Ryder is adding 125 electric vans to its rental fleet

Your next trip to IKEA could be a lot greener. Ryder, the vehicle-rental company, has announced that it’s putting 125 electric medium-duty windowless vans into its fleet by year’s end. The zero-emissions vehicles will be provided by Chanje Energy and are rated to haul up to 6,000 pounds. Or, approximately 30 flat boxes and two people stuffed full of meatballs.

Naturally, you’ll need a place to recharge these vans. Ryder says it’ll have level 2 charging stations at its Chicago, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose locations. We’ve seen semi-trucks running on electricity, but this is pretty unique for the consumer-facing side of things. Now to decide: Do you go with the Hemnes or Brimnes bed frame for the guest room?

Via: The Verge

Source: Ryder

TouchArcade iOS Gaming Roundup: Gaming on the iPhone X

The iPhone X launched today and the jury is still out in regard to what the device means for iOS gamers. It stands to reason that the new swipe gesture that replaces the home button is inevitably going to get in the way of some games which require either frantic or elaborate full-screen swipes, but in our experiences the few games that have been updated so far haven’t had much of an issue accidentally triggering the home gesture.

If you’re looking for some new games to load up on your iPhone X, over at TouchArcade we’ve got a roundup of the best games for iPhone X. It bridges the gap between games that are fun on touch screens anyway, and titles that have been updated to support the full-screen resolution of the iPhone X. It’s likely you own more than a few of these, as games getting zero day updates are typically all classic titles.

If you’re looking for graphically impressive games to put the new GPU to the test, we’ve been posting roundups of the best iPhone games for that for years now. Whenever a new device is released we dig through the App Store and come up with the latest crop of 3D intensive games, and it seems like more than anything else the list just evolves instead of being totally fresh each time. The Infinity Blade games are still some of the best looking iOS games, but The Witness is a recent addition to our list of showstoppers.

We’re spending tons of time testing all sorts of games on the iPhone X to continue to flesh out our best games for iPhone X article, which is no small undertaking given the enormity of the App Store catalog. Our community is also at work searching for great iPhone X games, but like most new hardware launches, apps and games that take advantage of everything on day one are few and far between.

Be sure to drop any particularly great iPhone X games that you’ve played in the comments, and in the meantime, follow along with us over on TouchArcade for all the latest news, reviews, and loads more covering every aspect of mobile gaming. We’ll be back with a more traditional news roundup next week, and hopefully by then I’ll have an even more exhaustive list of must-haves for the iPhone X.

Tag: TouchArcade gaming roundup
Discuss this article in our forums

Tor Project reveals new layers to anonymizing web address service

Why it matters to you

Tor continues to develop alongside worldwide attempts to de-anonymize communication, continuing the game of cat-and-mouse for a new generation of software.

The Tor Project is well aware of the ongoing attempts by various governments and actors to weaken its anonymizing elements, so for the past four years, it’s been working on a new layer to its onion service. The new iteration of the decade-old technology makes it so that it’s much harder for outside actors to learn anything about the user and those who operate onion web domains.

Most commonly known as a tool that allows users to navigate through the underbelly of the Dark Web, Tor is also used by journalists to protect sources, for cryptocurrency transfers, and for oppressed people across the world to find out what is going on outside of their censored bubble. In order to protect those varied users from increasingly common exploit attempts, the Tor Project has implemented a few neat changes in its service.

To keep data anonymized, it implemented “cutting-edge crypto algorithms” and improved authentication systems, so that only the end user can see what they are doing. It also redesigned the directory system to reduce the “attack surface” and make it much less likely for outside sources to be able to find out anything about the user.

Although most of the changes to the newly updated Tor service will be mostly under the hood and hidden to the average user, one change that will be immediately noticeable is that the new onion domains are far bigger/longer. While a typical onion address might look like nytimes3xbfgragh.onion, new ones may be as long as 7fa6xlti5joarlmkuhjaifa47ukgcwz6tfndgax45ocyn4rixm632jid.onion.

This is just the beginning though. Along with improving the security of the service, Tor developers are also building a foundation for future developments. Upcoming improvements include advanced client authorization and built-in statistics, among others.

The developers do stress that none of this will be mandatory though. The legacy system is set to remain the default option for some time to come, to give users and platform providers time to move over to the next generation. At some point, the new system will become the default, but not until it has been proven to be more effective than its predecessor.

Although very much considered the next generation of Tor services, the update is still in the alpha stage at this time. If you want to test it out yourself, you can find a full changelog for the latest build and download links on the official Tor blog site.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Android 8.0 Oreo review
• Vivaldi is the best web browser you’ve never used
• Need to register a domain? These are the best domain registrars in the world
• Google says its Safe Browsing tools now protect more than 3 billion devices
• Equifax confirms it suffered a separate data breach in March

Organize your thoughts with this list of the best mind-mapping software

There are lots of different ways to organize your thoughts and turn them into actionable steps. For example, if you want to expand your multitasking capabilities, there are all sorts of great productivity apps out there that should increase efficiency in that department.

But let’s say you can’t even get to that point yet. Maybe you’re stuck in a cycle of getting lost in a thicket of ideas, half-concepts, and free-floating words that emerge from your brainstorming sessions. If that sound familiar, you might want to consider a mind-mapping tool. Mind maps are digital flow charts that can be used to describe ideas and list possibilities.

In more advanced forms, they can also be used to describe complex structures and concepts so your entire team can better understand them. Here are the best mind-mapping software options available, their most impressive strengths, and how you can download them for your next big meeting!

Bloomfire ($9+ a month)

Bloomfire isn’t just a mind-mapping or brainstorming tool — it’s a suite for knowledge management. If you are part of a business that generates a lot of ideas and pushes them through multiple departments, then Bloomfire could be the platform you’re looking for.

It allows for multiple maps and charts to drive decisions — and then let’s you track the content that comes from those ideas and compare its success to other content. The software may not be able to replace data management entirely, but for a large creative team, it could be an ideal support.

MindMeister ($6+ a month)

MindMeister is a web-based mapping tool, and one of the best options if your team is utilizing multiple operating systems or is located in remotely.

The map works in real time, which makes it ideal for long-distance brainstorming, and the presentation functions allow you to display complex ideas in a natural way, which is great for strategy development. If you’re looking for more features, the software also works well with MeisterTask to create a workflow-oriented solution.

iThoughts ($12)

Do you and your team prefer iOS? iThoughts is an acclaimed tool for the iPhone and iPad (with Mac versions also available) that allows you to quickly create a mind map. While there are plenty of customizable attributes, including everything from icons and clipart to floating topics, the most valuable part of the tool is its robust compatibility with other software.

You can export maps to PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Dropbox, various PDF readers, and a dozen alternative mapping tools. There are even options for setting and assigning tasks, allowing you to get started on projects with ease. Overall, it’s one of the best mobile mapping solutions we’ve used.

IdeaFlip ($9 a month)

IdeaFlip takes a more novel approach to mind mapping, one that appeals to those looking for simplicity. The software revolves around Post-it-like shapes that you can take, place, and connect in a multitude of ways and styles. Each note can function as many different objects or as imported ideas from other platforms, so it’s a bit more versatile than you might expect.

The one problem is the pricing, which is a little higher than you’d expect. Still, if you love the interface, it may be worth the price of admission.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Unleash your inner artist with the best drawing apps for the iPad Pro
• The 30 best Mac apps if you’re new to Apple!
• The 100 best iPad apps for your Apple tablet (October)
• The best Apple Watch apps to download
• Get smart: The 25 best educational apps for iPhone and Android

Organize your thoughts with this list of the best mind-mapping software

There are lots of different ways to organize your thoughts and turn them into actionable steps. For example, if you want to expand your multitasking capabilities, there are all sorts of great productivity apps out there that should increase efficiency in that department.

But let’s say you can’t even get to that point yet. Maybe you’re stuck in a cycle of getting lost in a thicket of ideas, half-concepts, and free-floating words that emerge from your brainstorming sessions. If that sound familiar, you might want to consider a mind-mapping tool. Mind maps are digital flow charts that can be used to describe ideas and list possibilities.

In more advanced forms, they can also be used to describe complex structures and concepts so your entire team can better understand them. Here are the best mind-mapping software options available, their most impressive strengths, and how you can download them for your next big meeting!

Bloomfire ($9+ a month)

Bloomfire isn’t just a mind-mapping or brainstorming tool — it’s a suite for knowledge management. If you are part of a business that generates a lot of ideas and pushes them through multiple departments, then Bloomfire could be the platform you’re looking for.

It allows for multiple maps and charts to drive decisions — and then let’s you track the content that comes from those ideas and compare its success to other content. The software may not be able to replace data management entirely, but for a large creative team, it could be an ideal support.

MindMeister ($6+ a month)

MindMeister is a web-based mapping tool, and one of the best options if your team is utilizing multiple operating systems or is located in remotely.

The map works in real time, which makes it ideal for long-distance brainstorming, and the presentation functions allow you to display complex ideas in a natural way, which is great for strategy development. If you’re looking for more features, the software also works well with MeisterTask to create a workflow-oriented solution.

iThoughts ($12)

Do you and your team prefer iOS? iThoughts is an acclaimed tool for the iPhone and iPad (with Mac versions also available) that allows you to quickly create a mind map. While there are plenty of customizable attributes, including everything from icons and clipart to floating topics, the most valuable part of the tool is its robust compatibility with other software.

You can export maps to PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Dropbox, various PDF readers, and a dozen alternative mapping tools. There are even options for setting and assigning tasks, allowing you to get started on projects with ease. Overall, it’s one of the best mobile mapping solutions we’ve used.

IdeaFlip ($9 a month)

IdeaFlip takes a more novel approach to mind mapping, one that appeals to those looking for simplicity. The software revolves around Post-it-like shapes that you can take, place, and connect in a multitude of ways and styles. Each note can function as many different objects or as imported ideas from other platforms, so it’s a bit more versatile than you might expect.

The one problem is the pricing, which is a little higher than you’d expect. Still, if you love the interface, it may be worth the price of admission.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Unleash your inner artist with the best drawing apps for the iPad Pro
• The 30 best Mac apps if you’re new to Apple!
• The 100 best iPad apps for your Apple tablet (October)
• The best Apple Watch apps to download
• Get smart: The 25 best educational apps for iPhone and Android

Logitech Bridge uses Vive Tracker to make your keyboard and hands virtual

Why it matters to you

Logitech Bridge is set to give developers more freedom in terms of the methods of input they can build their virtual reality experiences around.

Over the past few years, one of the biggest problems virtual reality specialists like HTC and Oculus have attempted to tackle is what sort of input device works well alongside a headset. Various controllers have been developed with gaming in mind, but now Logitech is working on a way to take your keyboard into a virtual setting.

With a headset covering their eyes, even the most confident touch typist is going to have some issues using – or even finding – their keyboard. Thanks to the Logitech Bridge, though, that will no longer be a problem.

Bridge works with the Vive Tracker to render an accurately scaled, modeled, and tracked keyboard into a virtual environment, according to a report from Road to VR. It’s set to be built into SteamVR, to make it easy for developers to utilize the technology in their games and other experiences.

The Vive’s front-facing camera will be employed to track the user’s hand movements. This makes it possible to show an outline of their hands over the keyboard to give them a sense of their relative position.

Logitech is holding off on the wide-scale rollout of Bridge for the time being. From now until November 16, interested parties will be able to submit an application to be among the first wave of developers to get their hands on a beta version of the software development kit.  Only 50 copies are set to be made available at this time, at a price of $150 – but there are plans to expand the program if it proves to be popular.

This kind of technology has the potential to expand upon the possibilities of VR. While most early content designed for headsets like the Vive has been game-like, there’s untapped potential for the more practical applications of a virtual environment.

For instance, imagine the ultimate distraction-free writing environment: a digital representation of your document that occupies your entire periphery, with nothing but a virtual keyboard sat in front of you to attract your gaze.

Flashy, fun software was an obvious priority when VR developers were trying to get people to invest in expensive hardware, but now that prices are dropping, we’re sure to see a wider range of experiences and applications – and easy-to-implement keyboard support will help foster that sort of content.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Save on mice, headsets, and more with Amazon’s PAX West gaming accessory deals
• Logitech G fools your boss by packing PC gaming hardware in office peripherals
• Logitech Craft with ‘creative input dial’ is crowned new flagship keyboard
• The ergonomic Logitech MX Ergo is looking to avoid wrist strain
• Logitech G433 review

This backyard biodigester will turn your food scraps into free cooking gas

Why it matters to you

Don’t waste your leftovers — turn them into fuel for tomorrow instead.

We’ve seen our fair share of Kickstarter projects that seem at best frivolous, and at worst useless. And then, of course, there are the Kickstarter failures that either never ship (like the Coolest Cooler) or fold after a short time in the sun (like Jawbone). But we have high hopes for the HomeBiogas 2.0; not only is it supremely useful, but it’s very good for the environment, and has already proven its mettle with the successful HomeBiogas 1.0. So if you’re itching to become an early bird backer of a crowdfunded project, this might be one to check out.

This biogas appliance hopes to help families the world over cook using renewable energy. Described as “the most efficient, affordable, and rewarding way to transform food waste and animal manure into energy,” this is one biogas appliance that you can safely put to use in your own backyard.

Designed to be as approachable as possible (even to absolute strangers of biogas), using the HomeBiogas 2.0 is as easy as tossing in organic waste and allowing bacteria to do the rest. After a meal prep session or a meal, place your leftover food or scraps into the system’s sink. This transforms the calories that remain in this food waste into energy. The bacteria found in the digester will get to work on the organic matter, transforming it into biogas and fertilizer. And don’t worry — you can keep feeding the HomeBiogas 2.0 your leftovers for as long as you need to — the gas bag has a 700 liter capacity, which means that you’ll have plenty of gas to utilize the next time you’re ready to prepare a meal.

The HomeBiogas 2.0 is said to be able to provide up to three hours of cooking gas daily. And while it looks, smells, and burns similarly to traditional gas, you don’t have to worry about leaving a carbon footprint. Really, your’e doing the Earth a favor.

Aside from cooking gas, you’ll also be able to harvest liquid fertilizer from the system. No, don’t worry — you won’t have to handle any of this liquid with your hands. Rather, the fertilizer flows directly from the pouring sleeve straight into a fertilizer can, which means no mess and all the benefits for you.

You can pre-order a HomeBiogas 2.0 now for $460, with an estimated delivery date of March 2018.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Protect your toothbrush from your toilet with the Puretta Toothbrush Station
• Keep your keys and your car safe with the FoxxVault
• Furnish your new digs with these six awesome home appliance deals
• Cozyna Air Fryer lets you enjoy your favorite fried foods, cuts fat by 70%
• The eMeals vegan meal kit uses your local grocery stores for ingredients

BlizzCon 2017 kicks off with big ‘Overwatch’ announcements, new animated short

Why it matters to you

Blizzard’s latest addition to the Overwatch roster threatens to change some established playstyles, as there are now more than a few support healers capable of dishing out serious damage.

BlizzCon 2017 is in full swing, and that means big news for Blizzard’s most popular franchises, including a little game you might have heard of called Overwatch. During today’s keynote we saw Blizzard unveil a new hero, a new map, and a new CG animated short starring everyone’s favorite cyberknight, Reinhardt.

The animated short delves deep into Reinhardt’s tragic past, and offers some context for some of the design elements we see on the Eichenwalde map, like the collapsed knight sitting in the throne room, overgrown with moss. We won’t spoil it for you, but it’s worth a watch.

Next up, let’s talk about Moira, the newest addition to the Overwatch roster. She’s a support healer, but like Zenyatta, she’s capable of dishing out some serious damage.

“Moira’s biotic abilities enable her to contribute healing or damage in any crisis. While Biotic Grasp gives Moira short-range options, her Biotic Orbs contribute longer-range, hands-off damage and healing; she can also Fade to escape groups or remain close to allies in need of support,” reads her description on the Overwatch official site. “Once she’s charged Coalescence, Moira can save multiple allies from elimination at once or finish off weakened enemies.”

She features a short-range teleport, which means she’s sort of a blend of Reaper and Zenyatta, with some new tricks of her own. So where did she come from? Once a member of Reyes’ secretive Blackwatch team, Moira has had to look for alternative funding for her scientific research after Overwatch was disbanded, allying herself with the shadowy Talon. For a deeper look at her backstory and abilities, check out her page on the Overwatch official site. She’ll be debuting on the public test server before rolling out to Overwatch proper, so keep an eye out.

Along with Moira, we were introduced to a map called BlizzardWorld, which is exactly what it sounds like — a Blizzard theme park. While an actual Blizzard theme park would have also been big news, the new map is nice too. Featuring elements and regions from each major Blizzard franchise — and some non-major ones, like the Lost Vikings — the BlizzardWorld map is playable now on the BlizzCon floor, and should hit the public test server soon.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Escort bombs and a big pile of cash in Junkertown, Overwatch’s new escort map
• Rack up more kills with our ‘Overwatch’ Deathmatch guide
• Blizzard invites ‘Overwatch’ players to explore Australia’s Junkertown
• Lucioball and some sweet 2017 Summer Games skins arrive in ‘Overwatch’
• Stay huddled inside this month with the best new video games in November

Blizzcon 2017 News Round-up: World of Warcraft Expansion, Overwatch hero, more

The Blizzcon 2017 opening ceremony featured exciting new updates for almost every Blizzard franchise. Every game except for poor, lonely Diablo saw new announcements. Our Blizzcon 2017 news round-up covers everything announced.

StarCraft II goes free-to-play

CEO of Blizzard Michael Morhaime delivered the surprising news that StarCraft II will go free-to-play starting November 14. After creating a Blizzard account, anyone can play through the entire Wings of Liberty campaign, gain access to the multiplayer ladder, and all of the co-op commanders up to level five. Meanwhile, commanders Kerrigan, Raynor, and Artanis will be entirely free without restrictions. 

For those who already own the base game, Blizzard will gift you the 2013 expansion Heart of the Swarm.

A new dual co-op commander, comprised of Mira Kahn and Matt Horner, was also announced alongside a fresh co-op mission called Part and Parcel.

Heroes of the Storm adds two dragons, gameplay changes

Heroes of the Storm production director Kaeo Milker revealed a pair of dragon-themed heroes. Hanzo will become the latest Overwatch character to join the fray as a ranged assassin, while Alexstrasza from Warcraft can transform into a dragon when reaching critically low health, and will support her team from afar.

A handful of game changes are scheduled to arrive in Heroes of the Storm in 2018. Performance based matchmaking will take more than just wins and losses into account when placing players in matches, and lane improvements, stealth enhancements, and “evolved battle mechanics” are also in line to be implemented next year.

Hearthstone new expansion and single player mode

Hearthstone game director Ben Brode took the audience on a choose-your-own-adventure ride through the next expansion, Kobolds and Catacombs. The expansion riffs off of classic dungeon crawling fantasies.

The keyword for the new expansion is Recruit. When a recruit card is used, a card is pulled from your deck and placed onto the battlefield instantly. This, as you might imagine, may be used to build up a board quickly.

A few specific cards were shown off, as well. Tolin’s Goblet draws a card and then fills your hand with copies of that card. Crushing Walls, a Hunter card, eliminates your opponent’s left and right-side minions. A legendary card called Dragon Soul lets you summon a dragon after casting three spells in a single turn.

And if you log into Hearthstone starting November 6, you’ll automatically receive Marin the Fox, a Battlecry card from the new deck. Marin the Fox creates a treasure chest on the board which, if broken up, reveals a special and absurdly powerful new card.

Perhaps the bigger Hearthstone news, though, was the reveal of Dungeon Run, a free single-player mode modeled off of rogue-lite games. Players start with 10 cards and go through a series of bosses. Each time a boss is defeated, new cards are added to their deck. However, if you die, you lose all of those cards and have to start over again.

Kobolds and Catacombs is expected to launch in December.

New Overwatch hero and Blizzard World map

Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan unveiled the newest map for the mega-popular first person shooter. Blizzard World, a theme park that tours the company’s history, is a hybrid assault/payload map. It will enter Overwatch‘s growing map list early next year, and should appear on the public test servers “soon.”

There’s also a new hero, Moira, heading to Overwatch. She’s a biotic support hero that can teleport across the map and shoot beams from her magic orbs that either heal or deal out damage. Kaplan claimed that she can deal a significant amount of damage, making Moira a versatile hero.

Her abilities include a biotic grasp to heal allies, biotic orb to either heal or do damage, fade to teleport, and her ultimate move coalescence, which deals long range damage and heals teammates.

There’s word yet on when Moira will be playable, though Blizzcon attendees can give her a go.

Blizzard also debuted a new Reinhardt-focused animated short called “Honor and Glory,” shown above. It tours the character’s history, and hints at how aspects of current maps came to be.

World of Warcraft Classic and new expansion

World of Warcraft executive producer J. Allen Brack closed out the show by revealing two huge announcements for the MMO.

Blizzard will recreate vanilla World of Warcraft on a new server dubbed World of Warcraft Classic, with the goal of delivering an authentic classic experience that brings players back to the way the game played at its original launch in 2004. While Blizzard is at work on this throwback experience now, no launch date was given.

The other big WoW announcement was the next expansion. Battle for Azeroth akes players to two new continents, Kul Tiras and Zandalar, and will include the ability to play as new races.

Two major new features will debut; Islands, and Warfronts. Both will pit players against the opposing faction, though the enemy will (usually) be AI-controlled, rather than other players. Warfronts, which support up to 20 players, are meant to riff of classic Warcraft gameplay, and will include base-building mechanics.

Battle for Azeroth will also have the usual buffet of new dungeons and raids, new “artifact armor,” and a level cap increase to 120. A launch date for new expansion was not provided, but it follows on the heels of the excellent 2016 Legion expansion.

Editor’s Recommendations

• BlizzCon 2017 kicks off with big ‘Overwatch’ announcements, new animated short
• How to watch and what to expect from BlizzCon’s opening ceremony
• Blizzard gets back to basics with ‘World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth’
• Escort bombs and a big pile of cash in Junkertown, Overwatch’s new escort map
• Rack up more kills with our ‘Overwatch’ Deathmatch guide

Good vibrations! New biometric security system works by buzzing your finger

Why it matters to you

New biometric security system is able to cheaply turn any flat surface into an authentication sensor.

With the iPhone X ditching fingerprint recognition sensors for Face ID, it’s easy to think that touch-based verification is … well, all a bit last year. But researchers at Rutgers University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham have other ideas. They’ve invented a new biometric security system that allows any surface to be used for verifying a person’s identity, meaning that Touch ID-style biometrics could be applied to everything from the door that lets you into your car to the desk your computer is located on.

Called “VibWrite,” the system isn’t based on fingerprint recognition, but rather the unique signatures given off by finger vibrations. Because each person’s bone structure is unique, and fingers apply different pressures to surfaces as a result, sensors designed to measure subtle physiological and behavioural differences can help identify individuals.

“This is a low-cost system, which does not require specific hardware like fingerprint scanners or cameras,” Nitesh Saxena, associate professor in the department of computer science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Digital Trends. “It can be embedded [into] any physical surface with little cost.”

The system works by applying an inexpensive vibration motor and receiver to a surface. While this would still require an investment on the part of the person installing it, it would be an estimated 10 times cheaper than the kind of fingerprinting and iris recognition tech currently used for smart access systems. During trials of the VibWrite technology on a wooden table, it was able to correctly identify users with more than 95 percent accuracy, and a false positive rate of less than 3 percent.

The researchers behind the work say that it could be easily commercialized, although this will still require additional tweaks to sort out a few teething problems — like the fact that it can sometimes take multiple passes to identify a user correctly. The team also wants to test the system in various conditions, such as different temperatures, humidity levels, wind, wetness, and more. “Right now, this is at the research prototyping stage, and the system’s accuracies need to be improved for a full commercialization, but it is definitely possible to transition this technology for real-world use in the near future,” Saxena continued.

A paper describing the work was recently presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Is face time over? New biometric tech identifies you through your ‘heartprint’
• New voice ID system reads throat vibrations to determine who’s speaking
• Hiding behind your hands won’t stop next-gen facial recognition software
• A microneedle skin patch could help melt fat right off of us
• Smart sensors will make sure you lift with your knees bent and back straight