PepsiCo pre-orders 100 Tesla electric semi trucks

Tesla’s recently-revealed electric semi truck has taken the shipping world by storm, it seems, with orders for the vehicles coming from Walmart, DHL, Anheuser-Busch, and Canadian grocery chain Loblaws (no relation to Bob). Now PepsiCo tops the list with what CNBC calls the largest pre-order yet: a fleet of 100 electric trucks reserved before production starts in 2019.

CNBC also notes that all these big-name pre-orders can be seen as a vote of confidence in Tesla’s product and price. The electric semi trucks will run between $150,000 and $180,000, depending on range, with a fancy “Founders Series” of semis coming in at $200,000. While those numbers are a bit higher than a traditional diesel truck, operating them may save companies $250,000 at a million miles of use, according to Tesla.

Tesla isn’t the only company to bet big on electric semis, of course, with Mercedes and Cummins both planning on their own version of non-fossil fuel delivery vehicles. Tesla’s offerings have the advantage in terms of range, though, which maybe why the pre-orders are already, ahem, rolling in.

Source: CNBC

WWE wrestling is coming to Facebook’s Watch tab in January

We still don’t know how many people actually click the Watch tab on Facebook, but that isn’t stopping the social network from signing programming deals at a rapid clip. The latest benefactor of Facebook’s billion dollar video fund is a bit surprising. The WWE will air a 12-episode tournament exclusively on Zuckerberg’s platform on Tuesday nights starting January 16th. If you’re expecting full-on storylines from Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live just because grapplers from each show are participating, you might be disappointed, though. Instead of a Spandex soap opera, Mixed Match Challenge is a single-elimination mixed tag-team tournament where top prize is a $100,000 donation to the charity of the team’s choice.

Each episode will run 20 minutes every Tuesday at 10PM Eastern and be tailored for the platform. A press release says that viewers will be able to interact with wrestlers during the show and see match details on Facebook itself. With this announcement and the one from Machinima earlier today, at least a portion of who Facebook wants viewing its Watch platform is becoming clear.

Bragi’s AI earbuds will recognize the sounds around you

Bragi is determined to stand out in the increasingly crowded smart earbud space, and it might just have an ace up its sleeve. The startup and its partner Audio Analytic are promising to show off the first “context-aware earphones” at CES in January — that is, a Dash Pro whose AI can recognize nearby sounds and act accordingly. While the exact capabilities are under wraps, Audio Analytic hints at recognizing both conversations and ambient sounds. The earphones might pipe down when you start talking to a friend, or let in more outside sound if an ambulance is approaching with sirens blaring.

As before, the AI will be built into the earpieces themselves and thus won’t depend on your phone or an internet connection to make sense of the world. And that’s important — the ultimate goal is to reduce the need for physical controls by having your earbuds automatically do the right thing, and that means ensuring that the AI responds quickly and consistently.

It’s not clear when this feature might be available to the public. It could be key to Bragi’s future, whenever it shows up. Other fledgling companies have struggled to survive, and heavyweights like Apple, Google and Samsung are closing in. Audio recognition could give Bragi an edge others can’t currently match.

Source: Audio Analytic

Net neutrality is a double-edged sword for small ISPs

I have a love-hate relationship with Title II,” Tyler Booth told Engadget. Booth is the president of Portland, Oregon-based ISP Stephouse Networks. His company serves over a thousand people in a 500 square-mile area, many who wouldn’t have broadband access because Comcast often doesn’t offer service in rural communities. DSL is available from CenturyLink, but many get unusable speeds because of their distance from the central office.

For Booth, classifying broadband as a utility under Title II means he can compete with established providers and his customers get better service as a result. But it also means the government can dictate how he earns a living. “I’m, in principle, for net neutrality and everything it stands for. But when somebody creates regulations that have direct impact on the costs and finances of my business, I don’t really support that.”

Under current Title II regulations, Booth has to file two forms a year detailing who his customers are, how much they pay for service and the speeds they’re getting. This paperwork costs around $800 in legal and filing fees in addition to two weeks labor costs for the person doing the paperwork.

But it’s a burden he’s willing to shoulder because it means customers get better service without a contract and hidden fees for less than what Comcast offers in its limited service area. Stephouse’s fixed wireless service costs $49 per month for 25Mbps downloads and $69 per month for gigabit (where available). For those areas where it can’t provide fiber, 20Mbps service costs $75 per month. Comcast charges $30 per month for the first year of 55Mbps service, that more than doubles after the introductory period ends. We’ve reached out to Comcast for comment and will update this story should it arrive.

Booth says customers see Stephouse as an alternative to predatory billing practices and other abuses from ISPs that are more focused on (as he puts it) “bleeding every penny out of their customers” than they are building a long-term subscriber base. “It’s critical to us to treat our customers fairly and not charge them for priority access to particular video sites.” Booth predicted that if the doom and gloom scenario where ISPs charge customers more for Netflix or Hulu streaming comes to pass, Stephouse could benefit from an exodus of Comcast customers.

He doesn’t see Stephouse having to follow suit and charge for priority access, though. “I’d imagine we’d lose the confidence of quite a few of our customers who, quite frankly, have come to us because they believe we’re a safe-haven from those types of billing practices,” he said.

Should Ajit Pai’s FCC Title II repeal go through, Booth doesn’t think we’ll see drastic changes in the near term. Instead, he thinks things like fast lanes will be something that creep in slowly until they become the new normal. “I don’t see the repeal of net neutrality as pro-consumer at all, but whether or not we actually see any impact is to be seen.”

He has suspicions of why the Title II repeal is Pai’s most public objective, though: It’s a distraction from the ongoing changes to the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) framework. Simply put, in 2016 the FCC voted to open the 3.5Ghz band for licensed and unlicensed use, which would have made it easier for smaller telcos to compete by offering access to the unlicensed part of the relatively less busy frequency. That’s versus the expensive licensed 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz spectrum occupied by the likes of AT&T and Verizon. This April, T-Mobile bought almost half of the spectrum on auction for $8 billion.

“We have to share [the unlicensed spectrum] with everyone else,” Booth said. “Having the availability of 3.5Ghz coming in was a very good thing for us and other small businesses that utilized wireless spectrum.”

Other factors affect how much 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz spectrum a single bidder can buy (now, as much as they want) and how big of a geographic area that covers. The 2016 ruling tied spectrum licenses to areas based on census data. It would’ve created places where smaller ISPs could come in and provide service where Comcast or Time Warner wouldn’t. Instead, an ISP can buy frequency that covers an entire city.

For example, 40 percent of Detroit’s residents don’t have internet access because Comcast won’t serve certain areas where it’d be hard to guarantee a return. This effectively creates a no-compete zone and leaves thousands without the internet, unless they want to pony up for mobile broadband via their smartphone.

Much like how it’s mostly ISPs that support the rollback of Title II, it’s AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon supporting the CBRS changes. And like their reasoning for repealing Title II, it’s because they probably stand to make more money as a result.

For Booth, CBRS changes won’t affect how Stephouse operates in Portland. He said that wireless frequency hasn’t significantly changed in the past 15 years, but that the new frequency availability would be a boon for his customers. It’d enable, faster speeds and other innovations — precisely what Pai says repealing Title II will offer.

Pai also claims (PDF) that net neutrality has harmed small ISPs like Stephouse and has “injected regulatory uncertainty into their business plans.” That’s been refuted as well. Rather than shrinking in size and coverage as the FCC purports, a number have done the exact opposite in rural areas according to Ars Technica.

Booth said all that net neutrality regulations do to Stephouse are affect its interactions with local government. “What protections Title II provides us with is solidifying us and saying that we are a utility.” From the sound of it, this is all just another case of Pai perverting facts to suit his agenda before tomorrow’s vote.

The Predator is coming to Ubisoft’s ‘Ghost Recon Wildlands’

It’s been 30 years since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch headed into the jungles of Central America, only to find himself hunted by a stealth alien warrior nicknamed the Predator. Now players of Ghost Recon Wildlands, Ubisoft’s open-world tactical shooter, will fall under the watchful eye of the Predator in an all new special event running from December 14th through early January.

“At Ubisoft Paris, we have been fans of the Predator for a long time and are thrilled to bring such an iconic character to our game” said Ubisoft senior producer Nouredine Abboud in a statement. “The challenge is full of references to the original Predator movie, and we cannot wait to see the reaction of our players!”

The new Predator content will appear as an event for solo or co-op players (up to four) in the game, and while defeating it will be a difficult task, you’ll earn exlusive items like a mask with Predator vision. You can also buy a Predator Pack via the in-game store, which contains 15 new customized items, including movie-inspired weapons and a close combat move. Plus, Ghost War PVP mode will get a new soldier inspired by Dutch himself, who will be able to engage a “battle rage” berserker mode as well.

Abboud said that the free mission is meant to recreate the tension of the original 20th Century Fox film. You’ll see hints of the alien’s presence long before you actually meet or fight it. “Getting that feeling of being swallowed by the surrounding jungle was something we really wanted to convey,” he said in a blog post. If nothing else, playing the title might tide you over until the Predator film reboot next February.

Source: Ubisoft

Apple Seeds First Beta of iOS 11.2.5 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 11 update to developers, just over one week after releasing iOS 11.2, the second major iOS 11 update, and just a few hours after releasing iOS 11.2.1.

Registered developers can download the iOS 11.2.5 beta from Apple’s Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

It’s not clear what new features will be included in the iOS 11.2.5 beta, but as a minor 11.x.x update, it is likely to focus primarily on bug fixes and security improvements rather than major outward-facing changes. It’s not clear why Apple has skipped several numbers to release an 11.2.5 beta.

We are still waiting on two major iOS 11 features that have yet to be introduced, though. iCloud Messages and AirPlay 2 have not yet been fully implemented and are likely to be added in an upcoming beta.

Prior to iOS 11.2.5, Apple released iOS 11.2, which brought Apple Pay Cash, Apple’s new peer-to-peer payments service, plus faster 7.5W wireless charging and a long list of bug fixes.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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Apple Seeds First Beta of tvOS 11.2.5 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2.5 update to developers for testing purposes, a little over one week after releasing the tvOS 11.2 update.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 11.2.5 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that’s installed using Xcode.

We don’t yet know what features or changes might be included in the 11.2.5 update, but it likely focuses primarily on bug fixes and performance improvements rather than major outward-facing changes.

The prior update, tvOS 11.2, allows the 4K Apple TV to automatically switch video display modes to match the native frame rate and dynamic range of video content. It also introduced a new Sports section for the dedicated TV app, offering up access to live sports games.

Related Roundup: Apple TVBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
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Apple Seeds First Beta of watchOS 4.2.2 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.2.2 update to developers, a little over one week after releasing the watchOS 4.2 update, which introduced Apple Pay Cash on the Apple Watch.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General –> Software update.

To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.

It’s not yet clear what new features or improvements the watchOS 4.2.2 update might introduce, but we’ll update this post once we’ve installed the update and have had time to dig into the new features.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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Apple Releases New Firmware for HomePod

Alongside the iOS 11.2.5 beta that was seeded to developers this afternoon, Apple released new firmware for the HomePod.

The new firmware is not available through the Developer portal like a standard beta software update, but it will be downloadable by testers who have a HomePod. The update is also listed on third-party software sites, making it available for download by the public.

HomePod devices are currently in the hands of Apple employees who are testing the smart speaker to iron out bugs before it becomes available for purchase in early 2018.

Apple previously released publicly available HomePod firmware in July, unwittingly leaking many secrets about the iPhone X. The HomePod firmware referenced the unreleased iPhone and confirmed its design and several features like Face ID facial recognition.

Additional HomePod firmware was released in October, but that update, like this one, is not as notable because there are no unreleased iOS devices coming in the immediate future and thus there’s nothing to spoil. It’s possible additional HomePod features could be discovered via the firmware update, however.

HomePod is Apple’s Siri-based smart speaker that focuses heavily on high-quality sound. It incorporates a 7 tweeter array, an Apple-designed 4-inch upward-facing woofer, and an A8 chip to power features like spatial awareness.

Apple originally planned to release the HomePod in December, but in November, the HomePod launch was delayed until early 2018.

Related Roundup: HomePod
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You can now buy your neighbor’s couch from Craigslist using Bitcoin

Bitcoin may be smashing analyst expectations the world over, but the real victory for the cryptocurrency isn’t its meteoric rise past the $20,000 mark — it’s decidedly lower-tech. Mama, Bitcoin has truly made it, because it’s now being accepted on Craigslist. So the next time you’re looking for a questionable roommate or want to buy that mysterious couch, you can conduct these transactions on everyone’s somewhat nebulous, extremely volatile cryptocurrency.

Initially noticed late last week by a Reddit user, it would appear that Craigslist is making it easier than before for folks to accept cryptocurrency when selling online. While Craigslist has never really had any say over what methods of currency are used in buyer and seller transactions, it’s now giving its metaphorical blessing to Bitcoin. If you log into your Craigslist seller account now, you should see a new button that you can check if you’ll accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin in place of cash (or whatever other tender you may choose).

The box is located in the “posting details” portion of the seller form, and can be found next to other more innocuous fields like “contact information.”

Of course, this is, in a way, Craigslist’s way of passing the buck. Since you can’t actually make transactions on Craigslist, having their community use cryptocurrencies could provide the site with a standardized (and for now, trustworthy) method of payment. After all, checks can be canceled, and higher-value items can often be tricky to deal with in cash. But cryptocurrencies could provide a solution.

That said, sellers may not be so eager to part with their own Bitcoins, especially since the currency has been doing so well in the last few weeks. A purchase for 0.5 Bitcoins could be worth $8,000 today, but $10,000 tomorrow. Similarly, sellers could also be a bit wary of placing too much stock in this new form of currency — the extremely volatile market has seen Bitcoin lose 40 percent of its value in the course of a single day.

But if all that aside, it’s certainly a sign that Craigslist, with its somewhat retro website design, is very much part of the 21st century.

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