Apple to Build Second Data Center in Denmark

Apple is set to spend $291 million on a second data center in Denmark run entirely on renewable energy. The news was relayed by the Danish government’s Ministry of Climate Energy and confirmed in a statement to Reuters by Apple’s Nordic director Erik Stannow.

“We’re thrilled to be expanding our data center operations in Denmark, and investing in new sources of clean power,” Erik Stannow, Nordic manager for Apple, told Reuters in an email.

“The planned facility in Aabenraa, like all of our data centers, will run on 100 percent renewable energy from day one, thanks to new clean energy sources we’re adding,” he said.

Apple said the new data center would begin operations in the second quarter of 2019 and would power its online services, including the likes of iMessage, Siri, Maps, and the App Store.

The data center is located in Aabenraa near the German border, which is a couple of hundred miles south of the data center the company has built just outside of Viborg, which is due to start operations later this year.

Apple said a planned data center in Athenry, Ireland, announced in 2015, had yet to begin construction and is awaiting judicial review. Apple faced multiple objections from local groups because of the planned facility’s possibly harmful effects on the nearby wilderness. Originally it aimed to have the Irish data center up and running by early 2017.

(Thanks, Daniel!)

Tags: data center, Denmark
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iTunes Movies Market Share Losing Out Against Rivals, Say Hollywood Sources

Apple’s market share in movie sales and rentals has been halved by competition from the likes of Amazon and Comcast, according to a report published on Sunday.

An article by the Wall Street Journal said Apple’s share for selling and renting video content has dropped to between 20 and 35 percent, down from over 50 percent in 2012, according to sources in Hollywood.

At the same time as the sharp fall in iTunes Movies sales and rentals, Amazon has grown its share to around 20 percent, said studio executives, thanks to both its Amazon Prime subscription service and its standard Amazon Video catalog. Major U.S. cable provider Comcast meanwhile now claims 15 percent share of the market through movie and TV show sales and rentals.

Interestingly, Apple’s loss of market share in the digital movie business isn’t uniform across genres, according to sources. “Apple has promoted independent films and signed deals for exclusive rights some content produced outside the major studio system, making it a stronger competitor in that space,” said WSJ.

Apple responded to requests for comment by explaining that it focuses on providing users with content from subscription services like Netflix and HBO through the App Store. Apple also said its movie rentals and purchases had increased over the last year and had reached their highest level in more than a decade.

WSJ’s in-depth report explains that the overall video market is growing, with digital movie rentals and sales said to have risen 12 percent to 15.3 billion last year. However, subscription services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have contributed to a $1.8 billion decline in video-on-demand rental revenue, according to the article. Citing figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the report said movie sales had also slowed, reaching 21 percent year-on-year growth last year compared to 29 percent in 2015.
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Oculus Rift and Touch bundle temporarily on sale for $399

A few months ago, Oculus dropped the price of a Rift and Touch bundle to just $598, which is a good $200 drop from what it was before. If even that was too rich for your blood however, well, get ready for some good news. For a limited time only, you can get both the Oculus Rift headset and the Touch controller for just $399. That puts it on par price-wise with the PSVR, which has been the cheapest pro-level VR headset to date. In short, it’s a really great deal.

It’s all part of Oculus’ “Summer of Rift” event, where it plans to announce new titles and offer discount deals on games (there was a 60 percent off sale during the July 4th weekend). And, according to Oculus, get ready for even more news from now until Oculus Connect 4, its annual developer conference, later this October.

As for this Rift and Touch deal, however, you had better get on it if you want to take advantage of it. That’s because the discount price is only valid for the next six weeks. So if you have your heart set on trying out titles like Wilson’s Heart or Lone Echo, this $200 price drop on Oculus hardware is a great excuse to finally do so.

How to get Engadget UK Flash Briefings on your Amazon Echo

Here at Engadget UK, we want to deliver the latest technology news to wherever you are, on whatever device you happen to be using. You can already find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, but today we’re adding a new “app” to the mix: an Engadget UK Flash Briefing for the Amazon Echo. Simply install our Echo skill and have Alexa read up-to-the-minute updates on what’s happening in the world of technology.

Engadget UK Flash Briefings are free and take just seconds to install. First, head on over to Amazon UK, and then click the Enable button inside the “Get This Skill” box. That’s it, you’re done. Then, all you have to do is ask “Alexa, what’s my Flash Briefing?” or “Alexa, what’s in the news?” and the intelligent assistant will take care of the rest. If you have any other Flash Briefings installed, Engadget UK news will simply be added to your round-up.

Currently, the Engadget UK skill is dynamic and will deliver snapshots of the five most recent articles posted to the site. We will continue to add new features over time, including the possibility of video and photo updates for the Echo Show, when it eventually debuts on this side of the Atlantic. If you hail from the US, you can also install the (separate) Engadget Flash Briefing from Amazon.com.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the new Engadget UK Flash Briefing. Hit us up in the comments below!

Source: Engadget UK Alexa Skill

‘iPhone 8’ to Come in Four Colors Including New ‘Mirror-Like’ Option

Apple could make its upcoming OLED iPhone available in four different shades, including a new “mirror-like” reflective version not seen before in previous models. That’s the latest claim from mobile leaker Benjamin Geskin, who shared an example image via Twitter over the weekend showing what the new color option could resemble.

The image the leaker provided is just an iPhone in a third-party reflective case, but it offers some idea of what a purported “mirrored” handset might look like if Apple decided to offer such a design as part of its color options.

2017 OLED iPhone – four colors. New one – mirror like. pic.twitter.com/BFBBpBQ2Vm

— Benjamin Geskin (@VenyaGeskin1) July 8, 2017

Geskin offered no details regarding the source of his information, so there’s no way to verify the claim, but it follows predictions from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this month that Apple’s flagship iPhone model could come in limited “boutique” color options, alongside more typical “S” cycle updates to the existing iPhone 7 line-up.

No clarification was forthcoming regarding the other three color options for the redesigned iPhone, but it’s possible some of them could be plucked from the existing six iPhone 7 shades currently available, which include jet black, black, gold, silver, rose gold, and (PRODUCT)RED.

Last week’s prominent and perhaps most controversial rumor was that the new iPhone may not include TouchID at all, with Apple favoring some sort of face recognition technology as a replacement security feature. The rumor muddied the waters regarding the future of Apple’s fingerprint recognition, with previous rumors appearing to indicate that the company had come up with a solution to integrate TouchID in an OLED display, with facial recognition used as an additional security feature via new 3D sensors in the front-facing camera.

Otherwise, Apple’s major iPhone redesign is said to include some form of wireless charging, a faster A11 processor, and a glass body. The 5.8-inch “iPhone 8” is expected to be announced in September.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
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Hypersonic aircraft are more realistic thanks to a ceramic coating

There are a few reasons why you aren’t flying across the country in hypersonic aircraft, but the simplest of them is heat: when you travel at speeds over Mach 5, the ultra-high temperatures (around 3,600F to 5,400F) strip layers from metal. How do you protect a vehicle when even the toughest ceramic tiles can’t handle those conditions? A team of British and Chinese researchers might have the answer. They’ve engineered a carbide-based ceramic coating that’s about 12 times more effective than current ceramics, making hypersonic aircraft more realistic.

The trick was to rely on a different manufacturing technique, reactive melt infiltration, to give the coating a unique structure that’s both extremely strong and resistant to oxidization. The next-best conventional coating, zirconium carbide, can withstand heat but is prone to degrading.

Any commercial use of the coating is a long ways off, if just because the hypersonic vehicles themselves are still a distant prospect. If it works well in practice, though, those extreme speeds would be feasible without compromising safety, especially in the long term. You’d see hypersonic aircraft that could fly you to another side of the planet within a couple of hours, and spacecraft that could return to Earth without needing frequent ceramic tile inspections and replacements. In short, flights that were once extra-risky could become virtually commonplace.

Via: Reddit

Source: University of Manchester, Nature

Early universe ‘fireworks’ challenge notions of how stars form

At the rate things are going, astronomers may have to toss out the rule book for galaxy formation. Researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered an ancient galaxy (formed 2.7 billion years after the Big Bang) with two dozen star nurseries measuring ‘just’ 200 to 300 light years across. That sounds big, but scientists had expected that early universe star-forming regions had to be enormous, at 3,000 light years across or larger. Here, they’re so tightly packed together that NASA researcher Jane Rigby likens them to “fireworks” popping off at a cosmic scale.

The team made this discovery through optical ‘cheating.’ Gravitational lensing from in-between objects magnified the source galaxy by 30 times, giving a peek at stars that would otherwise remain entirely. Astronomers only needed software to correct for the distortions and see the galaxy’s star-birthing areas as they would appear in real life.

It’s not yet clear why these star-forming areas are so small. That’s going to take additional study. However, you might get answers sooner than you think. When the James Webb Space Telescope goes into service, it’ll be powerful enough to both cut through galactic dust and detect older stars. That extra detail will help explain the galaxy’s history and might just answer numerous questions about star formation as a whole.

Via: Space.com

Source: NASA

Scientists revive an extinct virus using off-the-shelf DNA

It’s no longer far-fetched to synthesize a basic organism. However, a team of researchers has taken that work one step further. They recently reconstituted and reanimated an extinct virus, horsepox, using DNA they’d ordered via mail. The team stitched together multiple gene fragments (each with about 30,000 base pairs) into the complete 212,000-pair horsepox genome and inserted it into cells already infected with a different pox, bringing the inanimate virus to life. It’s clever work, especially given the relative complexity of a pox virus compared to earlier efforts, but it’s also a double-edged sword — it could at once provide a breakthrough in medical research and pose a potential threat.

As odd as it sounds, reviving the virus would most likely be helpful. The pharmaceutical company Tonix funded the work in hopes of using the relatively benign horsepox as a transport method for a more effective smallpox vaccine. It would also let scientists use other viruses for fighting diseases, such as introducing cancer-fighting systems using the vaccinia virus. If you could generate the necessary viruses on demand, it’d be that much easier to prevent or defeat illnesses that might otherwise have free rein.

The threat, as you might guess, comes from the ease of synthesizing a virus. The horsepox strain in question isn’t a threat to humans or even horses, but it might only take the right genetic know-how, several months’ work and a relatively modest shopping budget (this group spent $100,000) to do the same for a dangerous virus. A hostile nation or extremist group could theoretically engineer a virus and spark an outbreak in a rival country. It’s not extremely likely — they’d need access to both the DNA and corrupt scientists, and would have to take the risk that they might accidentally infect their own people.

It’s not impossible, though, and it’s that risk which might prevent further work. Nature and Science have refused to publish the relevant research paper because they’re worried about the “dual-use” potential for the findings. They don’t want to help create a bioweapon, after all. The researchers say their paper deliberately avoids providing so much information that newcomers could create their own viruses, though, and there are concerns that denying the paper might be stifling crucial progress. For better or for worse, this discovery may end up sitting in limbo for a long time.

Via: STAT, Reddit

Source: Science

Smart home gadget ends a violent dispute by calling police (updated)

Inadvertent smart speaker commands aren’t always bad. New Mexico police report that a smart home device (incorrectly labeled at first as a Google Home) intervened in a domestic violence incident by calling 911. When Eduardo Barros asked “did you call the sheriffs?” as he threatened his girlfriend with a gun during a fight, the device interpreted it as a request to call emergency services. They overheard the altercation and called both negotiators and a SWAT team, who arrested Barros over assault, battery and firearms charges after a stand-off.

Barros’ girlfriend was hurt in the altercation. However, police contend that the situation could have been much worse. County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales believes that the command “possibly helped save a life,” including that of the girlfriend’s daughter (who was thankfully unharmed).

This doesn’t mean that police will welcome smart speakers and similar hardware with open arms. Although they can lead to rescues like this and could theoretically provide evidence in criminal cases, there could also be moments where speakers call police in response to innocuous remarks or (as Gizmodo suggests) TV show dialogue. Really, this is an illustration of what law enforcement will have to deal with going forward. While accidental emergency calls are nothing new, you could easily see more of them in the future.

Update: ABC originally described the device as a Google Home, but later found out that this wasn’t the case (the device in question hasn’t been named yet) — we’ve updated our article accordingly.

Via: ATI, Gizmodo

Source: ABC News

Duo sets record for driving an electric car coast-to-coast

It’s relatively easy to drive from one end of the US to the other in an electric car now that there are enough charging stations. But driving quickly across the country is another matter — and that makes the recent achievement of Bradly D’Souza and Jordan Hart all the more impressive. As part of an awareness campaign to end human trafficking, the two friends have broken the record for the fastest coast-to-coast drive in an electric car. They set out from Los Angeles on July 1st and arrived in New York City 51 hours and 47 minutes later, beating the previous best (race driver Alex Roy’s 55 hours) by a comfortable margin. That’s no mean feat when they both have less experience than Roy, who has completed this run more than once, and were driving a Tesla Model S 85D versus Roy’s longer-ranged 90D.

D’Souza and Hart managed the record through a combination of absolute discipline and a bit of luck. They explain to The Verge that they only stopped to eat once during the trip (they otherwise subsisted on snacks) and had to maintain a rigid nap schedule to keep driving around the clock. And of course, there’s the not-so-small matter of optimizing the car’s range and charging opportunities. They had to know when to ignore the car’s stop-and-charge recommendations, and when they could afford to invoke air conditioning without using too much battery power. Combine that monk-like discipline with an absence of traffic snarls (even in NYC) and it’s not shocking that they set the record.

There’s a good chance that someone else will break the record before long. A team with a 100D might arrive sooner with little effort, and faster EV chargers could easily lop hours off the travel time once compatible vehicles hit the road. The achievement still shows how far EVs have come in just a few years, though (Edmunds took nearly 68 hours in 2013), and it could easily serve as a benchmark for EV enthusiasts wanting to show how far the technology has come.

We did it! Thank you to all our donors and those that helped on the drive. Go to YouTube and search “EV Cannonball” , click the top video and watch the whole journey. #record4freedom #endhumantrafficking #cannonball #tesla #endit

A post shared by Jordan Hart (@record4freedom) on Jul 6, 2017 at 8:58am PDT

Via: The Verge

Source: YouTube, Instagram, Freedom 5000