Theranos avoids bankruptcy thanks to a last-minute loan

Theranos has come a long way from the days when it was a darling in the biotech industry. The Wall Street Journal’s sources have claimed that the blood-testing firm has avoided bankruptcy by securing a $100 million loan from Fortress Investment Group. The move should keep Theranos afloat “through 2018,” founder Elizabeth Holmes reportedly said in an email. Naturally, though, there are strings attached — Fortress wants to see a return on its investment.

Holmes reportedly said that Theranos has up its patent library as collateral, and that Fortress gets 4 percent equity. The loan is also subject to “certain product and operational milestones,” she added. If Fortress doesn’t see enough progress, in other words, it could easily pull the rug from Theranos’ feet with relatively little warning.

Theranos hasn’t commented so far. However, it’s safe to say that the company sorely needed the cash infusion. With mounting financial troubles from settlements and lost business, it was quickly running out of options. The 2-year ban on owning or running clinical labs hasn’t helped, either. The extra money could not only help it last long enough to think about opening labs again, but could make sure that the company’s fingerprick-testing miniLab device has a shot at making it to market. The company definitely isn’t out of the woods yet, but it might have a path to safety.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Google hires Apple chip designer John Bruno

As part of its bid to create its own custom processors, Google has hired former Apple chip designer John Bruno, The Information reports. Prior to joining Google, Bruno created and led Apple’s silicon competitive analysis group which was the team that was largely responsible for ensuring the iPhone and iPad processors stayed one step ahead of the competition.

Engadget reports that Bruno’s new role at Google has not been announced, and his Linkedin page only lists “System Architect,” which is the same role that his Apple experience fell under.

While the details of Bruno’s new role are unclear, he may have been brought on to help Google develop better internal hardware for its Pixel line. Currently, the only custom-built chip that Google’s hardware uses is the Pixel 2‘s Visual Core imaging chip, which is partially responsible for the phone’s high-quality camera. Bruno’s work with Apple lends credence to the idea that he will be developing a custom processor for future Google devices, but he could also be working on more specialized chips.

Regardless of the specifics of Bruno’s work, his hire is proof that Google is doubling down on its commitment to improving the internal hardware of the Pixel line. Aside from the aforementioned imaging chip, the internal hardware in Google’s phones has rarely been anything special. The devices often used the same internal hardware that was found on other Android devices.

One main appeal of owning a Nexus or Pixel device was in the software experience, such as stock Android and the promise of quick software updates from Google. If Google is able to create chips that are faster or more energy-efficient than the competition, then that would go a long way towards swaying customers to purchase their phones instead of, say, Samsung’s.

As for the fruits of Bruno’s labor, it will likely be some time before we actually see what he and the rest of Google’s team have accomplished. It can often take several years to go from concept to usable hardware so it would be something of a surprise to see too much new internal hardware in the next Pixel, though it is possible, depending on how much work Google’s engineers have accomplished.

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Samsung could make $22 billion from OLED displays for the iPhone X

The iPhone X is looking it will be a big hit for not only Apple but, also, the company’s biggest rival, Samsung. The Investor has reported that Samsung stands to make as much as $22 billion from the sale of OLED displays that Apple uses in the iPhone X.

Samsung Display is expected to sell between 180 to 200 million OLED panels to Apple for use in the iPhone X. In 2017, the manufacturer shipped about 50 million OLED panels to Apple.

The increase in panel production has been attributed to increased yield rates at Samsung’s A3 panel production lines. At the beginning of the year, the A3 yield rate was about 60 percent, but increased to 80 percent in the latter half of 2017.

“It looks like the yield rates have reached almost 90 percent, and the fact that Samsung reached such levels even after the world’s highest quality flexible OLED standards were applied, is quite significant,” an industry analyst told the Investor.

At a 90-percent yield rate, the company is expected to produce about 224 million panels per year. Initially, the company considered investing in its A5 line to supply Apple with the iPhone X displays, but chose to stick with the existing A3 production line. In addition to the iPhone X OLED panels, Samsung’s small-to-medium sized display sales are expected to grow as well.

Given their intense rivalry in the smartphone space, some might be surprised that Apple is buying displays from Samsung, but the two companies have worked together for some time. Apple has a reputation for making quality products and, when it comes to OLED displays, Samsung Display is widely acknowledged to be among the very best.

That being said, there are rumors that Apple is seeking to end its dependency on Samsung by partnering with a different manufacturer. Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple was considering an investment in LG Display’s OLED display business. According to reports, the companies would then open an OLED panel plant, which would exclusively make displays for new versions of the iPhone.

For the next year, at least, it appears that Samsung and Apple’s business relationship will continue to be a successful one for both companies.

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Here’s why 2017 was a great year for Chromebooks

Oreo’s updates may mean more for Chrome than they do for Android.

It’s the time of year to look back and reflect on all that’s happened in the past 12 months. You’ll see that sort of thing here and most everywhere for the next week or so, which is great because there was a lot to talk about. It’s great to hear what people think about the products we love (or want to love) so we don’t get mired down by our own thoughts alone.

For me, Chrome has been the big thing from Google this year. The new Pixel 2 and its camera are great, updates for Google Photos are awesome, and Oreo is polishing Android very nicely. But Chrome has all that and more, and most of what’s really great about using it on a Chromebook happened in 2017.

Oreo has some great stuff for Chromebooks, too!

I’m talking about the way Android has been folded into the OS, of course. We’ve seen and heard about Android apps and Google Play on Chromebooks for a while now, but things kind of stalled at the end of 2016 and early this year. I’m a big fan of Chromebooks, and even I was getting to the point where the lack of, well, anything on the Android for Chrome front had me worried that the project was just dead like another Google Reader. The Chromebooks that incorporated it worked well enough but getting it on models slated for Google Play support had slowed to a crawl and it looked like not much was being done to make things any better.

More: These are the Chromebooks that can run Android apps

Google and its partners jumped in and sent a slew of Chromebooks to the table where Android apps were served in the middle of the year and we saw Oreo. Oreo has some great things when it comes to Chromebooks running Android apps, mainly the new split window views and support for extra-large displays and remote displays. These changes might not have much of an impact on our phones, but they are just what the doctor ordered when it comes to Chromebooks. Here’s hoping we see it for Chrome soon.

Now developers need to get on board, and I’m hoping that happens. Google can jump start it all during 2018’s I/O conference and get 5,000 or so devs excited like we saw when the first Chromebook Pixel was released. Android apps run well on Chromebook’s engine but the presentation can be pretty bad. Apps were designed for a small screen and the same problems we saw (and still see) for tablets are present on Chromebooks — tiny apps on a big screen, stretched out apps with loads of empty space and a general mess when it comes to the user interface.

It’s now easier than ever to support a big screen in an Android app, and tricks, like defining the size of the window and what display to show it on at launch, can be pretty awesome if done right I think. Not to mention a decent and dependable side-by-side view for apps on a 13-inch display. This is something Microsoft figured out years ago, Apple has done it wonderfully, and Chromebooks were a mess. It all needs to change and tools to present an app in a way that looks good and makes it easier to use were long overdue.

Those tools are here now, at least the beginnings of them. I expect we’ll see more treats for developers in 2018 from Google, and a lot of them will be for Android apps on Chromebooks. The Pixelbook was clearly made to be a tablet and not have a tablet mode as an afterthought, so Google wants this.

I want it, too. Here’s hoping it happens!

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Apple poaches three Amazon video execs

Apple’s push into original programming has been given another significant boost after it was revealed the company lured three executives over from rival Amazon Studios. Variety reports that Tara Sorensen, who joined Amazon in 2012 and helped lead its children’s TV division, will jump ship to continue the same role within Cupertino. She’ll also be joined by legal affairs chief Tara Pietri and international development executive Carina Walker.

Over the past six months, Apple has been laying the foundations for its original programming push, following the hiring of former Sony Pictures Television presidents Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg. Erlicht and Van Amburg brought popular drama Breaking Bad to screens during their time with Sony and Apple is hoping for more of the same while they spearhead efforts inside the company’s video programming division.

Apple’s gain is another heavy setback for Amazon. Amazon Studios recently saw head of programming Roy Price resign following reports of sexual harassment. Transparent actor Jeffrey Tambor is also the subject of sexual misconduct claims from his former assistant Van Barnes, Transparent cast member Trace Lysette and makeup artist Tamara Delbridge.

Source: Variety

Hard-to-get ‘Destiny 2’ holiday loot creates another uproar

Bungie has already learned some hard lessons about making content accessible in Destiny 2, but it’s clear the studio still has some brushing up to do. Many gamers are complaining that the drop system for engrams (basically loot boxes) for the game’s holiday-themed event, The Dawning, appears designed to goad players into spending real money on the in-game Silver currency. It’s not that the items are incredibly valuable (they’re largely cosmetic) — it’s that it’s effectively impossible to get all of them by unlocking them strictly through ordinary gameplay.

In order to get Dawning Engrams, you have to complete event-specific quests. No big deal, right? There’s just one problem: you can only earn three of those engrams per week, one up front and two through challenges. And that’s per account, not per character. Even if you play every day and get perfect, non-duplicate drops (which you won’t), you’ll only get a fraction of the 59 items available during The Dawning’s 3-week run. You can buy gear with the game’s free Bright Dust currency, but it’s hard to earn in any significant amount. In short: if you don’t pay real cash, most of this content will disappear forever (or at least, until the next holiday).

Players have griped about cosmetic engrams and the Eververse marketplace ever since Destiny 2 launched (and really, since Eververse first appeared in the original game). However, the holiday event has amplified those complaints, with many arguing that Bungie should either drop Dawning engrams during ordinary activities (and thus increase your chances of getting it for free) or ditch Eververse outright.

Bungie is aware of the outcry, but just what it’ll do remains to be seen. Game Director Christopher Barrett said that developers “hear your feedback on Eververse,” and agrees that players should “feel respected.” The team is unsurprisingly on a holiday break, though, and an update on what’s next will come “after the new year.” That is, you might not see a change in strategy until after The Dawning ends on January 9th. While that wouldn’t be a disaster (The Dawning itself has plenty of activities), the underlying problems might only be fixed when it’s too late to earn the gear you really want.

Via: Polygon

Source: Bungie, Christopher Barrett (Twitter)

Uber Freight trucker app gets new features to help drivers make money

You may know Uber best as the service that shuttles you from Point A to Point B for a preset price, but back in May, the ridesharing service debuted a service meant less for passengers and more for drivers. And not just any driver — specifically truckers.

Uber Freight, available on both iOS and Android, can almost be described as a job-seeking service, pairing truck drivers with companies who need to get their precious cargo from Point A to Point B (where Point A and Point B are often hundreds if not thousands of miles apart). And now, Uber Freight has two new features, both of which seek to make it easier for drivers to book multiple jobs. Ultimately, Uber noted in a Medium post, the goal is to “deliver an even more seamless experience and help our carriers and their drivers maximize their time and productivity.”

The first new feature is called Post My Truck, which allows drivers to indicate where and when they will have availability to pick up a load. They can also note the sort of job they’re open to — whether it’s a short, medium, or long-haul trip — then receive notifications once they’ve been selected to carry cargo. In many ways, it’s much like the way traditional Uber drivers mark themselves available to pick up human passengers, but Uber says that the technology behind the two features is different.

Then, there’s the Reloads feature, which “keeps carriers and their drivers moving and earning by minimizing empty miles.” This, Uber hopes, will keep truckers using Uber Freight, rather than switching over to another platform to find work. With the Reloads feature, drivers and carriers alike can see a list of backhauls and reloads (which are loads that can be picked up near a trucker’s current drop off location) so that they can quickly and easily book their next trip. That means that drivers won’t have to waste time looking for a new job in what may be a new city, and can instead keep their income stream up as they continue to take on new cargo.

Folks with the Uber Freight app should be able to see the new Post My Truck feature on the app now, whereas Reloads will make an appearance in a few weeks on both Android and iOS.

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The world’s first nuclear fusion plant is now halfway to ‘First Plasma’

Earlier this month, the director-general of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) announced that construction of the project had reached the halfway point. It’s an important milestone for the multi-billion-dollar facility being constructed in southern France. The goal is to begin generating plasma, an essential component of nuclear fusion reactors, by 2025.

ITER (Latin for “Way”) is a partnership of 35 countries, all hoping to share in the scientific rewards. “This gives us confidence as we face the remaining 50 percent,” Dr. Bernard Bigot of ITER told the journal Live Science.

When completed, the plasma circulating in the core of the reactor will be 270 million degrees Fahrenheit, or about ten times hotter than the sun. The massive superconducting magnets surrounding the core will be cooled to minus 452 degrees, as cold as the depths of space. “So many of the technologies involved are really at the cutting edge,” Bigot said.

Unlike traditional nuclear reactors, which generate power by splitting larger atoms into smaller ones, the ITER fusion reactor will combine hydrogen isotopes (deuterium and tritium). At extremely high temperatures, hydrogen gas can become plasma — sometimes called the fourth state of matter — where the electrons are separated from their nuclei.

Wikipedia

Most experimental fusion reactors use a tokamak, which is a superheated donut-shaped device surrounded by superconducting magnets that control the plasma inside. It’s basically a steam engine — the heat generated by the reaction is absorbed by the walls of the reactor and used to produce steam for electricity generation.

It takes a lot of power to create fusion, and the challenge is to make the reaction self-sustaining so it produces more power than is put into it. There are other fusion reactors in operation, but ITER is the largest, with ten times more plasma capacity than any other reactor. Still, it’s just a prototype. If successful, commercial fusion reactors would produce 10 to 15 times more power.

Wendelstein 7-X, a fusion reactor in Germany, recently went online for the first time, and may be able to generate self-sustaining plasma. However, Jonathan Menard of the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab told Business Insider that it’s unlikely to generate enough surplus energy to create electricity.

Another experimental concept envisions fusion reactions powered by lasers, but most scientists think the ITER project is the most promising. “So far, the laser based systems are pretty inefficient and we think the [plasma] fusion systems are closer to having net energy,” Menard said.

ITER is on schedule for “first plasma” in 2025, and by the 2030s they hope to generate ten times more power than goes into it, laying the groundwork for a clean energy revolution. “With ITER and fusion energy, we have a chance to leave a powerful and positive legacy for future generations,” Bigot said.

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Olympics fans headed to PyeongChang will be able to experience LTE-R technology

The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang are just around the corner, and South Korea is making a few final preparations to ensure that these are the most technologically advanced Olympics ever. The latest innovation comes in the form of the world’s very first LTE-Railway service, which has just been deployed on the Wonju-Gangneung high-speed train. The new activation is said to be the very first application of LTE-R technology on a high-speed train (which travels 155 miles per hour).

So what exactly is LTE-R? Heralded as a “next-generation communications technology for smart train and metro services,” LTE-R is specific to public transportation vehicles like subways and trains. It allows for high-speed wireless voice and data communication not only in a vehicle, but also among control centers and folks working on the train. Both train-to-train and train-to-ground communications are enable for LTE-R, which could help to ensure smooth, critical communications.

And now, this technology is being implemented on the 75 mile Wonju-Gangneung line, which will ferry fans (and perhaps even athletes) directly to PyeongChang, ensuring that passengers are entirely connected throughout the duration of their trip. The LTE-R network will be activated across all seven of the train’s stations, so you shouldn’t be running into any dead zones.

“We are delighted to work with Samsung to provide critical communications systems for this brand new high-speed train line,” said Yihan Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Performing Unit of KT. “The new line puts Gangneung only two hours away from Seoul, and LTE-R will make the journey for PyeongChang visitors a much safer and reliable experience.”

While this is the first deployment of LTE-R on a high-speed train, it’s not the first time LTE-R has made an appearance in South Korea. As Gy Seo, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales and Marketing Team in Networks Business, Samsung Electronics, noted in a statement, “Samsung’s first commercial deployment of LTE-R [was] at the Busan Metro last April,” but “this new implementation demonstrates the maturation and validation of our LTE-R solutions for high-speed trains.”

Samsung is also working on deploying LTE-R on a train running between Incheon International Airport and Seoul Station.

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Olympics fans headed to PyeongChang will be able to experience LTE-R technology

The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang are just around the corner, and South Korea is making a few final preparations to ensure that these are the most technologically advanced Olympics ever. The latest innovation comes in the form of the world’s very first LTE-Railway service, which has just been deployed on the Wonju-Gangneung high-speed train. The new activation is said to be the very first application of LTE-R technology on a high-speed train (which travels 155 miles per hour).

So what exactly is LTE-R? Heralded as a “next-generation communications technology for smart train and metro services,” LTE-R is specific to public transportation vehicles like subways and trains. It allows for high-speed wireless voice and data communication not only in a vehicle, but also among control centers and folks working on the train. Both train-to-train and train-to-ground communications are enable for LTE-R, which could help to ensure smooth, critical communications.

And now, this technology is being implemented on the 75 mile Wonju-Gangneung line, which will ferry fans (and perhaps even athletes) directly to PyeongChang, ensuring that passengers are entirely connected throughout the duration of their trip. The LTE-R network will be activated across all seven of the train’s stations, so you shouldn’t be running into any dead zones.

“We are delighted to work with Samsung to provide critical communications systems for this brand new high-speed train line,” said Yihan Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Performing Unit of KT. “The new line puts Gangneung only two hours away from Seoul, and LTE-R will make the journey for PyeongChang visitors a much safer and reliable experience.”

While this is the first deployment of LTE-R on a high-speed train, it’s not the first time LTE-R has made an appearance in South Korea. As Gy Seo, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales and Marketing Team in Networks Business, Samsung Electronics, noted in a statement, “Samsung’s first commercial deployment of LTE-R [was] at the Busan Metro last April,” but “this new implementation demonstrates the maturation and validation of our LTE-R solutions for high-speed trains.”

Samsung is also working on deploying LTE-R on a train running between Incheon International Airport and Seoul Station.

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