications

It’s also worth noting that there is still a slew of options available for customization using message styles and custom views APIs. Samsung can still be Samsung, and EMUI can still be a mess EMUI, but they need to keep the features in place.

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Charge those smartwatches: Android Wear 2.0 arriving February 2017

Google pushed up Wear’s release date to next month!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day — because you know you were thinking of getting your special someone a brand new Android Wear device, right? — Google has pushed the release date of Android Wear 2.0 to early February 2017. That’s next month!

Originally, Android Wear 2.0 was slated for release sometime in early 2017, but based on a notice sent out to developers, a launch window has been set. The note was sent out to those with apps that are still using the legacy APK installation mechanism, according to Android Police. Developers were warned that apps that have not been updated with the support won’t show up on the Wear Play Store when the update goes live.

There is no actual reason mentioned for why Google pushed up Android Wear 2.0’s launch window, though it’s likely because the momentum on smartwatches has reached a lull. Waiting until later on in the year would have been too late for Google to attempt to reignite a fire under its slowly sizzling wearable branch. This is a better time, especially considering the smartwatch announcements — including the Casio WSD-F20 — that quietly made headway at this year’s CES.

Stay tuned for when the update goes live. Until then, check to see if your existing Android Wear smartwatch is compatible.

Google shuts down Titan drone program in favour of Project Loon

Technology is an ever-changing industry — just look at Google.

Startups are founded and collapse on a seemingly daily basis — and Google’s moonshots are no different. Alphabet confirmed to Business Insider it is killing its solar-powered drone project. 9to5Google first reported the news Wednesday. Project Titan had been part of X, or X Labs, Google’s moonshot incubator. Ever since the creation of Alphabet, however, X has experienced many high-level departures, according to Bloomberg, including project leaders and engineers. Tony Fadell of Google-owned Nest, for instance, recently left.

In 2014, Google, which now falls under the parent company Alphabet, bought Titan Aerospace, a firm that developed solar-powered drones. These drones were unique because they could fly at high altitudes for long periods of time, and they can collect real-time, high-resolution images of the Earth. They also feature atmospheric sensors and support voice and data services. It was presumed Google would use them to enhance its Maps offerings and to beam affordable internet onto remote, rural parts of the world with no connectivity.

But now it appears neither will happen.

• What is Google Waymo?

Alphabet also recently put Boston Dynamics up for sale and turned its self-driving car project into a standalone business called Waymo. Each of these decisions signal an effort at Alphabet to trim down and save on costs. According to a spokesperson for X, many people from the Project Titan team are still working at Alphabet but have been moved to other existing projects at X, including Loon and Project Wing.

In a statement, the spokesperson said Alphabet believes Project Loon – a network of balloons designed to extend internet connectivity to people in rural and remote areas of the world – is more economical and technically feasible than Project Titan.

JetBlue’s Fly-Fi broadband is now free on all flights

JetBlue has finally made good on that promise to provide free WiFi on every flight. The airline announced today that every jet in its fleet is now equipped with JetBlue’s Fly-Fi broadband, offering “gate-to-gate” high speed internet you can use even before the flight reaches cruising altitude.

Fly-Fi debuted in 2013 and JetBlue claims speeds of up to 20 Mbps per device. Even if speeds are slightly slower in practice, Fly-Fi promises to be leaps ahead of more expensive and slower options like the ubiquitous GoGo.

In addition to completely free internet throughout the fleet, JetBlue is also adding some more entertainment partners to its in-seat VOD system The Hub. JetBlue already had dozens of live DIRECTV channels plus on demand movies, but now passengers can get access to Amazon Prime’s streaming video and music services while onboard. Of course, JetBlue and Amazon would both appreciate it if you spent a little extra cash as well, so the airline is offering rewards points if you shop on Amazon via their affiliate link.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: JetBlue

Researchers genetically engineer Salmonella to eat brain tumors

Salmonella has earned its bad reputation. It is responsible for more than a million cases of food poisoning every year, of which nearly 400 people die. But a team of researchers from Duke University have recently engineered the bacteria to not attack the human gastrointestinal tract, but rather the most aggressive form of brain cancer known to man.

Glioblastoma is no joke. It’s extremely aggressive, with barely 10 percent of people diagnosed with it living another 5 years — the mean lifespan is just 15 months. What’s more, the cancer is protected from conventional drug and radiation-based therapies due to the blood brain barrier. Surgery is also an imperfect option because if even a single cancerous cell is left behind, it can spawn new tumors.

But that’s where the Salmonella typhimurium comes in. The Duke team made a few genetic adjustments to the bacteria’s DNA and transformed it into a guided-missile against Glioblastoma while rendering it harmless to the patient. Specifically, the team rendered the bacteria perpetually deficient in a crucial amino acid known as Purine. It just so happens that tumors are packed with Purine, which subsequently attracted the bacteria like flies to honey. Once injected directly into the brain, the Salmonella then burrows deep into the tumorous mass and begins to reproduce. The team also instructed the bacteria’s genetics to produce two compounds — Azurian and p53, both of which cause cells to self destruct — but only in low-oxygen environments such as the interior of a tumor where bacteria are rapidly multiplying. That way both the tumorous cells and bacteria alike eventually die off.

“A major challenge in treating gliomas is that the tumor is dispersed with no clear edge, making them difficult to completely surgically remove. So designing bacteria to actively move and seek out these distributed tumors, and express their anti-tumor proteins only in hypoxic, purine rich tumor regions is exciting,” Ravi Bellamkonda, Vinik Dean of Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering and corresponding author of the paper, said in a statement. “And because their natural toxicity has been deactivated, they don’t cause an immunological response. At the doses we used in the experiments, they were naturally cleared once they’d killed the tumors, effectively destroying their own food source.”

In rat trials, a full 20 percent of patients lasted 100 days, the rodent equivalent of 10 human years. The treatment basically doubled the survival rate and lifespan of those suffering from Glioblastoma. Of course, success in rodent-based trials don’t guarantee those same benefit will be conferred upon humans, but the results are nonetheless impressive. There’s no word yet on when this experimental therapy will make it out of the lab.

Via: Eureka Alert

Source: Duke University

Honda recalls another 772,000 vehicles with faulty airbags

While autoparts maker Takata, works out a criminal deal with the US Justice Department, the largest US auto recall ever is still getting bigger. According to the Associated Press, Honda Motor Company is recalling another 772,000 Honda and Acura vehicles with faulty airbags in the US.

The National Highway Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated the recall, which now includes more than 42 million vehicles in the US alone, after it was discovered that Takata’s airbags could deteriorate over time and cause an explosion of hot metal shrapnel. So far, Takata systems have been responsible for 11 deaths and over 100 injuries around the world.

Although multiple automakers were using defective Takata hardware, Honda has been hit hardest by the recall, with more than 10.7 Honda and Acura vehicles affected. The latest recall includes model year 2005-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 Acura RL, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2006-2011 Honda Civic, 2007-2012 Honda Fit, and 2010-2012 Honda Insight.

Takata is expected to pay a $1 billion financial penalty for criminal misconduct in the US and Justice Department officials are reportedly investigating whether the company engaged in wire fraud by faking test data.

Source: Associated Press

Samsung boss is a suspect in a South Korean political scandal

South Korea is currently embroiled in a massive corruption scandal: President Park Geun-hye is facing impeachment after word broke that her ‘friend,’ Choi Soon-sil, had cult-like control over Park that included access to sensitive info and forced donations to Choi’s foundations. And now, it looks like Samsung’s highest leadership might be caught up in the whole affair. The country’s special prosecutor’s office has named effective Samsung leader Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee) as a suspect in a case alleging that Samsung illegally influenced government decisions. Investigators are worried that roughly $25 million in payments to a Choi business and foundations may have convinced the national pension fund to support a merger of two Samsung affiliate companies. It may have offered bribes, in other words.

Lee will face questioning on January 12th. It’s doubtful he’ll tell officials what they’d like to hear, though. While Samsung has acknowledged that it paid Choi’s organizations, Lee and others have insisted that they weren’t trying to grease the wheels for the merger.

There’s no guarantee that Lee will face arrest, let alone conviction. However, the very fact that he’s a suspect won’t look good for Samsung, which has bent over backwards to keep its ruling family in power. Lee’s father (Chairman Lee Kun-hee) has been pardoned more than once for crimes like tax evasion, and the last time only because the government wanted his help securing the 2018 Winter Olympics. What happens if his son also faces possible prison time? It’ll further tarnish Samsung’s reputation, of course, but it could also cause chaos for a firm that has never had someone besides a Lee running the show.

Source: Reuters

Adobe demos a virtual assistant for voice-based photo edits

If CES was any indication, voice control and virtual assistants will rule in 2017. While some companies seem to be adding the tools just for the sake of doing so, others are finding some implementations that could actually be useful. Adobe falls into the latter category and the company is showing off what it calls “a first step” towards voice-controlled edits in its design apps.

In a short YouTube clip, a man uses an Alexa or Siri-like virtual assistant to lend a hand with some basic edits. When directed to do so, the software crops and flips an image on an iPad before taking a step back. It also helps the user share the final photo to Facebook. Adobe says its research team is currently exploring the idea and that the software can accept voice cues locally on a device or through a cloud-based natural language service.

The company explains that the addition of voice gives users “an easy and engaging way” to make tweaks to images on a mobile device. There’s no mention of desktop apps, but voice controls are perhaps better suited for assisting with those on-the-go edits. A virtual assistant will likely do just fine with basic things, but more complex edits will probably be left to desktop users to complete manually. Based on the video clip, it could also be faster to just do it yourself in some cases.

Adobe has been keen on adding powerful features to its mobile apps for a while now, so perhaps voice will be one of the new tools it will introduce in 2017. Of course, there’s no guarantee the company will bring the tool to one of its apps from the current prototype stage either. For now, you can see the early stages of the project in action via the video below.

Via: PetaPixel, ISO 1200

Source: Adobe (YouTube)

Airlines no longer need to warn passengers about Galaxy Note 7

If you’ve flown recently, you’ve likely heard a series of warnings around Samsung’s beleaguered Galaxy Note 7. At first, you could bring it on board, but only if it was turned off. Eventually, the FAA banned it outright — it’s now not allowed on any flight, even in cargo. Flight personnel have been instructed to repeat these warnings ad nauseam for the past few months. But now, they don’t have to anymore.

In a press release, the FAA said that US airlines no longer need to make pre-boarding notifications that the Galaxy Note 7 is prohibited. The phone is still banned of course, but according to the Department of Transportation, there is now sufficient public awareness about the ban that the warnings are no longer necessary.

It said that this is in part due to “extensive efforts by Samsung and US wireless providers to make all Note 7 users aware the phone is recalled and banned from transport from US aircraft.” The company also announced recently that the recall was a success, with more than 96 percent of phones in the US returned thus far. It also gave credence to various efforts by carriers to disable the phone with a software update.

Of course, as the phone continues to be banned, this doesn’t really change anything in regards to passenger behavior. Individual airlines can continue to offer the same warning too if they like. What it does do, however, is make Samsung breathe a little easier as it attempts to dig itself out of this PR nightmare. Not having its failure repeated before every flight will probably limit damage to its reputation. Now all Samsung needs to do is explain what really went wrong, and customers could soon learn to trust it again.

Source: FAA

Las Vegas is testing autonomous shuttles this week

Public self-driving vehicle tests are becoming more and more commonplace, and the latest to launch in the US just hit the roads in Las Vegas. French driverless electric vehicle manufacture Navya just announced that its autonomous electric shuttle is now taking passengers through Las Vegas’ Fremont East entertainment district from today through January 20th. Navya and the city of Las Vegas say this is the first autonomous electric shuttle to hit a US street, though Uber is already providing public transportation with autonomous cars in Pittsburgh.

The pilot got off the ground thanks to a partnership between Navya, which built the autonomous Arma shuttle, and Keolis, a self-described “global leader in operating public transportation systems” — along with the city of Las Vegas’ cooperation, of course. According to the Las Vegas Sun, each vehicle can hold up to a dozen passengers, will take riders for free and will operate at a max speed of 12MPH, even though they’re certified safe up to 27MPH.

While the shuttles will only be on the road for a short time in this pilot, Jorge Cervantes, Las Vegas executive director of community development, told the Sun he expects they’ll be launching fully in late summer or early fall. Whether they’ll operate on the same route they are during the pilot or in an expanded area doesn’t appear to have been decided yet.

This pilot is starting up at a time when Las Vegas is trying to brand itself as an innovation center. Nearly a year ago, the city launched an “innovation district” that was aimed specifically at bringing futuristic technology to the city. As one of the biggest and most crowded tourist destinations in the US, it certainly could use help making it easier for people to get around town.

Source: Navya