Nissan made some self-parking slippers to show off its clever car tech

Japan’s famed hospitality has just stepped up a gear with the arrival of self-parking slippers, floor cushions, and even tables.

A traditional Japanese “ryokan” inn near Tokyo is testing out the new kit, built by one of the nation’s car giants, Nissan.

Designed to showcase the company’s ProPILOT Park autonomous technology that helps a car to park itself, the slippers and other items are fitted with a modified version comprising sensors and motors (and tiny wheels!) that steer them to their original location with a simple press of a remote button.

If you’ve ever stayed at a ryokan, you’ll know all about leaving your shoes at the entrance before stepping into a pair of slippers. Being the orderly nation that it is, ryokans like to have everything looking just right for guests, and while a pair of slightly-out-of-place slippers might not seem like a big deal to you, to the owner of an upmarket ryokan it’ll look like a scene of carnage and sweat-inducing chaos, prompting a rapid intervention by staff to put the footwear in its rightful place. Even if it is three millimeters to the left.

Nissan’s technology changes all that, with the sensors expertly guiding the slippers into position, leaving them perfectly lined up at the entrance at all times, creating an atmosphere of order and harmony for arriving guests as well as staff. Brilliant.

The guests in the video (above) are certainly impressed. “It’s incredible,” a man marvels as a self-driving cushion trundles toward him. “Selected guests” will be able to try out Nissan’s technology at the ryokan in Hakone from March.

Nissan spokesperson Nick Maxfield told Reuters the self-parking slippers are supposed to “raise awareness of automated driving technologies, and their potential, non-driving applications,” and so will probably not be appearing at ryokans across Japan anytime soon.

The company’s ProPILOT Park technology was introduced with the all-new electric Nissan LEAF in Japan in October 2017. Using sensors and cameras, it detects surrounding objects and, with a push of a button, lets drivers automatically park their vehicle in a selected parking space. Nissan’s ProPILOT technology also includes an “assist” feature that can help the driver with acceleration, steering, and braking under particular conditions on a highway. It debuted in the U.S. with the Rogue in 2017.

In another effort to boost the technology’s profile, Nissan created the Intelligent Parking Chair in 2016. If you’d like to see a bunch of office chairs parking themselves, then do take a moment to check out the video.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Nissan follows GM with plan to test robo-taxis in early 2018
• Sit back, relax, and enjoy a ride through the history of self-driving cars
• TomTom and Zenuity team up to create the self-driving cars of the future
• Lyft and Aptiv will shuttle CES attendees around Vegas in self-driving cars
• Volkswagen Group to collaborate with self-driving firm Aurora Innovation

Walmart teams up with Kobo to sell ebooks and audiobooks

Later this year, you’ll be able to buy ebooks and audiobooks straight from Walmart’s website. The big box retailer has teamed up with Japanese e-commerce titan Rakuten to launch a business that can take on Amazon’s Kindle offerings. Walmart will give its customers in the US an easy way to access to Kobo’s library — Kobo is Rakuten’s digital book division — and its six million titles from tens of thousands of publishers. The company will also start selling Kobo eReaders, which will set you back at least $120, online and in stores sometime this year.

Walmart said Kobo’s titles will be fully integrated into its website, so the ebook and audiobook versions of the title you’re searching for will appear alongside the listing of its physical book. However, you won’t be able to access the digital files through random apps. You’ll have to use the co-branded apps for iOS, Android and desktop that Walmart and Kobo will release in the future, though you’ll of course be able access ebooks through a Kobo e-reader. Unfortunately, Walmart hasn’t revealed the exact timeline for the new offerings’ launch, other than saying that it will sell ebooks first before launching its audiobook library.

Source: Walmart

Facebook: Russian trolls created 129 event posts during 2016 election

On Thursday the Senate Intelligence committee released information from Facebook, Google and Twitter responding to Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election. In its statement, Facebook noted that Russian “Internet Research Agency” (IRA) troll accounts set up 129 events across 12 pages, that were viewed by over 338,000 accounts, with 62,500 saying they were going. What isn’t known is how many people actually went to these events, many of which were set up to inflame opposing groups on topics such as Black Lives Matter or immigration.

Facebook has said that nearly 150 million accounts were exposed to Russian propaganda across its site when including posts on Instagram. All three companies said their investigations are ongoing, while Facebook and Twitter said they had not found evidence individual voters were targeted by name using registration data. Facebook’s report mentioned “insignificant overlap” between the Russian propaganda and targeted ads and the Trump campaign, while Google and Twitter didn’t go into that issue at all.

The committee released the answers from all three companies (Facebook, Twitter, Google) and video of the November 1 hearings is available for everyone to see, even as the questions and investigations continue.

After review, the Senate Intelligence Committee has posted Google, Facebook, and Twitter’s responses to Questions for the Record, available here: https://t.co/EW5kaugVa7

— Richard Burr (@SenatorBurr) January 25, 2018

Source: Facebook (PDF), Google (PDF), Twitter (PDF), Senate Intelligence Committee

Check Out Elon Musk’s $600 ‘Boring Company’ flamethrower

It looks as if Elon Musk has been on the roof again knocking back a few whiskeys. We certainly wouldn’t be surprised if those rooftop parties atop the Tesla Gigafactory are where he gets some of his outlandish ideas.

So what’s he cooked up now? A Boring Company flamethrower with a retail price of $600, apparently.

Need some background? Well, the man behind Tesla, SpaceX, and the Hyperloop is also the man behind The Boring Company, an early-stage project that aims to build vast networks of tunnels containing high-speed electric sleds to carry cars, thereby helping to ease traffic congestion at street level.

To raise funds for the venture, which has already started some experimental digging beneath SpaceX’s base in Hawthorne, California, Elon Musk recently sold a bunch of Boring Company-branded caps at $20 apiece.

In December 2017, Musk tweeted that when the hats sold out, “we will start selling The Boring Company flamethrower.”

Just like all those years ago when he said he wanted to launch and land a space rocket, some people simply chuckled at the absurdity of the idea. Others shook their head and smiled and said, “That crazy guy.” But a few kept a straight face, took a deep breath, and said, “Y’ know, he probably will.”

And so, just weeks after those caps sold out, we present The Boring Company flamethrower, priced at $600.

OK, there’s been no official announcement yet. What we do know is that the web address boringcompany.com/flamethrower recently started taking visitors to a page with a password box. With most online passwords reported to be ridiculously obvious, Twitter user FalconGridFin typed in a ridiculously obvious password: Flame. And it worked (it’s now been changed, but not to “123456”).

He grabbed a screenshot showing a Boring Company-branded flamethrower with a pre-order button under it. Beneath that is a note saying, “Prototype picture above. Final production flamethrower will be better.”

According to The Verge, the flamethrower looks like an Airsoft rifle that’s been modified to shoot flames, but until someone gets their hands on it, we won’t know for sure.

While the caps look to have been an easy sell for Musk, it’s not so clear if there’s a market for Boring Company flamethrowers. We can only think of busy chefs who might want to toast a very large tray of brûléed Key lime tarts in a single flash, or die-hard Musk fans who’re keen on collecting every one of his proffered items.

For now, we’ll just have to wait and see whether the flamethrower is really a thing. Though it probably is …

Editors’ Recommendations

• Elon Musk starts 2018 with $1M for tunneling plan after ‘boring’ caps sell out
• Musk’s Boring Company is ‘capping cap orders at 50,000 caps’
• Apple: Yep, iPhones do slow down, but for a good reason
• Anheuser-Busch placed an order for 40 Tesla Semis
• Tesla Model 3 deliveries hit 1,550 in Q4; production goal pushed back again

Ariane 5 ferried NASA instrument to orbit despite launch scare

The fate of Arianespace’s latest launch was in limbo for over an hour after the company detected an anomaly. Ariane 5 lost contact with its ground controllers around nine minutes after liftoff, and Arianespace chief Stephane Israel had to issue an apology with the promise to get to the bottom of what happened. Thankfully, things turned out just fine: its payload communications satellites, the SES 14 and the Al Yah 3, have successfully made it to orbit and resumed communication with their operators. That’s great news for NASA too, because it had a science instrument piggybacked on the SES 14 — the first time one of its science missions flew as a “hosted payload,” a term used for a module attached to a commercial satellite.

NASA’s Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) is a microwave-sized instrument designed to investigate the boundary between space and Earth’s upper atmosphere. The data it will send back from geostationary orbit about 22,000 miles away will help us better understand the boundary’s role in terrestrial and space weather. Elsayed Talaat, NASA’s heliophysics chief scientist, explained that “being on hosted commercial satellites gives… NASA a new cost-effective tool in [its] toolbox for doing science.”

While the space agency expects to continue building its own satellites for launch, being able to prove that going the hosted payload route works means its science programs now have more options to choose from. And that’s definitely a good thing, seeing as the agency is always the target of budget cuts. The fact that Ariane 5 also completed its mission despite the launch scare is also a good thing for Arianespace, since its rocket is scheduled to launch the James Webb Space Telescope in 2019.

Instant replay! Watch tonight’s flawless #Ariane5 liftoff from the Spaceport in French Guiana, which commenced #Arianespace’s year-opening flight at the service of @SES_Satellites and @yahsatofficial. #VA241 #MissiontoSuccess pic.twitter.com/FOLv5ZtJVm

— Stéphane Israël (@arianespaceceo) January 25, 2018

Source: Space

Snapchat drops white frames around Snaps from Camera Roll

Snapchat has (finally!) completely killed off the white frame around snaps not captured with its own camera. The app’s latest version drops the border when you add Snaps from the Camera Roll to your Story — an extension of its update last year, which gets rid of that white space around photos and videos shared from Memories. Now, there’s not much difference between Snaps you take on the spot and old photos and videos you post as Snaps. The only way you’ll know if something wasn’t truly taken right at that moment is to look for the small note on it that says “From Camera Roll” or “From Memories.”

By ditching the feature that treats old content differently, Snapchat is likely hoping to entice people to share more photos and videos that they wouldn’t before. That thick white frame was truly distracting when mixed with borderless Snaps, after all. A simple Google search would even show you tutorials on how to use Memories, a feature that saves old Snaps, to make sure the old content you add to Story are clean and borderless.

Snapchat knows that it has to stop treating old photos and videos as subpar if it wants to compete with Instagram Stories. Facebook’s Snapchat clone treats both old and new content equally — and it must be doing something right if it has more users than Snapchat itself. The ephemeral photo app’s latest version is now live on iOS. Google Play’s update notes haven’t been updated yet, so it’s not clear whether the new feature is now out for Android. However, we just tried it out on an Android device and don’t see a border around our Camera Roll Snaps anymore.

Via: The Verge

Source: iTunes

Cellular Apple Watch Series 3 Launching in Singapore and Hong Kong in February

Starting on February 2, the Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular connectivity will be available for purchase in Singapore and Hong Kong, according to updated information shared on Apple’s Singapore and Hong Kong websites.

Customers in Singapore and Hong Kong will be able to place orders for the cellular Apple Watch starting on February 2, with those orders set to arrive on February 9, the official launch date for the device.

Pricing on the LTE Apple Watch Series 3 will start at S$598 in Singapore and HK$3,188 in Hong Kong.

In Singapore, the cellular Apple Watch will be available with Singtel service, and in Hong Kong, both 1O1O and csl3 will support it.

The Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular connectivity is already available in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK. In other countries, only Apple Watch Series 3 models with GPS are available for purchase.

It was available in China at launch, but one week after launch, carriers in China stopped offering the cellular version of the device, likely due its usage of an eSIM, a new technology in the country, and government security concerns.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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MoviePass abruptly cuts off access to several AMC theaters

The $9.95 MoviePass subscription has been incredibly popular and soon the company will invest in films itself, but because the company pays full price for each ticket, it’s subsidizing each customer’s theater visit. AMC execs called the plan “unsustainable” last fall, leading to today’s reports by Deadline and Variety that the service no longer covers visits to several big market AMC theaters: Empire 25 (NYC), Century City 15 and Universal CityWalk 19 (LA), Loews Boston Common 19, River East 21 (Chicago), Disney Springs at Walt Disney World, and Loews Alderwood Mall 16 (WA).

A small handful of theaters are no longer available on our platform. The theater you’re referring to seems to be affected by this. As we continue to strive for mutually-beneficial relationships with theaters, the list of theaters we work with is subject to change.

— MoviePass (@MoviePass) January 26, 2018

Some of our guests say MoviePass may be blocking the use of their service at a handful of AMC locations. AMC has not restricted MoviePass acceptance at our theatres, nor have we heard from MoviePass about this. MoviePass customers should contact MoviePass for clarification.

— AMC Guest Services (@AMCHelps) January 25, 2018

In a statement echoed by the company’s Twitter account, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe said “As of today, you’ll find a small handful of theaters are no longer available on our platform. Our number one goal as a company is to provide an accessible price-point for people to enjoy films the way they’re meant to be seen: on the big screen. Many exhibitors have been receptive to this mission, and we’re excited to keep working with theater chains that are closely aligned with our customer service values.”

Concerned customers should keep an eye on the app and its list of supported theaters to see if things continue to change for the plan that MoviePass says works at “more than 98 percent of theaters in the US.” However, as AMC has resisted sharing revenue from admissions or concessions, we’ll be watching the list to see if any of these theaters come back, or if it continues to shrink.

Source: Deadline

New York won’t do business with ISPs not adhering to net neutrality principles

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to ensure internet access based on net neutrality within the local government. In a signed executive order, no New York State government agency is allowed to do business with internet service providers (ISPs) that don’t abide by net neutrality-based principles. The executive order does not regulate ISP business practices within the private sector. 

The order covers everything maintained by the government, such as educational institutions, offices spread out across the state, and public internet access. The declaration guarantees a free and open internet to any individual accessing the web from these points. The government can’t dictate how ISPs regulate internet connections in homes and businesses. 

Prior to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reclassifying ISPs a public utility, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) kept these companies in check. ISPs didn’t throttle internet speeds or filter content save for addressing customers found downloading pirated content and those who went over their monthly data allowance. But the FCC reclassified ISPs in February 2015, finalized a set of regulations four months later, and then repealed those rules at the end of 2017. 

Many ISPs pledge to keep the internet free and open, devoid of any content restrictions or throttling. Even the State of New York admits this dedication. “Many of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) serving New Yorkers have made public pledges to continue to abide by the principles of a free and open internet despite the FCC’s actions,” the governor’s office states. Yet the executive order serves as a “just in case” safety net if ISPs happen to change their mind.

“New York State has a responsibility to ensure the efficient procurement of goods and services for the State of New York and its political subdivisions and the principles of net neutrality are inherently tied to the provision of high quality, high-speed broadband internet service for the State,” the order says. 

The FCC is currently under fire for allegedly using millions of fake comments to back its net neutrality repeal. The U.S. Government Accountability Office is investigating the issue based on claims that many comments were created by bots impersonating both the living and dead. They were provided in a comment system created by the FCC for receiving public feedback. 

Prior to the net neutrality rules, there were no clear legal protections preventing ISPs from price gouging based on local monopolies, and adjusting the quality of service based on levels of internet consumption. There were many attempts to establish rules prior to 2015, but all failed. The FCC’s rules served as a guarantee of an open, unregulated internet if any ISP desired to fall back on a model based on content filtering, speed throttling, and price gouging.  

But that would be bad business and create a nasty, costly backlash. The executive order even says that “New York State is a significant purchaser of internet and broadband services.” That revenue generator alone should help keep ISPs in check … at least in New York. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• What you need to know about net neutrality
• Here’s how tech influencers reacted to the FCC’s net neutrality repeal
• The FCC will make a final vote to reverse the net neutrality rules in December
• FCC officially repeals 2015 Net Neutrality regulations by a narrow margin
• AT&T calls on Congress to create new net neutrality laws — but why?

New York won’t do business with ISPs not adhering to net neutrality principles

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to ensure internet access based on net neutrality within the local government. In a signed executive order, no New York State government agency is allowed to do business with internet service providers (ISPs) that don’t abide by net neutrality-based principles. The executive order does not regulate ISP business practices within the private sector. 

The order covers everything maintained by the government, such as educational institutions, offices spread out across the state, and public internet access. The declaration guarantees a free and open internet to any individual accessing the web from these points. The government can’t dictate how ISPs regulate internet connections in homes and businesses. 

Prior to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reclassifying ISPs a public utility, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) kept these companies in check. ISPs didn’t throttle internet speeds or filter content save for addressing customers found downloading pirated content and those who went over their monthly data allowance. But the FCC reclassified ISPs in February 2015, finalized a set of regulations four months later, and then repealed those rules at the end of 2017. 

Many ISPs pledge to keep the internet free and open, devoid of any content restrictions or throttling. Even the State of New York admits this dedication. “Many of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) serving New Yorkers have made public pledges to continue to abide by the principles of a free and open internet despite the FCC’s actions,” the governor’s office states. Yet the executive order serves as a “just in case” safety net if ISPs happen to change their mind.

“New York State has a responsibility to ensure the efficient procurement of goods and services for the State of New York and its political subdivisions and the principles of net neutrality are inherently tied to the provision of high quality, high-speed broadband internet service for the State,” the order says. 

The FCC is currently under fire for allegedly using millions of fake comments to back its net neutrality repeal. The U.S. Government Accountability Office is investigating the issue based on claims that many comments were created by bots impersonating both the living and dead. They were provided in a comment system created by the FCC for receiving public feedback. 

Prior to the net neutrality rules, there were no clear legal protections preventing ISPs from price gouging based on local monopolies, and adjusting the quality of service based on levels of internet consumption. There were many attempts to establish rules prior to 2015, but all failed. The FCC’s rules served as a guarantee of an open, unregulated internet if any ISP desired to fall back on a model based on content filtering, speed throttling, and price gouging.  

But that would be bad business and create a nasty, costly backlash. The executive order even says that “New York State is a significant purchaser of internet and broadband services.” That revenue generator alone should help keep ISPs in check … at least in New York. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• What you need to know about net neutrality
• Here’s how tech influencers reacted to the FCC’s net neutrality repeal
• The FCC will make a final vote to reverse the net neutrality rules in December
• FCC officially repeals 2015 Net Neutrality regulations by a narrow margin
• AT&T calls on Congress to create new net neutrality laws — but why?