Amazon Instant Pickup service gives you orders in 2 minutes

Amazon’s Prime Now usually does the job if you need something in a hurry, but what if you can’t even afford to wait a couple of hours? If you happen to live in the right city, you might have that quick fix today. Amazon has launched an Instant Pickup service that lets Prime subscribers grab food and other essentials (and, logically, Amazon devices) at a staffed pickup location within 2 minutes of ordering them from the company’s mobile app. You probably won’t have an urgent need for an Echo, but this could be helpful if you lost your headphones or want a snack while you’re in the area.

The chief limitation? Right now, there aren’t many pickup locations. You’ll have to live in Atlanta, Berkeley, College Park, Columbus or Los Angeles to take advantage of the service, and it’ll only make sense if you’re close enough to swing by on short notice. However, these pickup points tend to be on campuses, making them ideal for students — you can snag a phone charger in between classes.

About the only question is whether or not Instant Pickup will expand much further. It’s highly dependent on Amazon having fully-staffed retail presences chock full of basic goods, and there’s no guarantee those will spread far when Amazon’s attention is currently focused on grocery shopping. For now, at least, this is more of an upgrade to Amazon’s existing pickup strategy than a fundamental shift in how it does business.

Source: Amazon (1), (2)

Google Allo finally offers web chat, but it’s only for Android users

Allo, Google’s beleaguered chat app that arrived on the iPhone and Android devices last year, finally has a web counterpart. Just a few minutes ago, Amit Fulay (head of product for Allo and video chat app Duo) tweeted that Allo for the web was available, but only for Android phones. To give it a go, you’ll need to open the Allo app on your device and use that to scan a QR code you can generate at this link.

Once you’ve scanned the code, Allo pulls up your chat history and mirrors all the conversations you have on your phone. Most of Allo’s key features, including smart replies, emoji, stickers and most importantly the Google Assistant are all intact here. In fact, this is the first time you can really get the full Google Assistant experience through the web; it’s been limited to phones and Google Home thus far.

There are a few things that didn’t work so well in my quick test. Pictures from earlier in a chat with one of my co-workers failed to translate to the web — instead, I was told I had to view them on my phone. Allo’s little “slider” feature that lets you increase or decrease the size of text in chats is also unavailable, and you can’t make your own emoji like you can on Android.

But the good news is that the most important features are all here and conversations sync quickly between multiple devices. That alone is enough to make Allo worth recommending, perhaps for the first time ever. I just couldn’t go back to a world where my chats weren’t synced across computer and phone, but that’s no longer a problem, at least for Android users. Google says that Allo for the web will be available for iPhone users before long.

Source: Amit Fulay (Twitter), Allo for web

Amazon Debuts ‘Instant Pickup’ for Ordering and Picking Up Items in Under Two Minutes

In its ongoing push into retail, Amazon today announced the opening of five “Instant Pickup” locations in the United States, allowing Prime subscribers to choose from a selection of “daily essentials” that are made available for pick up in two minutes or less (via Reuters). The essential items include snacks, drinks, electronics, and Amazon’s own devices.

The Instant Pickup process begins with Prime and Prime Student users visiting Amazon’s iOS or Android app to browse through hundreds of essential and daily care items. Users can then place an order, decide on an Instant Pickup location, and then go to the retail store to pick it up from a self-service locker.

On the employee side of things, when users place an order someone at the Instant Pickup store gathers the items in a back room, and then places them within one of the numbered lockers. After customers place their order, they’re given the number to the locker and a barcode to access its contents at the Instant Pickup store.

“Instant Pickup is another way Amazon is making life more convenient for Prime members,” said Ripley MacDonald, Director, Student Programs, Amazon. “As shopping behaviors continue to evolve, customers consistently tell us that they want items even faster. Whether it’s a snack on-the-go, replacing a lost phone charger in the middle of a hectic day or adding Alexa to your life with an Echo, Instant Pickup saves Prime members time. While Instant Pickup is available at select pickup locations today, we’re excited about bringing this experience to more customers soon.”

Amazon is launching Instant Pickup as an expansion to five of its established pickup locations in Los Angeles; Atlanta; Berkeley, California; Columbus, Ohio; and College Park, Maryland. More pickup shops will be getting Instant Pickup in the coming months.

For those near one of the locations who want to try out Instant Pickup, Amazon advises users to update their Amazon iOS app to version 9.15 [Direct Link], and then look for Instant Pickup in “Programs and Features.” The new service is a free addition to any Prime or Prime Student membership.

Tag: Amazon
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Facebook Marketplace makes its way to 17 European countries

If you’re looking for stuff to buy online, check out Facebook Marketplace — it might now be available in your country. The social network has expanded the presence of its eBay and Craigslist rival to cover 17 more countries in Europe, namely Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. It’s been accessible in the UK for quite some time.

So, how is Marketplace better than eBay or Craigslist? Facebook says “you can feel good about buying and selling on Marketplace” since you can check out a seller’s or a buyer’s profile, see if you have any mutual friends and how old their accounts are. In an ideal world, that means you won’t ever have to worry about getting scammed (or, you know, raped and murdered) during a meetup. It’s still a young feature, though, so you might not always find what you need there and will probably still have to regularly visit its competitors.

Source: Facebook

Android phones can now open Schlage’s premium smart lock

Android users in search of a smart lock now have another option available to them. On top of its existing iOS (and HomeKit) support, Schlage is adding compatibility for Google’s OS to its top-of-the-line Smart Deadlock. That’s not all, if you’re willing to fork out an extra $70 you can also grab the company’s new Sense Wi-Fi adapter, allowing you to control the smart lock from anywhere.

It’s taken a couple of years for Android compatibility to arrive on Schlage’s door securer. In the meantime, a bunch of competitors have swooped in to steal its thunder. There’s August Home’s Smart Lock ($199), which works with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. And, Friday Labs’ $249 crowdfunded device also boasts the iOS and Android sync-ups. But, Schlage is hoping you’ll choose its $229 Smart Deadbolt based on its company credentials — it’s been in the hardware game for close to 100 years.

Then again, if you’re only interested in what the device can do, then pay heed: the Smart Deadbolt lets you create up to 30 unique access codes. You can schedule these codes, so uninvited guests can’t just waltz in if they were previously granted access. Past activity is also available — and all this via the lock’s dedicated app. Now, with the new Sense Wi-Fi adapter, you can lock the door remotely. So, if you’re one of those paranoid people that always thinks they’ve left the door unlocked, all you have to do is open the app and check the lock’s status. Both devices are available from online retailers and in stores.

$550 dock turns a smartphone into a medical lab

Smartphones can now be used as laboratory-grade medical testing devices thanks to new kit designed by the University of Illinois. The transmission-reflectance-intensity (TRI) analyzer attaches to a smartphone to examine blood, urine or saliva samples as reliably as large, expensive equipment, but costs just $550.

The technology uses a high-performance spectrometer. First, a fluid sample is illuminated by the phone’s internal white LED flash, then the light is collected in an optical fiber. The light is then guided through a diffraction grating into the phone’s rear-facing camera, and a reading is provided on-screen.

Retrofitting medical technology onto smartphones isn’t anything new. We’ve already seen innovation in HIV testing and fertility tracking, for example. But researchers say the TRI analyzer boasts a wider spectrum of applications, and the relatively cheap, portable nature of the kit means it could have uses in other sectors such as animal health, food safety and environmental monitoring, as well as health diagnostics.

“Our TRI Analyzer is like the Swiss Army knife of biosensing,” said Professor Brian Cunningham. “It’s capable of performing the three most common types of tests in medical diagnostics, so in practice, thousands of already-developed tests could be adapted to it.”

Via: NBC

Source: University of Illinois

The Future IRL: Robot farmers do the dirty work

The US is facing an agricultural worker shortage, along with aging farm owners, at the same time it juggles demand in food from a global population boom. If we’re being blunt, those elements added together would mean farmers and production are straight screwed. Luckily, some engineers and researchers are creating robots that are already beginning to ease the load.

Blue River Technology in Sunnyvale, California is testing “See and Spray”– machine learning and AI software inside a robotic tractor attachment that aims to change the chemical game. The program can recognize the difference between crops and weeds, then sprays herbicide only on the unwanted plant.

Traditionally, farmers applying herbicide and other chemicals spray the entire field. CEO and co-founder Jorge Heraud says using his AI and machine learning sprayer would cut chemical costs a tenth of the cost. If a mid-sized operation is about 700 acres, only spraying the weeds on a farmer’s fields could knock herbicide costs down from about $100,000 to $10,000.

“You can save on the impact that we have to the environment, right now we are frankly overusing chemistry… about 80 percent of the chemicals we use don’t end up in the right place,” Heraud said.

The machine was tested all over the South this summer, beginning with long sun-brightened slogs on cotton fields in Texas. The engineers at Blue River Technology are proud of their prototype, since it was able to withstand temperatures more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. But eventually, Heraud wants the machine to do even more. Rather than just spraying herbicide on an entire plant, he wants to be able to spot treat it with multiple chemicals. That way, the machine only needs to do a single pass to cover all the problems that may ail a solitary plant.

The company got its start in robotics a few years ago, beginning with a lettuce weeding bot that kills off extra lettuce plants in a far more effective way than the previous hand-hoeing only method. That Robot-as-a-Service offering comes at roughly $165 an acre. RaaS might not have the same ring as Software as a Service (SaaS), but it’s autonomously coming for us all, soon.

Blue River Technology is by no means the only player in the space. There are so many tech companies or research departments at universities building robots that we couldn’t round them all up in this episode of The Future IRL. And that doesn’t even begin to address what traditional agricultural machinery companies like John Deere and Case are doing, as they all race towards the goal of full autonomy in farming machines.

As the step-daughter of a Midwestern farmer, I could not be more excited to see what gifts autonomy brings farming next.

Apple Stops Accepting Returns and Exchanges in Hong Kong Ahead of New iPhones

Apple today updated its sales policy in Hong Kong to indicate all products purchased at Apple’s online and retail stores in the country on and after August 15, 2017 cannot be returned or exchanged indefinitely.

As an exception to the rule, Apple will still honor exchanges for defective products in Hong Kong at its sole discretion.

Apple didn’t provide a reason for the policy change, but it’s likely a precautionary move ahead of new iPhone models expected in September. The same policy went into effect in Hong Kong on iPhone 7 launch day last year.

Hong Kong is a hotbed for black market electronics due to the lack of import taxes and duties added to foreign goods purchased, as is the case in neighboring mainland China. Scalpers often attempt to illegally smuggle new iPhones across the border to mainland China to make significant profits.

Hong Kong scalper spotted “walking strangely” across the border into mainland China in 2015 via South China Morning Post
When the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus launched in Hong Kong last year, for example, the smartphones hit the black market for as much as $15,000 in Hong Kong dollars, which was slightly over $1,900 in U.S. dollars.

Apple’s standard return policy in Hong Kong is already stricter than in some other countries. For volume purchases of four products or more, the return window is seven days, and there is a 25 percent restocking fee per unit.

Apple will likely revert back to its standard return policy in Hong Kong at some point, but it didn’t specify when.

Tags: Hong Kong, Apple retail
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DJI Announces ‘Local Data Mode’ to Fly Drones Without Internet Connection

Drone company DJI this week announced a new “local data mode” that breaks any internet connection between the DJI drone and a user’s smartphone, which the company said will greatly enhance security and data privacy when users enable the mode (via Reuters).

The announcement comes a few weeks after the United States Army ordered its members to stop using DJI drones due to “cyber vulnerabilities,” believed to be related to the drones’ ability to save flight logs, photos, or videos onto a smartphone app, and then onto DJI’s servers if the user chose to do so.

DJI announced the Spark drone earlier this year
Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs at DJI, said that business and government customers in particular have since raised concerns about sensitive content — “such as movie footage or images of critical infrastructure” — potentially leaking out.

DJI said it does not collect images, video or flight logs from users unless they share them. But turning on the new “local data mode” will prevent accidental syncing with DJI’s servers. Its drones do not rely on an internet connection to fly.

Cutting the link between the internet and DJI’s controller apps that run on tablets and mobile phones will disable updates of maps, flight restrictions and other data that the controller application receives from the internet while the drone is in use, he said.

Because of the Army’s memo, DJI sped up work on local data mode, which it says has been in the works for several months. When activated, the new mode blocks all internet data, so DJI apps will not update maps, geofencing information, newly-issued flight restrictions, “and may result in other performance limitations.” But, even without an internet connection, the company’s drones can still be piloted as normal.

While the mode will be available for everyone, DJI is focusing on “professional, commercial, government, and educational users” who might fly a DJI drone to capture critical infrastructure, commercial trade secrets, or governmental functions.

“We are pleased about how rapidly DJI’s customer base has expanded from hobbyists and personal drone pilots to include professional, commercial, government and educational users,” said Jan Gasparic, DJI head of enterprise partnership. “As more of these customers have asked for additional assurances about how their data is handled, DJI has moved to address their needs by developing local data mode to provide enhanced data management options for customers who want to use them.”

Local data mode will arrive in an update to DJI’s suite of apps by the end of September. If any location has regulations that require drone pilots to fly with the most updated maps and information, the offline mode “may not be available” in those areas.

Tag: DJI
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Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt Now Remotely Controllable With Wi-Fi Adapter

Schlage today released a new Wi-Fi adapter that enables iOS and Android users to control the Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt away from home.

Schlage Sense is a Bluetooth-enabled smart deadbolt compatible with HomeKit, allowing homeowners to control it using Siri voice commands or the Home app on iOS 10 or later. The lock has a touchpad and comes in various finishes.

The adapter plugs into a wall outlet, connects to a home’s Wi-Fi network, and allows the lock to be controlled remotely with the Schlage Sense app, which is free to download on the App Store [Direct Link] or Google Play.

With the Wi-Fi adapter, Schlage Sense owners can check on and change the lock’s status from anywhere in the Schlage Sense app. The app also provides push notifications when the adapter detects that the lock has been used.

It was already possible to remotely control a Schlage Sense lock with a third-generation Apple TV or newer and, in terms of price, that may remain the less expensive or more worthwhile option for many homeowners.

Schlage’s Wi-Fi adapter costs $70, the same price as the third-generation Apple TV at many retailers, in the United States. In fact, many new or used third-generation Apple TVs are considerably cheaper by this point.

At $149, even a fourth-generation Apple TV is worth considering, as it can be configured as a Home Hub to control other HomeKit-enabled smart home accessories. Needless to say, it’s also an entire Apple TV.

Schlage said the Wi-Fi adapter is available today at Amazon, HomeDepot.com, Lowes.com, and Build.com. The Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt is sold by Apple, Amazon, and select Lowe’s and Home Depot stores for $229.95 or less.

Tags: HomeKit, Schlage, Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt
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