Hybrid cars can save fuel through nature-like algorithms
Plug-in hybrid cars aren’t as efficient as they could be. While starting in a pure electric mode is good for relatively short trips, it actually hurts your fuel economy if you have to switch to the gas engine. Science may have a solution, though, and it’s taking its cue from nature. University of California, Riverside researchers have developed evolutionary algorithms that learn to combine electric and gas power for maximum fuel economy. The approach mimics natural energy-saving processes to invoke the electric motor throughout the trip, and adapts based on your driving conditions — it should help whether you’re stuck in downtown traffic or cruising effortlessly on the highway.
The algorithms managed energy savings of more than 30 percent, which could be enough to help you avoid a mid-route pit stop. And it might just get better in real life, since UCR envisions connected cars sharing their wisdom with each other to make more informed decisions.
This won’t help all that much if you try to avoid using gas whenever possible (such as during a moderately-sized, predictable commute). Also, the team will still have to land partnerships with car companies before you get these savings from the vehicle in your driveway. Even so, it’s promising. While electric cars are likely to dominate in the long run, extra-efficient plug-in hybrids could serve as a useful stopgap in the short term.
Via: The Economist, The Science Explorer
Source: UCR, IEEE Xplore
Apple Maps Now Provides Transit Directions in Houston Ahead of Super Bowl
Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data for the Houston, Texas metropolitan area, enabling iPhone users in the city and select Harris County suburbs to navigate using public transportation, including METRO buses and METRORail. Amtrak also goes through Houston, as previously supported by Apple Maps.
Apple introduced Transit in Maps as part of iOS 9 in select cities around the world, including Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and over 300 cities in China. The feature has its own tab in Apple Maps on iOS 10 for entering directions.
Transit routing continues to expand to several other cities, including Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Honolulu, Kansas City, Melbourne, Miami, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Montréal, Pittsburgh, Portland, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria.
Last month, Apple expanded transit directions throughout Great Britain, beyond the London area already supported. The feature now works almost anywhere in England, Scotland, and Wales, such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, Portsmouth, Nottingham, and Cardiff.
NRG Stadium in Houston will play host to Super Bowl LI between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots on Sunday, February 5.
(Thanks, Ram!)
Tags: Apple Maps, transit
Discuss this article in our forums
5 songs you need to stream this week: Thundercat, Pond, and more
Every week, there are thousands of new songs hitting the airwaves — and it’s just too much for your two ears to handle. With all those options, you can’t be wasting your time on tracks that deserve a thumbs-down click.
But don’t worry, we’re going to save you the hassle. We listen to some of the most-hyped and interesting songs each week, and tell you which are worthy of your precious listening time.
More: Spotify may upgrade its free account to give users more on-demand streaming
Here are our top 5 songs to stream this week. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our Spotify page for a playlist of our weekly picks, which can also be found at the bottom of this post.
Thundercat — Show You The Way
The shimmering sounds of ’70s soul blend well with the layered vocals that the Los Angeles bassist-turned-frontman Thundercat has become known for in the past several years. On Show You The Way, the first single to see the light of day from his upcoming album Drunk — due out February 24 — a myriad of vintage sounds meld with modern drums and synths in a groove-driven single that is sure to have you bobbing your head.
Download it now from:
Amazon iTunes
Pond — Sweep Me Off My Feet
Tame Impala spinoff Pond released their latest single this week, showcasing the same lace-tight production that drove Australian neo-psych rock to the music world’s ears a few years ago. A whirlwind of musical layers — from a myriad of string-like synths to an absolute mass of vocals — come together in a rhythmically cohesive musical package, forming a song that feels like it was designed to be blasted while driving at breakneck speeds.
Download it now from:
Amazon iTunes
Jim James — The World’s Smiling Now
My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James recently brought a group of extremely talented musicians with him to appear on California’s KCRW radio station, where they performed the somber single The World’s Smiling Now. Classic keyboards and smooth bass tones blend with James’ words on the single, which feels more like an end-credit eulogy than anything hopeful.
Download it now from:
Amazon iTunes
The New Pornographers — High Ticket Attractions
There’s something comforting about the fact that Canadian indie rock heroes The New Pornographers have remained so instantly recognizable over all these years. From the steady rocking beat to the distinct vocal style, the band retain all their classic mojo on High Ticket Attractions, a rocking number which, despite a bit more synthesizer than you might be used to, could easily be shoehorned into any of their earlier records.
Download it now from:
Amazon iTunes
Borussia — Kinda Love
French producer Borussia released an extremely danceable lo-fi single this week, drawing on classic 1970s grooves and roller-rink organ tones. The song is uplifting and full of energy — just the sort of thing that you’ll immediately want to add to your workout playlist.
Download it now from:
Amazon iTunes
That’s it for now, but tune in next week for more tunes — and check out our playlist loaded with our recent selections below:
Vinyl record production gets a much-needed tech upgrade
Ever wondered why you sometimes have to wait months after an album’s launch to get the music on vinyl? It’s not necessarily because the label hates vinyl — in many cases, it’s because the decades-old manufacturing process can’t keep up with the format’s resurgence. Relief may be in sight for turntable fans, though. Viryl Technologies is producing a pressing machine system, WarmTone, that should drag vinyl production into the modern era.
Much of WarmTone’s improvement rests in its use of modern engineering. It’s more reliable when producing the “pucks” that become records, makes it easier to switch out stampers (the negatives that press records) and sports a trimming/stacking system that can better handle large-scale production. Also, there’s a raft of sensors — the machine checks everything from pressure to temperature to timing, so companies will immediately know if something goes wrong.
Logically, the interface has been spruced up as well. Touchscreens help control the pressing machine on-site, and workers can check on the state of the machine from their computer or phone.
Only one machine is operating in Dallas right now, and the second will be completed for Toronto’s Microforum by early February (next week, if you’re reading this in time). And production still takes a while when you’re looking at an 8- to 10-week process to turn PVC pellets into something listenable. It could be a force to be reckoned with before long, however. Microforum eventually hopes to run six of the WarmTone machines at once, which would output 24,000 vinyl records per day — no mean feat for a format that was considered dead for a while. While it’s doubtful that vinyl will ever rival the popularity of digital music, Viryl’s hardware might just help it thrive by satisfying pent-up demand.
Via: CBC
Source: Microforum, Viryl Technologies (YouTube)
Sega adds ‘OutRun’ and other classic soundtracks to Spotify
If you need a distraction from the stress of our new Orwellian order, why not take a trip back to a simpler time with Sega? It just released nearly 20 classic soundtracks from the ’80s and ’90s onto streaming site Spotify, including OutRun, Virtua Fighter, Fantasy Zone and NiGHTS. OutRun is probably the standout, as many of us wasted a good chunk of our youth (and quarters) racing in the multiplayer arcade version.
The new releases join other Sega classics, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axes, Skies of Arcadia and Jet Set Radio. If you’re looking for something else, Spotify is one of the more gaming-oriented streaming services out there. It recently created a dedicated portal where you can find game-inspired playlists curated by PlayStation Music, EA Sports and even Engadget. However, it’s still difficult to stream soundtracks directly from developers and gaming companies — perhaps Nintendo and others could take a page from Sega.
Via: Destructoid
Source: Sega
Uber sets up $3 million fund for drivers hurt by immigration ban
When President Trump’s Muslim-centric immigration ban kicked in and sent tech companies (not to mention the public) into a furor, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick promised to compensate drivers left stranded by the restrictions. But could he do anything else? Apparently so. The executive says Uber will establish a $3 million legal defense fund that will help drivers with immigration issues, including translation services. Kalanick is also vowing 24/7 legal help and to “urge” the White House to restore the right of US residents to travel, calling the current restrictions “unjust.”
The news comes as Uber has apologized for “confusion” surrounding rides to JFK International Airport on January 28th, when masses of protestors gathered to demand the release of travelers stuck in the airport thanks to Trump’s executive order. The company claims it wasn’t trying to undermine a taxi strike in support of the protests when it tweeted that it had turned off surge pricing for JFK rides. It just wanted to let people know that they could get to JFK “at normal prices, especially last night,” according to a spokesperson speaking to TechCrunch.
Uber’s responses are an improvement on its relative silence early on, but they’re not going to placate critics who’ve been deleting their accounts in protest. Kalanick’s objection to the immigration ban has been relatively muted, and many have blamed it on his participation in Trump’s policy forum — if you believe his opponents, he doesn’t want to rock the boat and risk losing political power. The stance is certainly softer than that of Lyft, which has vowed to donate to the ACLU and has decried Trump’s policy as un-American. While the defense fund and other steps will definitely help drivers left in the lurch, it may be hard for Uber to shake the notion that it isn’t helping as much as it could.
Via: The Verge
Source: Travis Kalanick (Facebook), TechCrunch, Uber
In love with your new iPhone 7? Here are 25 tips that will make you adore it even more
You’re happy with your shiny new iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, right? Of course you are! It’s the latest, and definitely greatest iPhone that Apple has made yet. Unless you only own headphones with a 3.5mm jack. Then it’s maybe not so good. Anyway, the beautifully sleek phone is in your hand, so what’s next?
More: 24 of the best iPhone 7 cases for your newfangled Apple device
Beyond all the usual features like Touch ID, the new camera, and yes, plugging in headphones using the Lightning port, there are lots of little iPhone 7 tips and tricks that the everyday iPhone owner may not know. To become an iPhone 7 master, they’re essential knowledge, and we’ve got the best ones you need to know right here.
Geting to grips with your new iPhone
New Home button doesn’t feel quite right?
The iPhone 7 doesn’t have an actual button for the Home button, it’s a capacitive, sensor-driven disc that works like the touch screen. However, thanks to a clever new implementation of Apple’s Taptic Engine — just like the one on your Apple Watch — it does feel like a button when you press it. Did you know you can subtly change that feeling? Here’s how:
Go to Settings > General > Home Button. Here, there are three options to change the feel of the artificial click. Pick the one that feels right, and then the Done option in the top right-hand corner.
Where has the lock screen camera shortcut gone?
Remember on other iPhones where you’d swipe on the little camera icon on the lock screen to quickly open the camera? It’s not there in iOS 10, and it’s not immediately obvious what to do instead. Don’t worry though, just swipe to the left on the lock screen to open the camera instantly. Just as quick and easy as before.
How to force a restart
The iPhone 7 doesn’t have a physical Home button, so the method for forcing a restart, or a hard reset, has changed. Now, hold down the power button on the right side of the phone, and the volume down button on the left side at the same time. Keep them held down until the phone restarts and you see the Apple logo.
Don’t miss the 3.5mm headphone adapter
Apple includes an adapter with every iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus so you can still use headphones that have a 3.5mm headphone jack attached, and not a Lightning connector. The thing is, it’s easy to miss in the box, especially in the excitement of getting out the phone itself. You’ll find it by taking out the EarPods, where it’s taped to the back of the case, therefore completely hidden from view if you never use the standard earphones.
Charge and listen to music at the same time?
You’ve got your headphones plugged into the Lightning connector, and 1 percent showing on the battery meter. What to do? If a pair of Bluetooth headphones aren’t an option, then you’re going to have to splash out on another adapter. Belkin has a double Lightning connector adapter in the works — one for charging, and the other for audio — while interestingly, Apple’s $50 iPhone 7 Lightning Dock has a 3.5mm headphone port built in to the base. Expect a few wireless charging systems, such as the Woolet Case seen here, to emerge over the next few months too.
Ireland may become the first country to completely divest from fossil fuels
Why it matters to you
The landmark legislation is a symbolic move from a relatively small country that could pave the way for others to join in preserving the planet’s natural resources.
The environmentally conscious are bemoaning the renewed controversy around the Dakota Access Pipeline, but there may be a silver lining overseas. In a decisive victory for the Earth, Ireland has become the world’s first country to completely divest from fossil fuels. In a 90 to 53 vote, the Irish Parliament passed legislation that will drop coal, oil, and gas investments from its $8.56 billion Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
The bill was introduced by Deputy Thomas Pringle, and while it’s not officially law yet (it still awaits review by Ireland’s financial committee), chances of its ultimate passage are high. If it does pass, the law will require the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to sell its investment in fossil fuel industries over the course of the next five years.
“This principle of ethical financing is a symbol to these global corporations that their continual manipulation of climate science, denial of the existence of climate change and their controversial lobbying practices of politicians around the world is no longer tolerated,” Pringle said. “We cannot accept their actions while millions of poor people in underdeveloped nations bear the brunt of climate change forces as they experience famine, mass emigration and civil unrest as a result.”
More: Renewable energy may overtake fossil fuels by 2040, according to report
The landmark legislation will be more of a largely symbolic effort, as Ireland does not have a particularly large environmental impact, given its small size. All the same, its decision may pave the way for larger countries to take similar pledges. It certainly stands in sharp contrast to the latest tone taken by the American government, whose current administration has reversed many of the goals of the Obama era.
Should Ireland’s divestment legislation pass, it’ll overtake Norway as the country that has done most in terms of cutting ties with fossil fuels. In 2015, Norway’s Norway’s sovereign pension fund divested from some, but not all, fossil fuel companies.
How does Google keep me safe while using Chrome?
What Google does to keep you safer and let you know they’re doing it in Chrome.
You’ve probably heard that the Chrome browser helps make sure you don’t visit websites that may be harmful on accident. That’s true, but like most things in Chrome, there’s also more information available for every web page you visit when it comes to trust. It’s actually right there in front of us all the time right in the omnibar. Let’s have a basic look at what Google does to make sure your safe on the web when using Chrome.
Every website is given a trust rating by Google. There are based on what’s called a certificate and data collected by Google’s Safe Browsing program. Google’s Safe Browsing is an index of the web (yes, all of the web) that will warn you before you load a site that may be unsafe by pausing the loading of the page and warning you. You’ll see some information that tells you what Google thinks is wrong and the option to continue to the page or to go back a step to the last page you visited.
We blocked the website address in this image to make sure nobody tries to visit it, but you would normally see it in the text. Any web page that Google’s Safe Browsing engine suspects of having malware or collecting your user data will be flagged this way. Safe Browsing is built into Chrome, Firefox and Safari. Safe Browsing isn’t something that was made to compete in any sales market. It’s a service from Google’s web security team that other companies can use and help make better so we’re all safer on the internet.
Safe Browsing stops you from going directly to a web site that Google has flagged as harmful.
Chrome also has another safety check in place that uses a site’s SSL certificate. A certificate is a small data file that is uploaded on a website’s server that binds a cryptography key to that particular site. When a proper certificate is installed on a server, it activates the HTTPS protocol so secure connections between the web server and you are possible. This way, things like credit card transactions, personal details, and data transfers stay between you and the site you’re visiting. A certificate also ties a site’s domain name, hostname, company name, and location together.
Google has a list of companies that provide these SSL certificates who are trusted. Anyone can create an SSL certificate, and if you work for a company with a big intranet (web pages for internal use) or that uses their own VPN credentials you probably have a custom certificate from your IT department you need to mark as trusted in some applications. Those don’t go into Google’s master list but are treated the same way because you (or your IT department) explicitly said they were trustworthy.
Using the SSL certificate (or lack of) Chrome will give a website one of four ratings.
Secure. This web page is using a valid SSL certificate and all the data going back and forth is only available to you and the server you’re visiting.
Info. This site isn’t using a valid certificate, but there is no reason to suspect any hanky panky is going on. You can click the icon to get the details.
Not Secure. There is something wrong with this site’s privacy settings and someone else might be able to see the data you’re sharing with it.- Dangerous. Avoid this site because your private information is at risk. If you didn’t disable Safe Browsing you’ll get the warning page before you arrive at a site with this rating.
You find these icons in the omnibar (Chrome’s version of an address bar) in your browser. You can click on any of them and you’ll get all the details Google has about the site as well as links that might help explain what you’re seeing.
SSL certificates are becoming more and more necessary and common. You’ll find that most companies with a big online presence use them. But you also might need to make sure you’re using the right URL to get there!
Android Central is an example. We have a recognized SSL certificate, and you’ll be able to use it with Chrome if you visit https://www.androidcentral.com. You’ll see the lock icon along with our company name in Chrome’s omnibar and that means that everything you type or otherwise enter on one of our pages is encrypted so that only you and we can read it.
SSL certificates are a great way to make sure the data you send to any web page is encrypted and secure.
But we also need to be legacy compatible. We want someone with an old Android tablet or one they bought that doesn’t have Google’s software available to be able to visit using a browser that can’t use certificates or might have difficulty rendering sites that have them. If you visit http://www.androidcentral.com (notice the use of http versus https) you’ll see the info icon. You can click on that icon and it will tell you that your connection isn’t secured.
Many sites are this way, so be sure to update all your bookmarks to use the https address!
Chrome isn’t the only browser that helps make sure you’re safe on the web. Microsoft, Mozilla, Apple and everyone else wants your experience to be the best it can be so you keep using their products. But Chrome gives plenty of details to help you know what’s going on and we want to make sure you know how to find them.
From The Editor’s Desk: An immigrant
There’s more to tech than conflict, and there’s more to life than tech.
When I was nine years old, I was sitting on the sill in my kitchen talking to my mother, and as I looked out on to the driveway a man sprinted through the front gates towards me, holding a gun that looked, to my young eyes, the size of a bazooka. He motioned for us to be quiet as he hid behind my father’s truck, and as I sat there, paralyzed, my mom picked me up and sprinted to the other side of the house.
If Google’s CEO issues a memo to his employees citing the “personal cost of [President Trump’s] executive order on [his] colleagues,” we are going to mention it.
What I learned later is that the man was trying to break into the heavily-fortified compound of a neighbor a few houses down, and as he fled to seek shelter behind my father’s truck, more than a dozen police officers were setting up a perimeter. Once established, a group of six stormed the driveway from each side, cutting off the would-be burglar and arresting him. I learned of this, and many similar incidents, in the months and years since emigrating from Johannesburg to Toronto, where I have now lived for over 20 years.
I’ve long taken for granted that Canada is my home, and that I am relatively safe from persecution just by being a citizen of this particular nation. Back in the early 90s, during Apartheid South Africa, I was a bit too young and sheltered to realize what my country’s government was doing, and had done for 40 years, to systemically reduce the rights of a majority of its population — but my parents weren’t. They were keenly aware of the system of imbalance that kept people poor and desperate, and that enormous change was necessary — and imminent — in that beautiful country. Change came, and kept coming, and for many reasons we left for a nation that proudly codified its constitution around inclusiveness and stability. And though I miss South Africa intensely, I understand and empathize with my parents’ decision to leave a precarious situation.
We at AC are often told, when reporting on topics outside the immediate tech sphere, to pare back, to focus on “what we’re good at,” to resist the temptation to politicize our rhetoric or inflame the readership. As much as I like the idea that Android Central is a soothing balm, a respite from the divisive nature of political discourse in early 2017, the reality is that we are just as inextricably linked to the decisions of elected officials as the rest, and to avoid it entirely would be a disservice to our readership.
Respect and listen to one another this week, folks.
If Google’s CEO issues a memo to his employees citing the “personal cost of [President Trump’s] executive order on [his] colleagues,” we are going to mention it, even as we continue to recommend great products and report on rumors of this year’s flagships.
I also feel a personal obligation to stand up for the rights of immigrants, for the millions of good people whose decisions to move between nations often comes at enormous personal and financial risk. That I am an editor at an Android-related website is a privilege that I may not have been able to achieve without the personal and financial risk taken by my parents 22 years ago.
A few notes from the week:
- The Note 7 saga is over, and while I wasn’t thrilled with the results, I appreciate Samsung’s thoroughness, and I expect that outcome to be positive for the entire industry.
- The Galaxy S8 is shaping up to be one hell of a follow-up.
- So is the LG G6, but will it have enough to really differentiate itself from the high-end competition?
- I received Nougat on my OnePlus 3 and HTC 10, and now I can’t decide which implementation I like better.
- Both, however — all phones upgraded to Nougat, in fact, are enormously improved. This is the most significant “minor” Android update I’ve ever used.
- I was quite amazed as how far-reaching Alex’s investigation on which Android phone Trump uses went. It was picked up by Vanity Fair, Fox News, Vice, The Telegraph, Quartz, Yahoo Finance, Politico, Daring Fireball, The Guardian, Der Standard, El Mundo and many more news outlets.
- Had a blast playing and writing about Myst, which came to Android this week.
- Also having a blast reading through the first week of Ask Jerry. Join us in the forums if you haven’t already!
Respect and listen to one another this week, folks.
-Daniel
AIVAnet 