Auto and oil industries want to pit hydrogen cars against EVs

A consortium of companies from the car and power industries are teaming up to push hydrogen as the fuel of the future. Plenty of big names are involved, including Toyota, Daimler, BMW, Honda and Hyundai representing the automobile world. On the other side, we have Linde (Industrial Gas), Shell (Oil and Gas), Anglo American (Mining), Total (Oil and Gas) and Engie (Gas). Together, they will form the Hydrogen Council which has the job of positioning “hydrogen among the key solutions of the energy transition.”

The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum at Davos and sees 13 companies in total signing up. Their job will be to convince other companies, regulators and the public that switching to hydrogen is essential to our continued survival. Oh, and a big bucket of new subsidies for the oil and gas industry, since the transition to cleaner fuels will only happen “with appropriate policies and supporting schemes.” Air Liquide CEO Benoît Poiter adds that the group “cannot do it alone,” so governments should “back hydrogen” with “large-scale infrastructure investment schemes.” EVs are also subsidized, sure, but then

The announcement describes hydrogen as a “clean fuel or energy source” because it “does not release any CO2 at the point of use.” That’s not the same thing as being good for the environment, since the emissions all take place at the refinery rather than in the tailpipe. Natural gas will be used to reform methane into hydrogen, a process that releases carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.

Transportation is responsible for more than a quarter of all greenhouse gases, so a cleaner alternative to petroleum is welcome. Hydrogen is an improvement, but certainly not the wonder substance that these companies would have you believe. Don’t forget that methane has a tendency to leak from natural gas plants and is a much nastier greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

The reasons why these companies are teaming up around hydrogen isn’t about saving the planet, but maintaining relevancy. After all, electric cars require far less infrastructure investment than hydrogen and can be significantly cleaner. Not to mention that EVs aren’t directly contributing to oil and gas companies bottom lines. When you look at all those pre-orders for Tesla’s Model 3, you can see why oil company executives are nervous.

Electric vehicles aren’t yet perfect, by any means, since there are still issues around battery capacity and range anxiety that need to be addressed. But all it takes is a little more research into supercapacitors and better fast-charging equipment and any argument for hydrogen falls along the wayside.

President Obama commutes most of Chelsea Manning’s sentence

President Barack Obama on Tuesday commuted the majority of Chelsea Manning’s remaining prison sentence, and she is now scheduled to be released on May 17th, 2017, rather than in 2045. Manning is the former army intelligence analyst who provided hundreds of thousands of classified military files to Wikileaks in 2010, including a video of a US helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed two Reuters journalists. The video and accompanying data catapulted Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, into the limelight.

In 2013, Manning was convicted of violating the Espionage Act and sentenced to 35 years in Fort Leavenworth prison. Manning is a transgender woman who was known as Bradley when she was an active army analyst. LGBTQ activists and Manning’s lawyers have been calling for her sentence to be commuted, arguing she is in danger at Fort Leavenworth, a male military prison. She attempted to commit suicide twice last year.

Manning is irrevocably tied to Wikileaks and Assange, the organization’s founder who also faces espionage charges in the US for publishing the information that Manning provided. Assange is currently hiding out in Ecuador, which has granted him asylum as he flees authorities in multiple countries: On top of his charges in the US related to Wikileaks, he’s wanted in Sweden to answer allegations of rape and sexual assault.

In September, Assange said that he would turn himself in to the US if Manning was granted clemency or the charges against her were dropped. Additionally, just five days ago, the Wikileaks Twitter account said, “If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case.”

There’s no word yet on Assange’s plans now that Manning’s sentence has been mostly commuted.

Developing…

Source: The New York Times

LG’s Nexus-like Android Wear watches emerge in a leak

For months, rumors have circulated of Google formally launching Android Wear 2.0 with a pair of flagship smartwatches — not Google-designed, but certainly intended as reference models like Nexus phones used to be. But what will they be like? We might just have an idea — Evan Blass (of @evleaks fame) claims to have details of the two devices, LG’s Watch Sport and Watch Style. Both will reportedly arrive on February 9th alongside Android Wear 2.0 itself. They won’t have revolutionary specs, if the leak is accurate, but they will be showcases for what Google’s latest wearable software can do.

The Watch Style would be the entry-level model with a 1.2-inch, 360 x 360 circular screen, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, a 240mAh battery and connectivity that’s limited to Bluetooth and WiFi. You’d really get it because of its looks (there will be rose gold, silver and titanium colors), swappable straps and smaller casing. Supposedly, the Android Police mockup you see at right is a good representation of its looks.

However, the Watch Sport is clearly the star of the show. It’ll reportedly center around a 1.38-inch 480 x 480 round display (similar to the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition) and carry cellular data, GPS, a heart rate sensor and support for Android Pay. You should get the same 768MB of RAM as the Urbane, although you’ll curiously get a smaller battery (430mAh versus the Urbane’s 570mAh). And as the name indicates, you’ll get a rougher, tougher design. You may be looking at a reasonable facsimile of it on the left.

It’s not certain how much you’ll pay for either watch. Blass hears that they’ll go on sale in the US on February 10th, though. And that’s important. While Casio and New Balance have already shown off Android Wear 2.0 devices that tout more features or will even arrive sooner (in New Balance’s case), the LG watches should arrive quickly enough that it’ll be worth holding out to see whether or not they’re better values.

Source: VentureBeat

AT&T Shuts Down 2G Network and Ends Cellular Connectivity for Original iPhone

AT&T yesterday announced that its 2G wireless network was officially shut down on January 1, 2017, following four years of planning for its discontinuation.

As The Verge points out, the end of the 2G network means the original first-generation iPhone (also known as the iPhone 2G) will no longer receive cellular service from the AT&T network, effectively shutting it down.

Few people appear to have been using the original iPhone as there were no complaints from iPhone owners two weeks ago when the network was shuttered, but going forward, customers who keep the device as part of a collection will only be able to use it on WiFi.

Originally released in June of 2007 and discontinued in 2008, the first iPhone was made obsolete by Apple back in 2013, and it has not received software updates since the 2009 release of iPhone OS 3, later renamed iOS 3.

While the end of the 2G network seems to have had little impact on iPhone owners, it did manage to cause significant issues for the San Francisco Muni bus and train system. NextMuni, used to predict arrival times of buses and trains, ran on AT&T’s 2G network. Muni vehicles without upgraded systems installed don’t show up on NextMuni, a problem that the San Francisco transit agency believes could take weeks to solve.

According to AT&T, shutting down its 2G network frees up valuable spectrum for future network technologies, including 5G. AT&T says the spectrum will be repurposed for LTE.

Tag: AT&T
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Vine Transitions into ‘Vine Camera’ as Original Service Shuts Down

As promised, Twitter today discontinued the original Vine app and service, transitioning it into a new “Vine Camera” app designed to allow users to make six-second looping videos that can be saved to the iPhone’s camera roll or shared directly on Twitter.

Videos posted to Twitter from the Vine Camera app will loop like they did in the standard Vine app, but aside from allowing users to capture and edit looping video, no other Vine features remain.

Existing Vine videos can be downloaded from the Vine website, and all Vines will continue to be available on the Vine.co website, though no new content can be uploaded.

Twitter first announced plans to shut down Vine in October of 2016. The company entertained multiple purchase offers for Vine but then decided to maintain a simpler version of the app that’s now known as Vine Camera.

Today’s app update, the Vine Camera, lets you keep making Vines & posting them to Twitter, where they now loop! 🎥

— Vine (@vine) January 17, 2017

The Vine Camera app, which has a new icon, can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Vine
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Verizon Cracking Down on Customers Still Using Faulty Galaxy Note 7 Devices

Though Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 has been discontinued for several months because of battery issues, there are still “thousands” of Verizon customers who are continuing to use the devices against the company’s advice.

To put a stop to the rogue Note 7 users, Verizon tells Fortune that it’s prepared to take more extreme steps to disable the devices. Verizon has already issued a carrier update that stops the Galaxy Note 7 from working, but some customers have been able to avoid installing it.

Verizon plans to make it so calls placed on remaining Galaxy Note 7 devices will only connect to the company’s customer service representatives, with the exception of 911 calls. Verizon is also considering charging customers who continue to use the Note 7 for the full retail price of the device, as it has sent out refunds.

“In spite of our best efforts, there are still customers using the recalled phones who have not returned or exchanged their Note 7 to the point of purchase,” a Verizon spokeswoman tells Fortune. “The recalled Note 7s pose a safety risk to our customers and those around them.”

Verizon customers who return a Note 7 device to the company continue to be eligible for a $100 bill credit and no upgrade fee as an incentive to choose a new smartphone.

Samsung has not officially announced the results of an internal investigation it conducted on the Galaxy Note 7, but company sources yesterday told Reuters that Samsung has concluded the battery was the reason behind the fires. Samsung was able to replicate the fires during its investigation, though the cause was not able to be explained by hardware design or software.

Samsung’s official results will be shared on January 23, and the company is also expected to share details on measures it will take to prevent similar battery issues in the future.

Tags: Samsung, Verizon
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Real Baseball – Batter up! (App Review)

Keep your pitches low and on the inside and you’ll be golden at least 80% of the time.

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Then there are people who try and imitate to gain success off of other people’s work. Italy Games has several apps on the app store that are heavily influenced by other popular apps. Real Baseball seems to take most of its cues from another popular baseball app available on iOS, but does it add enough of its own flair to hold it’s own on Google Play? Let’s take a look.

Developer: Italy Games 
Price: Free/IAP
Download: Google Play

The Setup

The game starts off walking you through a brief tutorial that teaches you the basics of batting and pitching. The basic controls are to just tap when you want to swing the bat or aim the ball on a grid, then tap to throw the ball. There are multiple modes to choose from, but only quick play and season are open from the start. The rest are unlocked from completing season games.

Overview

Keep your eye on the ball. It’s all about timing.

Quick game or season games are fairly quick. Each game only consists of one inning, so even seasons go by pretty quickly. Most of the AI opponents are pretty easy to trick while pitching. They are pretty good at picking off fastballs but seem to be incapable of hitting change-ups if they are pitched straight down the middle. Batting is a little more challenging as you have to time your tap just right depending on the speed of the ball, but you don’t have to aim towards the pitch or anything, just tap.

Batter Challenge is a typical home run contest. You get points depending on how far you hit the ball, with home runs being the most valuable and increasing your score multiplier. All the pitches fly straight and at a moderate speed, so there’s nothing to trip you up other than your own timing. There’s nothing that is gained through Batter Challenge except for some in-game currency, so to make progress, Season games are the preferred way to go.

Overall, the gameplay is rather dry. You don’t need to aim your bat swings, just tap. You do aim your pitch but you aren’t timed, there’s no skill required, just drag and tap. You can strike out every batter with any pitch aimed low and near the batter. They will miss 99% of the time and if they do hit, they will usually have a poor hit and be out by first base. Batting is just a matter of timing and taping when the ball is just before the base. After a game or two, it becomes mindless.

Can’t wait to catch a Gibnts game this summer!

There are a large number of outfits to purchase, upgrades that improve your batting and pitching, and draft picks that unlock players with better stats, but until you are very deep in the game, these upgrades aren’t necessary at all. There are a few in-app purchases to remove ads or to gain currency fast. Apart from the ad removal, purchasing in-game currency hardly seems worth it because by the time you’ll actually need any upgrades, you’ll be sitting on a pretty big mountain of cash, assuming the game can hold your interest for that long. The only fun part of buying new outfits is the funny translation errors and knock off names of the teams, my favorite being Gibnts in place of Giants.

Conclusion

Real Baseball is a mediocre baseball game where timing your taps is key to success. The AI is very unskilled and will fall for the same tricks time and time again, which causes the game to grow stale fast. While there are a number of upgrades available, none of them are necessary at all, as the game simply provides little in the way of challenge. Between mediocre gameplay and laughable translations, this is a game that can easily be passed up.

How to save your Vine videos before they disappear

Vine is going away. Here’s how to download all of your loops in video format!

Twitter is doing some housecleaning, and is [getting rid of its Vine social network in the process](http://www.androidcentral.com/twitter-shutting-down-vine-video-sharing-app. On January 17, the app will no longer allow users to upload new Vines, and is purging its extensive database of 6-second masterpieces.

If you’re looking to hold onto your Vines, here’s how to download them, or get them emailed to you, in video format.

Open Vine for Android.
Log in using your Twitter account or another email.
Tap the Profile icon on the right of the tab.

Tap Save Videos.

Decide whether you want to receive an email with the download link or to save the videos to your phone.
If saving to your phone, decide which videos you want to save.
Tap Save.

That’s it! Now your Vines will be saved to a special folder under the same name in your gallery. Each file will have a long string of numbers with no file extension, but they can be renamed to .mov or .mp4 — they’re simply H.264 files at 480×480 with AAC audio.

Have fun!

Kano Computer is the best gift I have ever given!

This is the educational software overhaul I’ve been looking for.

It’s not hard to get most kids excited about programming. You say “Hey, how cool would it be if you could make your own games?” and watch their faces light up. The problem is often what comes next.

There’s a handful of fun and educational apps online that will help a child establish the core thought patterns needed to actually write a program, but most of them really need that guiding hand from someone who has written code before to push those patterns into something useful. If your idea of writing code is that one time you customized a theme for your MySpace page in 2005, chances are you don’t have the tools needed to help a child become a programmer. That’s not on you, in fact it represents a real problem with accessible education in this space.

I recently stumbled across a clever combination of hardware and software that may not be the perfect answer for everyone, but gets closer than any solution I’ve used yet to truly encouraging kids to learn how to code almost entirely on their own. It’s called Kano Computer, and it is very likely going to be my go-to gift for any kid under age 15 for quite a while.

I loved learning about that machine, and wanted to share a piece of that experience with my son.

My decision to purchase a Kano Computer came entirely from a desire to give my son a different kind of computer. When my aunt and uncle gave me my first computer, I spent days taking it apart and learning everything I could about it. When I had to give it back to them to replace the power supply a few months later, it took me less than a day to notice new drivers on the system for the CD-Rom drive they were giving me for my birthday. I loved learning about that machine, and wanted to share a piece of that experience with my son. Building a PC isn’t likely to be a skill he’s going to need in 10 years, so instead of a full desktop I started looking at something a little more compact.

Kano Computer is a Raspberry Pi with a speaker built into the enclosure and a wireless keyboard that includes a trackpad. Assembly is simple, but detailed enough that you learn along the way there’s more you can do with this computer than what is available in the box. Connect your Kano Computer to any HDMI display with the included cable, connect a power cable, and you’ve just “built a computer” with your kid.

The impressive part of Kano Computer isn’t the hardware, it’s the software. From the moment you start your Raspberry Pi, Kano OS is built to be as child-friendly as possible. I don’t mean large, friendly text bubbles with giant colorful icons either. Kano OS offers simple explanations for tasks and walks you through completing them — starting with a command prompt. Once your child creates an account, they’re taken to a Legend of Zelda-esque video game world full of people in need of help. Each person offers a challenge, and each challenge requires some form of programming knowledge.

If you’re interested in exposing your child to the beginnings of software development, this is the environment you want them learning in.

The Kano OS map breaks down each group of challenge out to make it easier for your child to pick what they want to learn. This includes vector art, Python, and basic if/do blocks for beginners. The challenges mostly involve learning inside of a game, which means your child is actively changing the game they are currently playing. They alter a line of code and immediately see the effect, followed by the ability to save the version they’ve edited to be shared with friends and family.

Even things like system management are part of this game environment. System updates are achieved by walking to the service station and asking for an update, as though it’s part of the game being played. The whole Kano OS setup is highly functional, but it’s also a ton of fun. It encourages an entirely new level of exploration for would-be software developers, and for parents that don’t have that strong software background it’s very easy to follow and participate with your kids.

I’ve never been so happy with a gift I’ve given before. Kano OS is entirely open source, and Kano Computer is exactly the kind of compact and portable system a child should have. If there’s ever a point where my son has outgrown the software but the hardware is still useful, it’s just as easy to replace the software on this as it is any other Raspberry Pi. If you’re interested in exposing your child to the beginnings of software development, this is the environment you want them learning in.

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How to hide VR porn on your Gear VR

Hiding VR porn your Gear VR is far easier than you think, and we’ve got the details on how to do it!

By now, you’re probably well acquainted with Gear VR and the fact that you watch and enjoy porn using it. The problem crops up if you don’t want somebody to accidentally stumble across your downloaded porn videos while scrolling through your phone. This is especially true if you like to hand over your phone to your children. Thankfully, it’s super easy to make sure that this never happens by doing a few small things to hide your porn.

Read more at VRHeads.com