Microsoft reminds us that So.cl exists by closing it down

Microsoft is shutting down So.cl, a quasi-social network launched by its FUSE Labs research division. In case you forgot (admit it, you forgot), it was never intended to be a competitor to Facebook or Twitter. Rather, it’s a strange hybrid that let you log in from Facebook, then share searches, images and collages and discuss them with friends. Some of the features were odd — for instance, you could create a “Video Party” with friends, but it wasn’t video chat, just regular chat about video clips.

So.cl launched in 2011, the same year that Google+ came along, during a time when it probably didn’t seem insane to launch a Facebook competitor. Coming from Microsoft Research, the site was first aimed at University students before it opened its doors to the wider public. It carried a tiled look to match the “Metro” design used for Windows 8 on mobile and desktop.

Much like Metro, however, nobody really used it, perhaps because it was never really clear what it was for. It ended up mostly being a site to share and discuss random stuff you found on the internet, something you can already do on Facebook. Unlike Facebook, though, it lacked basic features including the ability to just upload a photo.

In the end, it was a good real-life research experiment for Microsoft Research’s Fuse Labs, if nothing else. “In supporting you, So.cl’s unique community of creators, we have learned invaluable lessons in what it takes to establish and maintain community as well as novel new ways to make share, and collect digital stuff we love,” the team wrote. Now that Microsoft has a real social network with LinkedIn, maybe some of So.cl’s features will end up there.

Source: Fuse Labs

What the Spring 2017 Budget means for UK tech

The UK’s chancellor Philip Hammond has provided more details today on the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF), a project unveiled at last November’s Autumn Statement to support science and technology. The headline announcement is the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), which falls under the NPIF and will be used to support electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and robotics. An “initial investment” of £270 million will be spent in 2017/18 to support what is being called “disruptive technologies.” These include “the development, design and manufacture of batteries that will power the next generation of electric vehicles.”

In addition, the money will be used for “cutting-edge” AI and robotics that can “operate in extreme and hazardous environments,” including nuclear energy, space and deep mining environments. So Wall-E, basically?

Today’s Budget also unpacked the government’s plans — again, hinted at in last year’s Autumn Statement — to support fibre broadband and 5G connectivity in the UK. Starting this year, the treasury has promised to spend £200 million on a suite of local projects that will “test ways to accelerate market delivery of new full-fibre broadband networks.” These include connection vouchers for businesses, new connections for schools, hospitals and other public sector buildings, and a push to bundle local public sector users “to create enough broadband demand to reduce the financial risk of building new full-fibre networks,” Google Fiber style.

We heard a lot about 5G at Mobile World Congress, however the super-fast network technology is still a way off. To accelerate its development, the UK government has put aside £16 million for a “cutting edge 5G facility” aimed at research firms. The Budget contains little detail about where it will be set up, or what it might look like, however. As for the government’s future plans, there’s just this throwaway line to consider: “Funding for future trials will be awarded on a competitive basis.” Make of that what you will.

Source: 2017 Budget

Period tracker secretly gives Iranian women access to vital info

A period tracker’s function is pretty self-explanatory, unless it’s an app called Hamdam that sprung out of IranCubator. According to Buzzfeed News, it was deliberately designed to be a Trojan Horse, an application masquerading as a period tracker meant to secretly provide Iranian women access to information that could prove vital to their health and security. They could use it to look for more info about birth control, women’s health issues, divorce, domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment and STDs. The app also notes the legal language they can use in a marriage contract to fortify their rights when it comes to child custody and the ability to work, to go to school or to seek a divorce.

IranCubator was a program created by United for Iran, a non-profit based out of Berkeley that aims to take advantage of smartphones’ rising popularity in the country. It accepts ideas for Android apps that promote social good in Iran from people around the globe, and it turns the best ones into real applications. The program’s first release was RadiTo, which airs programs from BBC and banned radio networks.

Hamdam was submitted by Soudeh Rad, a French-Iranian gender equality activist. She told Buzzfeed News that she came up with idea, because the information that reaches Iranian women tend to be “biased, heteronormative and male pleasure–centered.” To make sure it can serve as many women as possible, it uses language anyone in Iran can understand, not just those from the upper and middle classes.

While the application is already available from Google Play and Telegram, its developers plan to release an Android APK as well. That will allow users to download it from emails and other places on the internet in case it ends up getting censored or if their data connection is too slow. In addition, IranCubator promises that the application will keep users’ personal info and identities safe by storing their data on their phones. It’s not connected to a server and even disables the screenshot function.

Source: Buzzfeed News

The world’s largest solar farm, from space

Just over two years ago, California’s 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farm was the world’s largest solar project. A year later, the 579-megawatt Solar Star farm, also in California, laid claim to the crown, and in 2016, India’s 648-megawatt Kamuthi Solar Power Project was top photovoltaic dog. However, China is now the leader of this planet-friendly competition, by far, with the 850-megawatt Longyangxia Dam Solar Park. All told, it can power 200,000 homes at the peak of production.

I could tell you that it takes up 27 square kilometers (10 square miles) of land or that it’s nearly as big as Macau, “the Las Vegas of Asia.” But to really grasp the scale, check out the above image snapped by NASA’s Earth Observatory on January 5th, 2017. It’s about as long from top to bottom as the adjacent Longyangxia Reservoir is wide, a distance of about 13 miles. “The numbers are just crazy,” a US solar executive told The Guardian in January. As shown in a 2013 image (below), that work was accomplished in just four years.

“The development of clean energy is very important if we are to keep the promises made in the Paris agreement,” said Xie Xiaoping, chairman of the company behind the solar park. China is by far the leading nation in solar power, having produced 66.2 gigawatts of electricity last year. By comparison, the US produced 40 gigawatts of solar power in 2016. That’s aided by the fact that China produces more solar panels for a lower cost than anywhere else.

China’s President Xi Jinping has promised an “unwavering” pursuit of clean energy, saying “our response to climate change bears on the future of our people and the well-being of mankind.” By 2020, it hopes to be producing 110 gigawatts of power from solar and 210 gigawatts with wind, boosting non-fossil fuel production to 20 percent of its total power output by 2030.

110 gigawatts is actually a 27 percent reduction from an earlier target, according to Bloomberg. Part of the problem is that China has had trouble adapting the new projects into its power grid. With its over-reliance on coal and critical smog problems in Beijing and other cities, groups like Greenpeace have criticized the reduced targets, despite all the investment.

The Longyangxia Dam Solar Park won’t hold the solar crown for long — a 2-gigawatt project with six million panels in China’s Ningxia region will come online in the next few years. All told, China plans to spend $360 billion on solar and wind energy by 2020, creating some 13 million jobs. In other words, its clean energy projects over the next three years would employ a third the population of Canada.

Source: NASA

No, Apple Isn’t Planning an April 4 Event, Unless by Pure Coincidence

Yesterday, a handful of blogs ran with a rumor speculating that Apple could host an event on April 4 given that was the date Apple’s online store listed for in-store availability of 12.9-inch iPad Pro models in the United States at the time. The rumor is likely false, however, and here’s why.

The problem is that Apple’s in-store Personal Pickup tool is generally not a reliable indicator of a specific launch date or Apple event. The in-store pickup date for 12.9-inch iPad Pro models is a rolling target, as evidenced by the April 5 date now shown just one day later. Tomorrow, it will likely show April 6.

The date shown is most likely just a rough approximation of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s current 2-3 week shipping estimate, plus a few extra days to reach the store. On February 9, for example, we reported that most 12.9-inch iPad Pro models were available for in-store pickup on March 3 at the time.

Apple could still hold an event on April 4, especially considering many of its past events have been on a Tuesday, but it would be purely coincidental.

Personal Pickup does confirm the 12.9-inch iPad Pro remains in tight supply, which can sometimes foreshadow an upcoming product launch. In January, however, Apple said it had an issue with one of its iPad suppliers that was not expected to be fully resolved this quarter, which could reasonably explain the shortage.

Apple is expected to launch at least a trio of new iPad Pro models in the near future, though, so an event might be announced soon enough. Japanese website Mac Otakara said Apple is planning a March event where it will unveil those new iPads alongside a 128GB iPhone SE, red iPhone 7, and new Apple Watch bands.

An all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro with an edge-to-edge display and updates to the current 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch models are rumored. A new 7.9-inch model is a wildcard, as reports are conflicting about whether the iPad mini 4 will live on or be replaced by a lower-cost 9.7-inch model as predicted by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Caution)
Discuss this article in our forums

VUDU Confirms Apple TV App in Development, But Release Date Unknown

Streaming movie and TV service VUDU has confirmed that it is currently in the development stages for an upcoming fourth-generation Apple TV app, although the official launch timeline is unclear at this point. A Redditor spotted the confirmation from a VUDU engineer named Jake, who posted on the company’s forums in response to a user’s inquiry about the long-requested debut of a VUDU app for Apple TV.

In a separate thread dating back about a year ago, the same engineer explained the reasoning behind VUDU not prioritizing an Apple TV app. He mentioned that due to Apple’s strict policies preventing third-parties from selling movies in their apps, VUDU has instead focused on adding HD AirPlay streaming into its iOS app so users can use the company’s mobile app to stream all of their content to Apple TV. It’s believed that the same restriction has prevented Amazon from debuting Amazon Prime Video on Apple TV.

Forum member: Any chance of an AppleTV app being planned?
VUDU engineer: Yes, it’s in development. No, please don’t ask me for a date, I don’t know

With VUDU’s Apple TV app confirmed to be in development, it’s likely that the company will use the same tactic that it took with the VUDU iOS app [Direct Link] in finding a way to abide by Apple’s policy while still offering the crux of its services. On mobile, users can watch and download all of the movies and TV shows they want, as long as they complete the transactions on VUDU’s website first.

While that’s a hindrance for VUDU iOS users, it could work the same way for Apple TV watchers. Besides purchasing and renting movies and TV shows, VUDU acts as a storage vault for digital copies of films purchased in retail locations, if users choose VUDU as a storage space over other options such as iTunes.

For the Apple TV itself, Apple is rumored to be working on an updated 4K version of the device for potential release before the end of 2017.

Tag: VUDU
Discuss this article in our forums

Vimeo now supports 360-degree video

Virtual reality hardware wouldn’t be anywhere without content to play on it — that’s why so many big video companies are putting resources towards immersive, 360-degree video playback. Facebook and YouTube have both supported 360 videos for a while now, even letting users livestream (provided they have the right gear, of course.) It may be a little late to the party, but Vimeo is also getting into the game. While there’s no livestreaming to be found yet, the platform now fully supports 360-degree video uploads and playback in a variety of ways.

From a playback perspective, 360-degree playback is now integrated into the website as well as the iOS and Android apps. You can watch video in either monoscopic or stereoscopic mode — the latter of which means you’ll be able to properly view this footage while wearing a VR headset. Not all headsets are supported today, however. For starters, Vimeo’s 360 video will work with Google Daydream, Samsung’s Gear VR and the Zeiss VR One. But support for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive is coming soon.

Watching these videos is pretty straightforward. On the web, you can just click and drag anywhere in the video to look around; on a smartphone, you just swipe around the screen. You can also use your computer’s trackpad to pan around, and there’s also a helpful little compass that shows which way you’re “facing” in the 360-degree landscape — tapping or clicking that restores you to the default point of view, assuming the uploader enabled it.

Vimeo has a reputation of being a platform designed with “serious” video creators in mind, and it shows in how they’re rolling out 360 video controls to those uploading video. You can set exactly how wide of a field of view you want to see when the video starts and also adjust the position in 360-degree space so that viewers see what you want when the video starts up. All the same features you find when uploading standard videos are here, like detailed metadata fields and custom embed settings.

Creators who want to monetize their 360-degree creations will be happy to know that Vimeo is also offering a marketplace where customers can buy their videos. Vimeo On Demand lets uploaders in the “pro” and “business” tiers set whatever price and terms they want for their videos, including full purchase, rental, and subscription options.

Additionally, Vimeo will offer a 360-degree video school to help shooters find best practices for using the new format. And if you just want to find video to watch, the platform will be curating and sharing its favorite clips in a dedicated channel. If you want to see Vimeo’s take on 360-degree video, it’ll be available in the company’s apps and on the web today.

You can now use Apple Pay to donate to 22 UK charities

Apple has partnered with 22 UK charities to let iOS users pledge donations using Apple Pay. The feature, which rolled out in the US last November, operates inside the Safari browser and lets anyone with a supported iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch securely send money to their favourite organisation using only their fingerprint.

Participating organisations include: ActionAid UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Barnardo’s, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Comic Relief, Concern Worldwide (UK), DEC, Marie Curie, Oxfam, (RED), The Royal British Legion, RNIB, RNLI, RSPB, RSPCA, Scope, Sightsavers, Unicef UK, VSO, WaterAid, and WWF-UK.

Although charities encourage donations via a number of avenues, some still pursue street collections. This has given risen to chuggers or charity muggers, people who stand in busy pedestrian areas with high-visibility jackets and try to get passers-by to part with their money. Apple Pay, on the other hand, is designed to be as frictionless as possible, ensuring those willing to pledge money aren’t put off by forms and having to remember their login.

We’re excited to let you know that when donating to our life-saving work, you can donate instantly with Apple Pay: https://t.co/0kEMYkjfSU pic.twitter.com/FvG0btziGV

— Cancer Research UK (@CR_UK) March 8, 2017

Source: Civil Society

805HP GT Concept hints at the future of Mercedes hybrids

If you’re Mercedes, how do you follow up the SLS AMG and AMG GT coupes? With this GT Concept, which, as exec Tobias Moers says, is Mercedes “giving a preview of our third completely independently developed sports car.” Like so many other current high-performance vehicles, it combines a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 engine with an electric motor and battery to produce a max of 805HP. More importantly, it could signal a halo model pushing the company’s hybrid aspirations in a manner similar to the BMW i8.

While the Mercedes-AMG GT Concept on display at the Geneva Motor Show is, of course, just a concept, Autoblog notes that its style looks nearly production-ready. If it comes to market, it will probably lose the fender-mounted “mirror cams,” and other cool bits like the “nano-active fiber technology” in its front and rear lights. A light cord shows off a futuristic idea for daytime running lights, while the other elements make it a “three-dimensional, multilayered, high-tech component.”

The Mercedes-AMG GT Concept. Geneva Motor Show. Get ready.

A post shared by Mercedes-Benz USA (@mbusa) on Mar 6, 2017 at 10:09am PST

As far as that impressive powertrain, this is no plug-in hybrid, with batteries that charge via brake recuperation or from the gasoline engine if the charge drops below a certain level. It has an all-wheel-drive system, with its electric motor driving the rear wheels directly. It also rocks the recently-announced “EQ” branding, seen here as EQ Power+, meant to represent the increased performance of hybrids. Everything adds up to a four-door “coupe” that can go 0-60MPH in under three seconds while remaining suitable for daily use — if you can ever buy one.

Source: Mercedes

Google’s first original podcast is ‘City Soundtracks’

Spotify isn’t the only one experimenting with original podcasts. Today, Google is announcing its first exclusive series for Play Music users called City Soundtracks. The concept is similar to the BBC’s Desert Island Discs, focusing on individual artists and the people, places and moments that have influenced their lives. The chatter will be punctuated with tracks, picked by the guest, which reflect their hometown and the stories they’ve chosen to tell. It’ll be hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway, the voice behind music podcast Song Exploder and the self-explanatory West Wing Weekly.

Three episodes have been produced, and it’s not clear if more are in the works. The first centers on Kelhani and her experiences growing up in Oakland. The second is an exploration of New Orleans, and the musical landmarks which ‘Queen of Bounce’ Big Freedia holds dear. The final episode revolves around Britt Daniel and Jim Eno, members of the rock band Spoon, as they discuss their favorite venues, recording and writing locations in Austin, Texas. Part playlist, part interview, they should appeal to the fans of each artist and also anyone interested in music culture.

Podcasts are an obvious way for companies like Google to tempt listeners across to their service. Music exclusives are another option — Apple Music and Tidal have had plenty — but it’s increasingly difficult to lock an artist to one platform. Spotify and others have therefore turned to ‘live lounge’ performances, podcasts and short-form video shows as a way to differentiate. Google is in an interesting position, however, because Play Music can be used as a streaming service, a music “locker” and a standalone podcast app — or a mixture of all three. City Soundtracks, then, isn’t a play for subscribers, but to simply get more people using the app.