Audi knows millenials will have to deal with self-driving boredom

During Audi’s elaborate introduction of its new (Level 3 autonomous) A8 in Barcelona, it also talked about the 25th Hour, a research project it says will “define the premium mobility of the future.” Simply put, now that you’re not driving, what do you do in an autonomous car?

The automaker teamed up with the Fraunhofer Society to build a “driving” (it’s actually more just sitting) simulator to conduct tests on subjects to see how they react to different stimuli. The simulation recreated the feeling of riding in a car while it drives through city streets at night using large projections on the wall while displaying information on the “windows” of the vehicle.

The researchers then studied the brain activity of 30 millennial subjects from Hamburg, San Francisco and Tokyo as they were shown ads and social media updates and asked to perform random tasks. Unsurprisingly, the EKGs of the riders showed increased arousal (get your head out of the gutter) when bombarded with information and asked to execute certain activities.

While this seems like a “well, duh” moment, the reality is that automakers need to figure out what people will do in their car when they stop driving. Both Audi and BMW are already trying to figure that out, because it’s not like any other situation we currently encounter. Public transit is, well, public; driving with friends is a social experience. A single rider in an automated vehicle day after day, that’s something new.

As a luxury automaker looking toward the future and wanting to continue to sell cars, it’s important for Audi to determine what type of environment it’ll create — even if some of those potential customers will never actually be behind the wheel.

Autonomous cars will help us reclaim lost time. Audi said that on average people spend 50 minutes per day behind the wheel. What will we do with that time? Will we watch TV, work, connect to social media or something completely different? That’s what Audi’s trying to find out and in the process making sure it doesn’t create an annoying environment.

During Audi’s Tech Summit, I got a chance to do a less intense version of the test conducted on the millennials. I didn’t wear a skullcap with wires hanging every which way. Instead a heart rate monitor was attached to my wrists and fingers. I sat in the “car” with a few other journalists, and we went for a short “drive.” The demonstration went from relaxed to slightly annoying when I was asked to count the number of times certain letters appeared while being bombarded with ads on the displays.

My EKG readout showed a slight arousal blip during the test. That’s not that surprising: My day usually involves dealing with a ton of data and distractions while writing. So I chalk it up to what’s normal for me. But I did start to reach for my phone (they asked us not to do that) out of habit. Not doing anything is an odd feeling in our connected world. But doing too much is also not healthy. Audi and other carmakers need to find a happy medium.

Melanie Goldmann, head of culture and trends communication at Audi, said in a statement, “The results show that the task is to find the right balance. In a digital future, there are no limits to what can be imagined. We could offer everything in the car — really overwhelm the user with information. But we want to put people at the center of attention. The car should become a smart membrane. The right information should reach the user at the right time.”

The 25th Hour is a nice marketing term. Audi is planning on making self-driving cars just as luxurious as its current cars, just in a different way. Regardless of what finally ends up in our robot-chauffeured vehicles, carving out more free time in our hectic lives is wonderful. It’ll just be interesting to see how we use it.

Source: Audi

Luxury phone maker Vertu is calling it quits

Luxury phone maker Vertu is in the process of being wound up after an attempt to rescue the business from administration failed. The Financial Times reports that the firm, which apparently had debts of around £138 million, will close with the loss of around 200 jobs. The news comes as a surprise, given that the outfit recently signed a technology-sharing deal with Chinese giant TCL.

Vertu began life in 1998 as the ultra-ultra-premium arm of mobile giant Nokia, but as its parent company’s fortunes began to wane, so did its own. By 2012, Vertu was sold to EQT VI, a private equity group, which held the company until 2015. That year, the business was sold to Godin Holdings, a Hong Kong-based company that was apparently suffering through its own cash crisis.

Earlier this year, Murat Hakan Uzan purchased the manufacturer for £50 million ($64 million), pledging to help it reach its “full potential.” The Telegraph described Uzan as the “scion of an exiled and secretive Turkish business dynasty” and a member of one of “Turkey’s most controversial families.” Uzan had a fractious relationship with Nokia, too, after borrowing money from the company to launch a carrier in his homeland.

The Financial Times says that Uzan had attempted to buy Vertu back out of administration for £1.9 million, a bid that was subsequently rejected. Sources close to the businessman claim that he intends to retain Vertu’s branding, technology and licenses, and will look to “rebuild” the phone maker. That may not, however, include restoring the jobs of the people who hand build the devices at Vertu’s British manufacturing plant.

It is not the first premium handset maker that has struggled to survive in the mobile world, especially in the last few months. Sirin, which boasted of a Vertu-equalling ultra-secure phone for the jet set, stopped producing devices after less than a year. In a world that is increasingly dominated by Apple, Samsung and BBK (owner of Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus), it’s clear that a mid-tier smartphone coated in crocodile skin isn’t a good investment.

Source: FT

EU tells companies to stop stalking their employees’ Facebooks

Companies shouldn’t be allowed to inspect the Facebook and Twitter accounts of prospective job candidates, unless there is an appropriate “legal ground” for doing so, a European group dedicated to data protection has ruled. In a guidance “opinion” document, the Article 29 Working Party said employers should first consider whether the candidate’s account is meant for personal or business purposes. In addition, they should only reviews posts or “data” which is “relevant to the performance of the job which is being applied for.” Under no condition should companies force a potential employee to friend the recruiter or make their profile public.

The same rules apply to existing employees too. Companies shouldn’t force their workers to provide access to their social media posts. In addition, “screening of employees’ social media profiles should not take place on a generalised basis,” the group argues. Finally, the working party says employees shouldn’t be required to use a social media account created by their employee. If it’s required for work purposes, the employee should always have the right to set up an alternative, personal account and use it whenever they feel it’s appropriate. “And this should be specified in the terms and conditions of the employment contract,” the guidance reads.

The guidance serves as clarification for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new set of laws that were passed in April and will take effect in May 2018. As The Telegraph reports, these rules will apply even after the United Kingdom has left the European Union. The “opinion” serves as a reminder, and a call for future participation by specifying exactly what’s expected of employers next year, and how the rules apply to new technology and modern workplace practices. The guidance is therefore structured as a series of scenarios whereby the interests of employers would need to be balanced by employees’ right to privacy.

Which all sounds great in theory, but enforcing the new rules could prove tricky. “All employers should be following these basic rules but, in practice, I’m not sure they do,” Peter Church, a technology specialist at law firm Linklaters told the BBC. “The GDPR might force employers to be a bit more diligent about compliance with the rules.”

Source: BBC, European Commission, The Telegraph

Afghan girls robotics team will compete in the US after all

An all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan that was denied a visa to participate in the First Global Challenge robotics competition will be allowed to enter the US after all. The White House confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reversed the visa denials for the six teen girls, reportedly after President Trump personally intervened.

The initial rejection and denial of an appeal was particularly heartbreaking for the team. They twice made a 500 mile trip from their Herat homes to the US embassy in Kabul to ace their interviews and secure the visas, despite danger and extreme heat. “We just wanted to show the power and skills of Afghan girls to Americans,” 14-year-old Fatema Ghaderyan told the Associated Press.

Afghan is not included in Trump’s travel ban, but it’s tremendously difficult, bordering on impossible, for its citizens to obtain a visa. Just 32 were handed out in April of 2017, compared to 1,492 for neighbor Pakistan, according to Forbes. Nevertheless, teams from Syria, Sudan and Iran — countries on the banned list — were allowed to attend.

I truly believe our greatest power is the power to convene nations, to bring people together in the pursuit of a common goal and prove that our similarities greatly outweigh our differences.

President Trump reportedly pressed National Security Council officials for a solution, and they eventually agreed to allow the team in on “parole.” That’s a permit (not a visa) granted in exceptional circumstance where there’s a “public benefit,” allowing them stay in the country for ten days.

The White House’s travel ban is back in effect after the US Supreme court partially lifted a block on the order. While the Afghan robotics team is now a feel-good story, it’s still throwing thousands of peoples’ lives in disarray, including many in the tech community. All told, 160 companies, including Google, Apple, Netflix and Spotify have denounced the order.

Because of the initial visa denial, the team expected to participate via Skype, as its ball-sorting robotics experiment had already been sent ahead and cleared customs. Now, all 163 teams from 157 countries will be able to participate in the competition in person.

Non-profit First Global created the contest as a way to spark interest in science and tech for high schoolers across the globe. “I truly believe our greatest power is the power to convene nations, to bring people together in the pursuit of a common goal and prove that our similarities greatly outweigh our differences,” said president Joe Sestak in a statement.

Via: BBC

Source: CNBC/AP

Google connects Home’s voice commands to your uploaded music

A new tweak for Google Home makes it easier to access music you’ve uploaded, even if you’re not a Google Play Music subscriber. While Google Play Music customers could already listen to uploaded or purchased music by either selecting it on another device and using the Cast feature or putting it in a playlist, a new update rolling out means you can ask for your tracks directly by voice. It’s not active on my account yet even after a device reboot (although I do see the speaker as an available Bluetooth device), but a post in the Home support forum and updated notes on the support page explain how it all works.

A few points to note:

The “Play <genre/mood/activity>” basic voice command isn’t supported for uploaded/purchased music.

If Google Play Music isn’t your default music player, you need to say “Ok Google, play X <on Google Play Music>” to hear subscription/free radio/uploaded/purchased music. Only personal playlists will be prioritized above your default music player.

This feature is currently rolling out to all regions where Google Home is supported.

Source: Google Home Support Forum, Google Home Music FAQ

Radiohead album hides an app that only runs on an ’80s computer

In the age of the hipster, dust-covered and irrelevant mediums like the vinyl and cassette tape have slowly been given a new lease of life. Now, thanks to Radiohead, it looks like popular British computer the ZX Spectrum might be the next 80s relic to come back into fashion. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band’s genre-bending opus– OK Computer –Radiohead has released a £100 commemorative special edition of the album, entitled OKNOTOK.

As well as containing a beautiful looking art book, a collection of Thom Yorke’s notes and the expected limited edition vinyl of the album, the package also comes with a classic C90 cassette. While the vast majority of the 90-minute tape houses a collection of rare demos from the band, the last two minutes treat listeners to a bizarre high-pitched frequency. Quickly identified by Redditors as the grating greeting of the ZX Spectrum, one passionate YouTuber has cleverly EQ’d those digital squawks and squeaks to perfectly match the aging computer’s audio language.

Running those EQ’d files through a ZX Spectrum emulator, the software pops up with the names of all the band members, dating the software back to the 19th December 1996. After the introduction, all that hard work is finally rewarded with some scrolling text and a seemingly random arrangement of bloops and bleeps. It’s a bizarre but very cool little Easter egg, and thanks to YouTuber OooSLAJEREKooO you can save yourself some time and check out a video of the whole thing below.

This isn’t the first time that Radiohead have experimented with unusual mediums. For the release of 2013s King of Limbs, the genre-bending band brought out a companion iOS app called Polyfauna, with singer Thom Yorke even releasing a solo album directly onto BitTorrent. Radiohead isn’t alone in toying with retro ways to release its art, with artist Batch Totem recently cramming his entire album onto a floppy disk.

If the strange arrangement on Radiohead’s Spectrum tape wasn’t enough musical mystery for you, there’s also a suitably silly hidden message concealed in the program’s black-on-black squares. “Congratulations….you’ve found the secret message syd lives hmmmm. We should get out more.” Is what the message reads. Are they referring to the late Pink Floyd guitarist Syd Barret? Who knows.

Given what we’ve just seen though, getting out more sounds like some pretty solid advice guys.

Source: Ars Technica

AT&T’s ‘next-gen’ TV platform rollout will start on DirecTV Now

Later this year, AT&T’s launching an ambitious plan to revamp and unify its disparate video services. In a move that chief marketing officer David Christopher called “going from a hardware-centric model to a software-centric model.” Similar to Comcast’s X1 platform launch a few years ago, the plan is to have a single base for how its video services — whether internet-served like DirecTV Now, satellite-provided DirecTV, U-verse IPTV or NFL Sunday Ticket — look and feel across every device. Where AT&T pushes things further is that it already offers a national internet TV platform, and that’s where customers will see the new technology first when beta tests start later this year.

AT&T executive VP & CTO Enrique Rodriguez spoke to Engadget about the rollout, saying that “if you look at the work we’ve done on DirecTV Now, it’s been very successful on Apple TV and so you can think of this as a continuation of that transition.” Invited DirecTV Now customers and DirecTV companion app users will be the first ones with access to the new technology, as shown above running on iOS, when the beta testing starts ahead of a rollout across more services and hardware over the “coming years.”

The next-generation platform will bring everything we’ve seen from modernized TV setups over the last few years, with recommendations and profiles, backed by all the content AT&T/DirecTV provides subscribers. When the beta starts, there will be a cloud DVR feature and other new features already up and running. Features on deck for later this year include live TV pausing and parental controls, while other key elements like profiles, download-and-go and 4K Ultra HD with HDR are scheduled to launch in 2018.

It won’t come all at once, but AT&T is turning its various video services, both “monolithic” as Christopher called them, and streaming into something built for the modern era. So far, the rollout of DirecTV Now has weathered some glitches and criticism that it hasn’t offered much new. But now that it’s had some time to roll out and expand its content offerings, the time is right for an upgrade.

A frustrating aspect of the TV business since the dawn of high definition has been the slow pace of upgrades — digital TV, DVR, video-on-demand, internet streaming and cloud recordings have taken so many years to roll out — but maybe this transition can pull everything together. Of course, since AT&T owns so many pathways to customers including wireless, it has more incentive to push new technology, as reports suggested it expects to have a primarily streaming video service within the next few years.

Source: AT&T

Researchers encode a movie onto living bacteria

Forget USB drives and the cloud — what if you could carry every bit of data you’ve ever used on your skin? That’s the long-term goal of researchers at Harvard Medical School, who have stored a video in the DNA of bacteria. It’s the first time a video has been recorded into living cells, as opposed to synthetic material.

The team inserted a short animated image of ‘The Horse in Motion’ (one of the earliest moving images ever created) into E. coli, using gene-editing system CRISPR. The movie was split into five frames, and each frame chopped into single-colored pixels. They then created DNA codes corresponding to each color and strung them together. Each bacterium carried snippets of the video stored in their DNA, and when taken together, the scientists were able to retrieve and reconstruct the pieces to play the video.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen data stored in this fashion. Back in 2003 a small message was encoded into DNA, and more recently we’ve seen a full operating system written into DNA strands. One team is even trying to store poetry in DNA. But this is the first time it’s been attempted with living bacteria, rather than synthetic material, which presents a unique set of challenges. Live cells are constantly moving and changing, and are liable to interpret the addition of data to their DNA as an invading virus, and subsequently destroy it. That’s why, shaky and blurred as it is, this movie breaks new ground.

The world is generating huge amounts of digital data, and scientists see DNA as an effective way of not only dealing with the volumes produced, but as a secure method of preservation. In the face of nuclear explosions, radiation exposure or extreme temperature fluctuation some bacteria can continue to exist — data centers will not.

It’ll be some time before you can use this technology to upload data into your body, but in the meantime it has valuable research applications. The scientists behind the study hope the breakthrough will eventually lead to the creation of “living sensors” that can record what is happening inside a cell or in its environment.

Via: Stat News

Source: Nature (PDF)

Apple Has Finished Moving and Precisely Reassembling a Historic Barn At Its New Headquarters

Matthew Roberts has uploaded his latest 4K drone tour of Apple Park, the company’s new headquarters in Cupertino, California.

A limited number of Apple employees began moving into the new headquarters in April, but the video shows that construction is still well underway. Among the highlights are a closer look at the main circular building, Steve Jobs Theater, the visitor center across the street, and the overall landscaping.

Roberts also flew his drone over the historic Glendenning Barn, which Apple has now completely reassembled after tearing it down and pledging to move it to a new location due to construction of Apple Park.

Glendenning Barn, a historic site in Cupertino, has been situated on Apple Park’s property since the early twentieth century. After taking over the site of HP’s previous campus, Apple reportedly dismantled the redwood barn piece by piece, including every plank, nail, and crossbeam, and made careful notes on its construction.

The drone video reveals that Apple has successfully recreated the barn, although a few of the redwood planks appear to be brightly colored, indicating they might not be original. Apple reportedly stockpiled redwood salvaged from an old grove in case any damaged planks needed to be replaced.

When finished, Apple Park will be surrounded by some 6,000 trees, with a large pond, walking trails, benches, and a fitness center for employees.

Tag: Apple Park
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Logitech’s logic leads to its cash acquisition of Astro Gaming

Why it matters to you

Console gamers should have a wider selection of premium Astro-branded headsets based on Logitech’s deep pockets and love for gamers.

Logitech said on Wednesday, July 12 that it plans to acquire console headset maker Astro Gaming for $85 million in cash. The move will help push the Logitech brand beyond PC gaming and into the console arena currently saturated with headsets sold by SteelSeries, Turtle Beach, HyperX, and more.

“Astro is the leading player for premium console headsets and is the preferred headset for console esports athletes,” said Ujesh Desai, vice president and general manager of Logitech G. “It’s a perfect complement to Logitech G’s focus on PC gaming and we couldn’t be more excited; we love the team, the brand, and the products. Together, we want to make game play even more fun for gamers everywhere.”

Astro Gaming currently provides a huge selection of headsets for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC ranging in price from $60 to $300. The company also sells “MixAmps” such as the M80, which provides Xbox One owners with gamepad-based audio controls complete with voice adjustments and three preset EQ modes. Astro Gaming even sells game-related accessories including cables and adapters.

Astro Gaming is a spinoff company of San Francisco-based Astro Studios. Founded in 1994, Astro Studios began creating accessories for Compaq’s IPAQ Pocket PCs, Alienware PCs, and eventually branched out to the Xbox 360 console and more. But the company wanted to expand its design philosophy by creating “gamer-centric tech-life products,” thus Astro Gaming was created in 2006. Skullcandy scooped up Astro Gaming in 2011, which in turn merged with Mill Road Capital in the summer of 2016.

“Astro Gaming is a separate company from Astro Studios, fueled by private funding and an obsessed management team comprised of lifestyle, design, gaming, and technology product and brand veterans,” the company states.

Logitech told Digital Trends that the Astro brand will remain separate rather than fall behind the company’s PC gaming-specific Logitech G name. The acquisition will also not impact the spin-off company’s hardware plans, nor will it disrupt Astro Gaming’s day-to-day operations. The team will continue to work from their current offices, most of which are in San Francisco.

The Logitech G brand mainly deals with peripherals in the PC gaming market, such as the Logitech Pro G mechanical keyboard, the Logitech G403 Prodigy gaming mouse, and the recent Logitech G433 7.1 gaming headset. Meanwhile, the Astro brand will continue to focus on console gaming accessories. The vanilla Logitech brand will cover everything else outside the two gaming markets.

The latest product released by Astro Gaming is the A10 headset for PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. It consists of a durable aluminum headband covered by damage-resistant rubber, over-the-ear cushions based on memory foam, an omni-directional microphone with flip-to-mute functionality, and a detachable cable system. It’s built for “extended comfort” for long gaming marathons.