Intel’s self-driving tech will make Waymo vehicles fully autonomous

Intel has been so committed to break into the self-driving car market that it bought autonomous tech-maker MobilEye for $15 billion earlier this year. While Intel’s tech has powered Waymo’s test fleet of autonomous Chrysler minivans for a while, the chipmaker just entered an official partnership with Google’s self-driving offshoot. Part of their agreement: Intel’s tech will eventually enable Waymo’s cars to become fully autonomous.

This is likely good for both parties. Intel’s compute has powered the sensor suites and processing in Waymo’s current fleet of vehicles, and claims that its tech will be efficient and powerful enough to enable them to reach level 4 and 5 autonomy eventually. The latter of which represents true self-driving capability. Developing Waymo’s system will help the chip-maker get a better foothold in the self-driving market.

Or, read another way, it’s a growing network of technology and transportation providers on one side — Alphabet partnering with (and potentially pouring $1 billion into) Lyft, Waymo partnering with Intel — and Uber on the other. Google dropped all but one of its charges in its lawsuit against Uber, but both titans remain locked in litigation over patent infringement. Thanks to the case, emails surfaced revealing that the ride-sharing juggernaut had sought a partnership to tackle autonomous driving together, which Google turned down to launch Waymo.

Source: Intel

Lyft thinks it can fix Los Angeles traffic with fewer lanes

For the past several decades, cities have designed streets around the assumption that they’ll be used for personal cars. If you need a poster child for this, you just have to look at Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard — it has a whopping 10 lanes for vehicles, and even the bus lanes are almost treated like afterthoughts. It’s no wonder gridlock is such a common problem, since LA is practically inviting more drivers and the traffic chaos that results. Lyft isn’t happy with this state of affairs, and it thinks urban planners need to reinvent the road if they want to reduce traffic and embrace the future. It’s partnering with designers at Perkins+Will and Nelson/Nygaard on a conceptual Wilshire Boulevard redesign for an era when car ownership fades away and public options dominate. There would be fewer lanes, but it could potentially serve up to 77,000 people per hour instead of today’s 29,600.

Lyft’s vision would only have three lanes for general-purpose driving. The rest would be intended for, well, everything else. There would be two autonomous bus lanes, and a loading zone would give ridesharing passengers a dedicated pickup space. Logically, many of these rides would be self-driving cars. You would also see two bike lanes, wider sidewalks and more landscaping. Lyft is clearly betting that you’ll be more likely to forego a personal car if the alternatives are treated as first-class options, and that increased autonomy could handle many more commuters. The bus lanes alone would handle as many as 35,000 people per hour, according to Lyft’s estimate.

This doesn’t mean that Los Angeles will implement Lyft’s redesign — it’s only an idea right now. With that said, it’s likely to find a receptive audience. Lyft is already working with the Southern California Association of Governments on a campaign for more intelligent streets, and Los Angeles is planning for half of all trips to rely on something other than a car by 2035. In that sense, the challenge isn’t so much phasing out LA’s notoriously car-centric focus as it is transitioning at the right moment. Self-driving vehicles are still in their infancy, and officials might spark more than a little outrage if they reduce lane counts before most Angelenos are ready to ditch their own vehicles.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: CNN

Shure puts its pro-audio chops to work in $100 Bluetooth earbuds

Shure, the UK audio company that made its bones early in the middle of the 20th century with its iconic Unidyne grill microphones, got into producing high-end earphones and headsets in the late 1990s. The company is finally joining the rest of the audio world by releasing its first-ever Bluetooth earbuds, along with a new $100 proprietary cable that enables older models to be used wirelessly, too.

Any of Shure’s noise-cancelling SE line, which all feature detachable earbuds, can be linked up with the Bluetooth Accessory Cable. The new $150 SE215 buds, the more expensive of the pair introduced today, operate this way (and come in several colors): Fans of the headphone jack can still plug in to a headphone jack with a separate cable if they wish, or they can pop off the SE215’s and use its cable to make fancier SE earbuds wireless. The cheaper $100 SE112 are a single cord-and-earbuds unit and only come in black. All of these options are Bluetooth 4.1-compatible, promise eight hours of battery life and have a 30-foot range.

Sure, Shure was late to the Bluetooth earbuds party. But with Apple’s next iPhones leaving the headphone jack behind for good and the glut of Bluetooth sets we saw at IFA 2017, it’s still savvy to get into the wireless audio market.

Via: The Verge

Source: Shure

PGA Tour taps Intel for VR coverage of six upcoming tournaments

Intel has been powering virtual reality sports viewing for some time now. The chip maker has enabled VR for the Olympics, Major League Baseball and the National Football League, and has taken virtual reality to the golf course with the PGA. It’s this last partnership in the news now, with Intel and the PGA Tour organization connecting to produce and distribute live VR and 360 video at six upcoming PGA events starting with the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta from September 21st to the 24th. It will continue VR coverage at the Presidents Cup at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City from September 28th through October 1st.

Intel’s True VR tech gives golf fans panoramic, steroscopic camera access to the competition, which allows for naturalistic and realistic views from any direction, something you can’t even do on site. “From the Tour’s perspective, our goal with VR is to create an experience that is completely different than what you can get as a fan at our events or by viewers of our traditional media platforms,” said the PGA’s Rick Anderson.

The live VR events can be seen with Samsung Gear VR headsets via a PGA Tour VR Live app, which you can grab from the Oculus store. The 360-degree video will show up on Twitter and Periscope for those without a VR headset, and both types of coverage will focus on holes number one, 15 and 18 starting the 21st. Following VR coverage at the Presidents Cup includes views of the driving range and “fan chaos” from the opening holes, while the other tour events include the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open and the 2018 The Players, with more to be announced soon.

Source: Intel

Kuo: Apple Watch Series 3 Demand Higher Than Expected as iPhone X Anticipation Cannibalizes iPhone 8 Pre-Orders

Demand for Apple’s high-end flagship iPhone X is “very likely” to cannibalize iPhone 8 pre-orders, predicts KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a note sent out to investors this morning.

iPhone pre-orders traditionally sell out in September due to high demand, but this year, many models of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus were available for launch day delivery through the weekend, and continue to remain readily available for launch day pickup in Apple retail stores.

Kuo, like many of us, believes this is because many customers are awaiting the iPhone X. KGI is “positive on demand” for iPhone X and believes the market will be conservative on iPhone 8 and its suppliers in the near term. High demand for iPhone X, which does not launch until November, could impact Apple’s fourth-quarter earnings results.

Historically, it takes 3-6 weeks or more to ship new iPhone models after they are available for preorder, due to initial tight supply and robust demand. However, our latest review indicates it will take less than 1-2 weeks for the iPhone 8. We believe this is because there is a strong likelihood that iPhone X demand will cannibalize iPhone 8 pre-orders

As for the Apple Watch Series 3, Kuo says demand for the LTE version of the device was “significantly stronger” than expected, perhaps due to the “low premium of $70” over the non-LTE version of the watch.

He believes pre-order weighting of the GPS + Cellular version of the Apple Watch to be 80 to 90 percent over the non-LTE version, though that prediction does seem somewhat questionable given the limited number of countries where the LTE version of the device was available for purchase.

Before the media event, we forecasted the production weighting of the GPS + Cellular version would be 30-40%. However, the pre-order website shows shipments of this version are taking much longer than those of the GPS version (3-4 weeks, from shipments launch day of September 22). We estimate the preorder weighting of the GPS + Cellular version is 80-90%.

Apple Watch Series 3 models equipped with LTE began selling out within 15 minutes of when pre-orders became available for the device on Friday, September 15. It will now take a good three to four weeks to get one of the LTE Apple Watch models, with no in-store pickup available at this time.

The first iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and Apple Watch Series 3 orders will begin arriving to customers on September 22, the official launch date for the devices.

Apple plans to begin accepting pre-orders for the radically redesigned iPhone X on October 27 ahead of a November 3 launch date.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 3, watchOS 4, iPhone 8
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now), iPhone (Buy Now)
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Apple to Open Spacious New Store at Century City in Los Angeles as Part of Mall’s $1 Billion Modernization

Apple is constructing a spacious new retail store at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles, California, as part of the shopping mall’s $1 billion expansion and modernization plans, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Apple’s upcoming retail store at Westfield Century City
Apple will be in a prime location at the center of the mall, described as the crossroads of the project. The new store will be next to indoor bike company Peloton, and opposite an upcoming Rolex watch store, the person said.

It’s unclear when the new store will open, but Westfield expects to complete the final phase of the mall’s renovation plans by the end of the year. Given that timeline, Apple’s grand opening should be no later than in the spring.

Apple’s current store at Century City opened in June 2005 and has significantly less square footage. The larger store will provide the space needed to accommodate more products, increased customer traffic, and Today at Apple sessions.

Apple’s current store at Westfield Century City
The new store will also be based on Apple’s latest retail design, including large glass doors, sequoia wood tables and shelves, a large video screen for Today at Apple sessions, and light boxes spanning the length of the ceiling.

All new Apple retail stores opened since September 2015 have been based on the updated design, including Apple’s flagship Union Square location in San Francisco. Apple has also renovated over 40 existing stores with the newer look.

Westfield Century City’s makeover also includes the West Coast’s first Eataly, new public areas and landscaped open-air plazas, double its parking capacity, a new 156,000 square foot Macy’s, and dozens of other new shops and restaurants.

(Thanks, Peter Nichols!)

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
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iPhone 8 and iPhone X Don’t Support T-Mobile’s Upcoming 600 MHz LTE Network

Apple’s iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X are not compatible with LTE Band 71, aka T-Mobile’s new 600 MHz spectrum the company plans on rolling out in the United States as soon as this year.

All new iPhone models in the United States support FDD-LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, and 66, and TD-LTE bands 4, 38, 39, 40, and 41, according to the Tech Specs page for the devices.

Support for additional bands can’t be added retroactively, so Apple’s devices will not work with LTE Band 71 until support is added to future iPhones.

T-Mobile purchased the 600 MHz spectrum in an FCC auction in April of 2017. Shortly after, T-Mobile announced plans to use the spectrum to deliver 5G coverage starting in 2019, but later said it would use the spectrum to improve its network in rural America starting this year.

Unfortunately, by the time T-Mobile purchased the spectrum and announced plans for rapid implementation, the LTE chips and the hardware for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X were likely already secured, giving Apple no time to build in support for a newly announced LTE band.

T-Mobile in August activated the first 600 MHz LTE site in Cheyenne, Wyoming and has said it will deploy the spectrum at a “record-shattering pace” with plans to roll out 600 MHz sites in Wyoming, Northwest Oregon, West Texas, Southwest Kansas, the Oklahoma panhandle, Western North Dakota, Maine, Coastal North Carolina, Central Pennsylvania, Central Virginia, and Eastern Washington, but whether T-Mobile will hit that goal and get 600 MHz support in those locations by the end of 2017 remains to be seen.

As Peter Cohen points out, deploying the 600 MHz network is a complicated, time-consuming process that will span several years, so most iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X users won’t be heavily affected by the lack of support for the new LTE band at this time.

Like every other carrier, T-Mobile is entirely dependent on a nationwide industry of independent cellular tower owners, operators and technicians to get their hardware deployed. Even if T-Mobile had unlimited funds to get a 600 MHz network up and running, there simply aren’t enough people in the industry who can climb the towers, install the new hardware, test it and get it working for them. What we’re talking about is a huge infrastructure effort that goes way beyond just flipping a switch and turning it on.

T-Mobile says Band 71 adds increased building penetration and covers greater distances. When used in metro areas, it improves in-building coverage, and in rural areas, it improves the company’s LTE footprint.

There are no existing devices that support T-Mobile’s new spectrum at this time. Like Apple’s newest devices, for example, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and new Galaxy Note 8 do not offer support. T-Mobile has said that LG and Samsung will launch devices compatible with the spectrum by the end of the year, and LG’s upcoming LG V30 will be one of the first devices to support it.

Related Roundups: iPhone 8, iPhone X
Tag: T-Mobile
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Buy Now)
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How to Get Your iPhone and iPad Ready for iOS 11

Apple officially releases iOS 11 on Tuesday, September 19, and a host of new iPhone and iPad features are coming with it, such as a revamped Control Center, a new Files app, Drag and Drop gestures, and several other updated design elements.

This article covers some of the things you can do to prepare your devices for Apple’s latest mobile operating system, including storage maintenance tips, backup advice, and a few other useful tidbits to consider before upgrading. First though, it’s worth finding out if your mobile devices are compatible with iOS 11.

iOS 11 Compatibility Check

If you own an iPhone 5s or later, or an iPad Air or later, your device will run the latest operating system. Still unsure? Here’s Apple’s official compatibility list for iOS 11.

• iPhones: iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone SE.
• iPads: 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generations), 10.5-inch iPad Pro, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad Air 1, iPad 5th generation (2017 model), iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 2.
• iPods: iPod touch 6th generation.

Reclaim Device Storage Space

iOS 11 includes new features to help you free up space on your iOS device, such as personalized recommendations about actions you can take to increase the available storage. But before you can benefit from those, you’ll want to make sure your device has adequate space to download and install the new operating system.

With that in mind, it’s worth reconsidering what apps you currently have installed on your devices and whether you really need them. Swipe through your home screen and check inside your folders to root out any long-forgotten apps (including legacy 32-bit apps that won’t work on iOS 11) that are taking up precious storage space.

You can delete apps by holding a finger on them and tapping the X that appears at the corner of their icon. Alternatively, go to Settings -> General -> Storage & iCloud Usage -> Manage Storage, tap any apps you don’t use, and select Delete App. Be ruthless – you can always re-install removed apps at a later date if you change your mind.

Check on the size of any social media apps you have installed, such as Facebook and Snapchat. These apps can often balloon in size after long periods of activity because of media caching and the like, so you might want to delete and then re-install them to start afresh.

If you’re a WhatsApp user, open the app, go to Settings -> Data and Storage Usage -> Storage Usage, take a look at how many megabytes your chat history is consuming, and take appropriate action using the “Manage” option. You might be surprised at the savings this simple step can make.

If you use iCloud Photo Library, it’s also worth checking that it’s set up to use as little local storage on your device as possible. Tap through to Settings -> Photos and Camera, and make sure the option “Optimize iPhone Storage” is ticked. Lastly, open the App Store app and install any updates that are available to ensure maximum compatibility with iOS 11.

Create an Archived iTunes Backup

It’s best practice to have an iTunes backup of your device stored on your computer in case something goes awry, or the worst happens and installation of iOS 11 fails. If you need to downgrade shortly after installing a new iOS update, making an archived iTunes backup beforehand is necessary.

An archived iTunes backup saves the current state of your iOS device and prevents it from being accidentally overwritten by subsequent backups. Here’s how to do it on a Mac. (Note that if you’re a Windows user, the iTunes procedure varies slightly and you will need to rename your iTunes backup folder or move it to another location to prevent it from being overwritten).

Connect your iPhone or iPad to a Mac with the latest version of iTunes installed (click iTunes -> Check For Updates from the menu bar to make sure) and click on the device’s icon in iTunes’ interface.
Under backups, select “This computer”, choose “Encrypt iPhone backup” and then set a password. An encrypted backup retains all your account passwords as well as your Health and HomeKit data, whereas a non-encrypted backup doesn’t.
Click “Back Up Now” and wait for the backup process to finish. It should take between 5 to 15 minutes to complete depending on how much data is stored on your device.

Archive the Backup

To archive the backup, select “Preferences” from the iTunes menu and click on the “Devices” tab. Right-click the new backup and choose the “Archive” option.
After the archival process is complete, a backup is labeled with the date and the time that it was archived.
Archived backups can be viewed at any time in iTunes’ Preferences section. You can also delete an archived backup from here – simply select the backup in question and click the “Delete Backup” button.

Installing iOS 11

When iOS 11 becomes available (likely around 10 AM PST/1 PM EST on Tuesday, going on past releases) it will be delivered to your device either via iTunes when you plug it into your computer, or as an over-the-air update. Make sure your device is fully charged before you start the process over Wi-Fi, as it may take some time to complete.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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Anki’s Cozmo update makes the little robot needier

Why it matters to you

Anki’s Cozmo was already like a pet, but a recent update makes it even more like one.

Anki’s Cozmo, the endearing toy robot with an AI-powered personality, got a big upgrade last week in the form of a new app. And basically, it makes him a little more needy.

“To many of his fans, Cozmo is the ultimate pet robot — you can play games with him, sure, but you can also just hang out with him,” Meghan McDowell, senior producer at Anki, wrote in a blog post. “The update transforms the relationship between Cozmo and his owner to one that is more evocative of the relationship that exists between a beloved pet and its owner.”

It’s a little like Tamagochi: When you update the Cozmo app via the Google Play Store on Android or App Store on iOS, you’ll see new progress meters divided into three categories (or “Needs”): Play, Feed, and Tune Up.

The Play meter fills up as you play games with Cozmo and encourage him interact with Power Cubes, the light-up blocks that ship in the box. “Feeding” Cozmo with the Power Cubes, which involves placing one in front of him as he rolls up to it and pretends to eat it, replenishes the Feed meter. And recalibrating Cozmo by tapping a series of arrows on the screen resets the Tune Up bar.

The meters have a tangible effect on Comzo’s demeanor, McDowell said. As they deplete over time, the less likely Cozmo is to play games, perform tricks, and explore its surroundings. Conversely, the fuller Play, Feed, and Tune Up get, the more bubbly Cozmo acts around familiar faces.

“[Like] a pet, sometimes Cozmo has specific needs that require just a little love and care,” McDowell wrote. “By keeping him tuned-up, energized, and entertained, you develop his skills and abilities, making him a sharper playmate and partner in crime.”

Anki also announced expanded availability of the Cozmo Collector’s Edition. In North America, it launches in Toys R Us, Anki.com, and Best Buy Canada on Sept. 17, and goes on sale later this year in Japan, Germany, U.K., France, and Nordic retailers.

Cozmo’s “personality” update comes on the heels of Code Lab, a Scratch-like visual programming language that puts Cozmo’s motor movements, facial recognition, text-to-speech, and more at your fingertips.

“We’ve been working on Cozmo since 2011 and he still continues to evolve every day,” McDowell wrote. “The more time you spend with Cozmo, managing his needs and helping him explore his abilities, the more he’ll be able to do.”

Ccleaner downloads are found to be infected with malware, affecting millions

Why it matters to you

Although solid personal security choices are a major component in protecting yourself online, they aren’t always enough.

For possibly as long as a month, the CCleaner system maintenance application has been distributing malware through its official channels. It appears to have been an exploit of the CCleaner installer’s download server, meaning that whenever anyone downloaded the software via official means, they also unwittingly downloaded a piece of malware.

Although malware of all types is most commonly spread through phishing attacks like infected attachments and phony links, a tactic which is seeing a lot of success is infecting trusted platforms. Whether it’s hijacking legitimate distribution accounts, or in this case the download servers themselves, it leaves the victims vulnerable to infection even if they observe proper personal security practices.

The payload for this malware attack has several tasks once installed. As Talos describes in its breakdown of the malware attack, it first lays dormant to avoid automated detection systems, before checking to see if it has admin access. If not, it shuts itself down to avoid detection, but if it does, it proceeds to gather information on the system and then sends it to a remote server for later collection.

It then looks to connect to several other domains, leading to the potential download of more malicious software.

Piriform, the software’s developer, has since issued an apology for the exploit affecting so many of its customers. It warns that anyone running CCleaner version 5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud version 1.07.3191 could be affected. It suggests anyone running either version update to the latest release, which has been confirmed infection free.

It would also be a good idea to run standard anti-virus and anti-malware checks with your chosen security software. If you don’t have one or aren’t sure which to opt for, these are some of our favorites.

Even if the ramifications of it are swiftly countered though, one of the worst aspects of this sort of exploit is that they could reduce the trust people have in legitimate sources and institutions. Piriform was purchased by the anti-malware company Avast in July while a fellow anti-malware firm, Symantec, issued the infected CCleaner download with its valid security certificate.

Having the rug pulled out from a legitimate download like this makes it much harder for those with little security knowledge to know where to turn to protect themselves online. If the very companies that purport to do so can aid in the proliferation of malware themselves, who can you trust?