US continues to blacklist China’s eBay over counterfeit goods

Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba’s counterfeit goods problem refuses to go away. Despite noting improvements on takedown efforts, the Office of the US Trade Representative has again blacklisted Alibaba’s eBay-like Taobao shopping site.

In its annual report on the trade of illicit goods in online and physical marketplaces, the USTR said Taobao hasn’t “objectively demonstrated that the volume or prevalence of counterfeit goods has decreased over the last year.”

Alibaba cited its brand protection programs and offline cooperation with law enforcement as evidence that it addressed the concerns raised by the USTR. “The number of takedown requests declined by 25% YoY as a direct result of our ability to remove infringing listings before they make it to our marketplaces,” said Alibaba group president Michael Evans in his response.

He continued: “In fact, 98% of these proactive takedowns were removed before a single sale could be made, and 97% of all takedown requests were handled within 24 hours.”

Imports of counterfeit and pirated goods are worth nearly half a trillion dollars a year, or around 2.5% of global imports, according to the OECD. But, the fake Gucci handbags and fugazi perfumes on Taobao didn’t deter Chinese customers from snapping up items in their droves during Alibaba’s recent sales event. The record-breaking shopping spree tallied up the equivalent of more than $25.3 billion dollars in sales to set the record for the most online purchases in a day.

Source: 2017 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets, Alibaba

Try ‘Battlefield 1’ DLC maps and more starting tomorrow

Last year, EA’s Battlefield 1 received a ton of new expansions, including “They Shall Not Pass,” “In the Name of the Tsar” and “Turning Tides.” The new maps and story missions featured French and Russian battles, amphibious warfare and some of the most famous battles from WWI. Now that it’s a new year, EA is teasing some new additions to the popular video game to come, including a Gallipoli trial (part of “Turning Tides”) that will give owners of the base game a chance to try out the fronts from the expansions between January 16th and 22nd.

Those with the Battlefield 1 Premium Pass will get to try their luck with the North Sea campaign from “Turning Tides.” The night map from “They Shall Not Pass,” Prise de Tahure, will also become available for base game owners on January 16th. Of course, EA is also teasing “Apocalypse,” a forthcoming bit of paid DLC. “Full details on the fourth Battlefield 1 expansion are imminent, but you’ll have to wait just a little bit longer for that reveal,” the company wrote on its website.

Source: EA

These wireless carriers provide LTE for Windows Always Connected PCs

Microsoft and Qualcomm have announced the cellular carriers that will supply the network capabilities of their upcoming line of Windows 10 Always Connected PCs. These systems are set to use LTE wireless networks to ensure consistent connectivity, whether or not Wi-Fi is available.

China Telecom will supply LTE connectivity in China, Telecom Italia (TIM) will be responsible in Italy, EE has been picked for the U.K., and the U.S. will be accommodated by Sprint and Verizon, according to a report from On MSFT.

“With the commitment of leading mobile operators worldwide, the Always Connected PC will offer consumers one of the most comprehensive mobile computing experiences, with always-on connectivity of up-to Gigabit LTE speeds and ‘beyond all-day’ battery life packaged into innovative, thin, and light PC designs,” said Don McGuire, Qualcomm’s vice president of global product marketing, in a press release.

These partnerships are set to get underway in the first half of 2018, and will stretch until at least the end of this year. As well as providing network capabilities, some of the carriers will offer hardware to customers via their retail locations.

“The collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies has resulted in a new category for the PC – the Always Connected PC,” said Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Windows and devices, Matt Barlow. “With the support of our mobile operator partners, consumers now have the opportunity to enjoy superfast connectivity over LTE networks at an affordable price, anytime and anywhere.”

Windows 10 Always Connected PCs represent an intriguing new attempt to develop laptops that crib some of the advantages of a smartphone – primarily, the fact that they can be woken quickly and conveniently. Asus, HP, and Lenovo are some of the first manufacturers who are on board with the program.

In recent years, we’ve seen Microsoft attempt to modernize the Windows ecosystem by making apps available via the Windows Store. Combined with the touch interfaces supported by many laptops, this can make for an experience that’s equivalent to a smartphone or a tablet.

However, in some ways traditional laptops are still rather sluggish compared to these devices, and this new range of PCs aims to address that gulf. Rock-solid LTE support will certainly go a long way to ensuring their practicality.

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FDA approves algorithm that predicts sudden patient deaths to help prevent them

It’s not every day that an algorithm can save your life. That may be about to get more common, however, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this month granted official approval for an algorithm used in hospitals to help predict — and hopefully help prevent — sudden patient deaths.

The algorithm is the work of ExcelMedical. It’s a system called the Wave Clinical Platform, which works by monitoring patient vital signs and then sending alerts warning of impending potentially fatal heart attacks or respiratory failure up to six hours before a patient suffers such an event. This is the first time that an algorithm used this way has been given FDA approval.

“Health care, no matter where you live, is under pressure from all sides – cost and resources,” Mary Baum, chief strategy officer for ExcelMedical, told Digital Trends. “We do not have enough physicians or nurses, and we have an aging population who are sicker and who need more resources and services.”

Wave aims to help ease this load, while stopping preventable deaths from happening. An always-on patient surveillance monitoring system, it displays in real time a clinical view of physiological and medically relevant data, including waveforms and alarms for at-risk patients across hospitals. This information can be viewed by medical staff at clinical workstations and on mobile devices, even when they are not in the room at the time. Whatever happens with a patient’s vitals, Wave automatically calculates their risk, giving early warning of patient deterioration while there’s still time to help turn things around.

What makes the technology smart is the fact that not only does it monitor different biometrics for patients, but that it analyzes these in conjunction with one another. For instance, a minor decrease in a patient’s respiratory rate might be be enough to trigger an emergency call in regular monitoring software. However, if that decrease in respiration is accompanied by a spike in blood pressure (something else which may not immediately trigger a warning on its own), that could be indicative of a dnagerous situation developing.

In clinical trials carried out at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a group consisting of elderly patients using the Wave system had six fewer unexpected deaths than a group not using the technology.

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Traveling will get easier with this $34 AmazonBasics Carry-On Backpack

Now you just need a destination.

Amazon has its AmazonBasics Carry-On Travel Backpack on sale for $34, down from a normal price of $50. This will make traveling a breeze since you’ll never have to worry whether your bag fits the proper airline dimensions.

• Carry-on travel backpack with internal, zippered laptop sleeve
• Ultra-flexible and lightweight
• Main compartment with zipper mesh space, optional midway shelf, and internal/external compression straps
• Front pocket & front-top pocket for easy access to documents and travel liquids
• Main upper packing compartment with organizer, expandable storage space, and key clip
• Hide-away water bottle pocket & tuck-away ID pocket
• Padded shoulder straps disconnect & store easily

This backpack received 4.3 out of 5 stars from 174 customer reviews. Make sure your liquids are TSA-approved with these silicone travel bottles.

See at Amazon

Samsung Galaxy X foldable phone: Rumors, Images, Details, and More!

This will be the next big thing … at some point.

The mobile industry has been tracking this rumored Samsung “Galaxy X” prototype phone for several months, gradually pushing back the supposed launch timeline for what’s supposed to be a successor to the general “Galaxy S” line. But as waves of details about the upcoming Galaxy S9 and S9+ come in, we’re still struggling for details on what this supposed Galaxy X with a foldable display will be. Reports with new details out of CES 2018 are at least giving us something to work with.

No, you didn’t miss an announcement — Samsung didn’t have anything public to say about the Galaxy X (if that is its real name) at CES. But as many companies do, Samsung took the opportunity of having so many high-up industry people together to show off what it’s working on to partners. According to The Investor, this year that included the Galaxy X. The device in question has a 7.3-inch display that can fold in the middle — multiple versions were shown, with different capabilities such as folding both inwards and outwards.

The inward-folding model (protecting the screen when closed) is reportedly the design with the most traction at the moment. The outward-folding one, on the other hand, includes “more advanced next-generation technology,” whatever that entails. The rest of the specs of the phone aren’t yet known, and considering how far out we are from a potential release — reportedly in 2019 — those can and will change between now and then.

Samsung has of course been putting curved panels in production phones since the Galaxy Note Edge that eventually spawned into a phenomenon that has become a hallmark of Samsung’s high-end devices. The company has been experimenting with bendable OLED panels for years, going so far as to show them off publicly as technology demonstrations. But the question is whether it could make devices with displays that could be actively bent or folded thousands of times as a regular part of use. The display would have to be very robust, but then you also have the issue of what covers the display panel — typical Gorilla Glass wouldn’t do the trick.

LetsGoDigital has worked up renderings based on reports and patent filings that show the Galaxy X as a vertical-orientation phone, but with a hinge mechanism built into the sides of the phone. The phone would be rigid (and what looks to be extremely tall as well) when the display is extended and flat, but you could pull the top and bottom apart to expose the hinge to then bend while the screen follows suit.

Further renders show the phone while closed, which leaves a gap around the hinge portion not unlike a Microsoft Surface Book laptop. Large internal components would of course split between the top and bottom halves of the phone by the hinge.

Early rumors pointed to a Galaxy X with a hinge and two displays, but now we’re talking about just one panel.

Early rumors of the Galaxy X pointed to some sort of announcement or teaser as early as late 2017, which obviously didn’t happen. But those same rumors questioned whether the Galaxy X was truly a “bendable” phone with a single screen, or simply a hinged device with two distinct panels — like the ZTE Axon M, for example. It seems now that Samsung’s going to attempt a full-on single bendable display. Other rumors also had indicated Samsung had a more tablet-shaped device with this bendable display technology in place, and that may still be on the table in different future devices, but in terms of the “Galaxy X” it looks to be a traditional vertical phone orientation.

Our next best bet for when we’ll hear more about the Galaxy X will be MWC 2018, which kicks off at the end of February. That’s where Samsung has already said it will unveil the Galaxy S9 and S9+, and perhaps that will come along with a tease or some sort of information on what’s coming after that. Fingers crossed.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

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GAC’s En Verge concept packs a digital dash and AR for passengers

Chinese automaker GAC is making waves at the North American International Auto Show. “We want you to give us a chance to challenge ourselves,” GAC group president Feng Xingya said from the stage, before unveiling GAC’s first all-electric concept, the En Verge. The En Verge is a two-door compact crossover SUV. The first thing you’ll notice are those massive ports on the front bumper. While they look like they’re for cooling, they’re actually removable fog lamps. Called G-Torches, they double as flashlights for when you want to do some off-trail exploring. Handy!

Then there’s the race-inspired steering wheel, and the gull-wing doors that look like they’ll make getting in and out of the vehicle a cinch, regardless of if you’re sitting in the front or back seat. The driver and person riding shotgun are treated to a flatscreen dashboard that feeds driving data (vehicle speed, GPS, weather info) to the front seat, while the rear passengers have a different type of entertainment at their disposal. Namely, panoramic AR goggles that overlay different types of information about the passing world, on the passing world via the car’s opaque windows — much like Sony’s concept party van.

As far as power goes, the En Verge packs a 71 kWh battery with a range of 370 miles. GAC says that with a ten-minute charge you can go up to 240 miles; a wireless charger will also be available.

GAC also showed off its midsize sedan, the GA4, which goes on sale in China in a few weeks. The automaker says that it plans to enter the US market soon, and if it can actually hold to that, it’ll be the first Chinese company to sell cars on domestic shores. The En Verge is definitely the most ambitious vehicle in GACs lineup, and it follows a general trend here at NAIAS: crossovers, crossovers, crossovers. The firm says it’s hoping to attract a younger market with the vehicle.

To hit its goal of becoming a “world-class brand,” GAC is building a research and development facility here in Detroit and also has plans for one in Los Angeles. It already has a location in Silicon Valley. And to further advance its ambitions, the company has started working with Huawei and Tencent. Now it just needs a distribution partner to make its domestic sales dreams a reality.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from NAIAS 2018!

Hyundai’s new Veloster will make its debut in ‘Forza Motorsport 7’

The new Hyundai Veloster just made its debut on the NAIAS 2018 show floor, but the first time we’ll be able to drive one is in Forza Motorsport 7. Following a string of cars debuting in videogames (BMW M4 Coupe, Porsche 911 GT2 RS), the Veloster Turbo and Veloster N will come to Forza players tomorrow, well before the cars go on sale in Q2 2018. In real life, the refreshed three-door hatchback has a bit more power and a lower stance, while the new “N” performance version goes up to 275HP and adds track-tuned driving modes.

The tech packages are what we’re interested in, however, and these cars, naturally, have a premium touchscreen version that includes support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Another option is this Heads-up Display, which projects on a transparent panel that pops up in front of the windshield, then retracts when not in use. If the car is in sport mode, you’ll see performance-oriented info like speed, RPM and which gear the car is in. Wireless Qi charging is another option, as is Hyundai’s Blue Link connected car system, with three years of service. Blue Link opens up options like Remote Start, Car Finder and vehicle assistance through a website, mobile apps, Android Wear, Apple Watch and Amazon Alexa.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from NAIAS 2018.

Source: Hyundai (1), (2), (3)

Alibaba and Microsoft AI beat human scores on Stanford reading test

20 years ago, IBM’s Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in a game of chess and the practice of pitting human against computer continues to this day. Google’s AI was the first to beat a Go champion a couple of years back (and it continues to teach itself how to play other games, too). Now Bloomberg reports that Alibaba and Microsoft have both developed AI that scores better than humans on a Stanford University reading test.

The Chinese online commerce company’s deep neural network was the first to score higher than a human on the reading test. The 100,000-question quiz is considered to be the most authoritative measures of machine reading, according to Bloomberg. The highest humans have score on the measure is 82.304. Alibaba’s Institute of Data Science of Technologies scored 82.44. The following day, Microsoft’s own AI scored 82.650 on the same test.

Ultimately, the idea is to help AI systems process large amounts of written data to more accurately respond to human questions. “That means objective questions such as ‘what causes rain’ can now be answered with high accuracy by machines,” Alibaba chief scientist Luo Si said in a statement. “The technology underneath can be gradually applied to numerous applications such as customer service, museum tutorials and online responses to medical inquiries from patients, decreasing the need for human input in an unprecedented way.”

Via: Technology Review

Source: Bloomberg

Mazda Remains Committed to Introducing CarPlay But Still Won’t Say When

Toyota and Lexus today confirmed that CarPlay will be available in select 2019-and-later vehicles, making Mazda one of the only recognizable automakers—if not the only—without support for Apple’s in-car software platform in the United States.

Many of our readers commented or tweeted to ask if and when Mazda will ever support CarPlay, so we reached out to the company for an update. MacRumors received the following statement from Mazda spokesperson Jacob Brown today ensuring that it still plans to offer CarPlay… eventually.

We remain committed to introducing the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto technologies to our vehicles, designing them to interface with our MAZDA CONNECT infotainment system in a manner that promotes a focus on the driving experience. We cannot provide timing or any additional details at this time.

Mazda made a similar promise a few times last year. Last March, for example, the automaker told Cars.com that CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility was in the works, and noted the software platforms would be available in both new and older-generation vehicles with its Mazda Connect system.

Mazda Connect appears to have debuted in 2013 model year vehicles, so a wide range of Mazda vehicles should eventually support CarPlay and Android Auto if and when the company finally fulfills its promise. Of note, like Toyota, Mazda has been listed as a committed CarPlay partner on Apple’s website since 2014.

A survey last year indicated that an increasing number of customers consider CarPlay a must-have feature, so like Toyota, it may be worthwhile for Mazda to begin supporting Apple’s software platform sooner rather than later.

CarPlay is already available in hundreds of vehicle makes and models around the world, including Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, BMW, MINI, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Acura, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, Nissan, Renault, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Volkswagen, Volvo, and many others.

As an update to Toyota’s announcement, a spokesperson said the automaker doesn’t have any plans to support CarPlay in pre-2019 vehicles at this time, even though models like the 2018 Camry and 2018 Sienna have its Entune 3.0 system.

Related Roundup: CarPlayTag: Mazda
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