BMW’s new lease lets you drive for ridesharing services

It’s not always obvious, but many car leases don’t allow you to drive with ridesharing services or rent your car to others. And it’s no surprise as to why — the high mileage and varying driving habits aren’t going to help the car’s condition when the lease is over. BMW, however, is sticking its neck out. It’s trotting out a Car & Ride Sharing Lease for BMW- and Mini-branded cars that, as the name suggests, permits either driving for a service like Uber or renting your car to others. If the payments on your 3 Series are a little too difficult to bear, you can make some money on the side.

The service is available in California, Oregon and Washington state right now. The initial selection isn’t surprising. BMW is already familiar with car sharing in Oregon and Washington thanks to its ReachNow service, while California is a hotbed for new transportation services.

BMW pitches this both as an acknowledgment of changing times and a part of its ongoing push into mobility services — it took full ownership of DriveNow the same day as the lease announcement. It knows that leasing is likely to decline as ridesharing and self-driving cars take hold, and wants to make a lease more attractive to those people who do want their own car. And it’s reasonable to presume that this could help BMW in the near term by convincing some people to lease cars they otherwise couldn’t afford.

Via: Roadshow

Source: BMW

Facebook will prioritize local stories in your News Feed

You may start seeing more posts from local publishers popping up in your News Feed. Facebook announced today that it will begin prioritizing local news, bumping it up higher in your feed if you follow a local publisher’s Page or if a friend shares a locally-published story. “We are prioritizing local news as a part of our emphasis on high-quality news, and with today’s update, stories from local news publishers may appear higher in News Feed for followers in publishers’ geographic areas,” Facebook said in the announcement.

This isn’t Facebook’s only shift towards local news. It’s also testing a section called “Today In” that brings together local news stories, emergency updates and local events. And the company also isn’t the only one interested in boosting local news. Google is working on an app called Bulletin that would let local journalists or anyone else write up a story and publish it to the web instantly.

Facebook, which recently announced it would be shifting its News Feed focus away from news and more towards friends’ posts, says the local news prioritization will kick off in the US, but it plans to expand it to other countries this year. “These efforts to prioritize quality news in News Feed, including this local initiative, are a direct result of the ongoing collaboration with partners,” said Facebook. “Our goal is to show more news that connects people to their local communities, and we look forward to improving and expanding these efforts this year.”

Source: Facebook

Soderbergh’s iPhone-shot thriller ‘Unsane’ looks appropriately lo-fi

Director Steven Soderbergh has been pushing the limits of filmmaking in different ways lately. Be it independently releasing his last feature, working with HBO on its interactive Mosaic series, or, now, shooting a suspense movie entirely on an iPhone. How’s Unsane look? Judging by the trailer below, it’s promising. You won’t mistake it for something shot on a RED camera anytime soon, and everything has a bit of a compressed aesthetic, but it works for the story of unraveling sanity and cyberstalking at hand.

Of course, this isn’t the first time a filmmaker shot entirely on iPhone, but Soderbergh is probably one of the most high-profile to do so. You’ll be able to see how iPhone footage looks stretched across your multiplex’s silver screens March 23rd.

Via: Slashfilm

Source: YouTube

Microsoft’s Slack rival helps you find and use apps

Microsoft is determined to make Teams a strong alternative to collaborative chat apps like Slack, and it’s now targeting one of Slack’s strong points: apps. The company is rolling out a major update whose centerpiece is a new app store that lets you find the tools you need, whether it’s a productivity booster like Adobe Creative Cloud or a chat bot. Accordingly, you can bring content from apps directly into a conversation, such as a relevant news story or the weather, and check out what’s happening across your apps in a dedicated space.

The Redmond-based crew has launched a new app of its own, Who, that helps you search for coworkers both by their name or their topic. You shouldn’t have trouble tracking down a graphic designer or engineer when you need them to finish a key project.

Microsoft is also courting power users with the update. You can now control apps straight from the command box, such as searching for a photo. Slash commands (like “/away”) are here as well, so you don’t have to give up all the habits you learned from your IRC days.

The Teams update is, in a sense, an admission that Teams’ original Office-centric focus only took it so far. Many companies see Office as just one part of their tool kit — the upgrade gives those audiences a reason to give Teams a look instead of making a beeline for the alternatives.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Office Blogs

Starbucks App for iOS Updated With New Stores and Ordering Layout, Face ID Support

The Starbucks app for iOS devices was today updated to version 4.5, introducing a refined user interface for locating nearby stores and placing orders.

Finding a Starbucks store that’s close by is easier following the 4.5 update, with an improved map that makes it easier to see which stores are closest to you.

One-tap filters that are better organized offer a faster way to find a suitable location, and when you tap on a store from the available store list, you’re now presented with a map and directions to it.

Ordering has also been improved, with a main menu that offers images of each available product and a more intuitive, easy-to-use layout for drilling down into each food and drink section.

👀🗺☕️

Starbucks for iOS and Android v4.5 is rolling out, with a brand new Stores experience, much-improved browsing in Order, Touch/Face ID working with Passcode Lock, and tons of bug fixes. Let us know what you think! pic.twitter.com/VvXk6oJz0u

— Jason Stoff ☕️ (@jstoff) January 29, 2018

While the iOS App Store update info focuses only on the new store location features, a product designer at Starbucks says the update also includes Touch ID and Face ID support for locking the Starbucks app and a long list of bug fixes.

The Starbucks app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Starbucks
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Apple Maps Transit Directions Now Available in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Omaha, Nebraska

Apple recently updated its Maps app to add transit directions and data for Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Omaha, Nebraska, two places where transit information was not previously available outside of Amtrak routes.

Apple Maps users in Milwaukee and Omaha can now select public transportation routes when getting directions between two locations, with bus lines available in both areas.

Apple has not yet added Milwaukee or Omaha to the website where it lists areas transit directions are available, but it’s likely these two locations will be listed soon.

Transit directions were first added to Apple Maps in 2015 with the launch of iOS 9. Maps initially only offered transit information in a handful of cities, but over the course of the last three years, Apple has worked to expand the feature to additional areas.

Transit information is now live in dozens of cities and countries around the world, with a full list available on Apple’s iOS 11 Feature Availability website.

(Thanks, Geoffrey!)

Tags: Apple Maps, transit
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Win less than $20 in HQ Trivia? Now you can still collect your cash

The iOS and Android game show app HQ Trivia gives anyone the chance to win big bucks by answering trivia questions, but the app came with a catch: You could only collect your payout after winning at least $20. With prizes split up based on how many users got all questions correct, this could leave some winners unable to get paid, but HQ Trivia has eliminated that stipulation.

“It’s payday, baby! We’ve removed the minimum balance required to cash out your HQ winnings,” HQ Trivia said on Twitter. “Put that money in the bank today!”

HQ Trivia is an elimination-style quiz show available to play every night at 9 p.m. ET, as well as 3 p.m. ET on weekdays. Players must answer a series of progressively more difficult questions, and once you get a question wrong, you’re out of the game and must wait for the next event to try again. Depending on how many players get all questions correct, the prizes can be substantial. In December, player Casey Donahue won $6,000 in a single game. Typically, several people will be able to get all questions correct, resulting in more modest winnings.

The app has managed to catch on for more than just the potential cash, however. Host Scott Rogowsky’s high-energy personality has won over fans, and the show has also used guest hosts during certain days, including The Game Awards producer Geoff Keighley.

As of now, HQ Trivia doesn’t make a profit, as founders Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll are focused on building its user-base to increase the company’s valuation. Though brand-based questions might seem like they were sponsored, this actually isn’t the case for now, with funding coming through venture capitalists, instead.

HQ Trivia was first released for iOS in 2017 before making its way to Android in January. The game is only available to play on phones, likely to avoid cheaters quickly using their search engines and to simplify payout — you don’t need to make an account with the game, as your winnings are tied to your phone number. You can collect your winnings using PayPal, and we certainly hope they are higher than $20.

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Apple will reportedly halve iPhone X production in the first quarter of 2018

According to a report from Nikkei, Apple will be halving its initial production estimates for the iPhone X in the three-month period that began in January.

The initial estimates, set during the November launch window of the iPhone X, were for 40 million units. According to Nikkei’s unsourced report, the company informed suppliers that the number has been revised to 20 million units after international sales during the holiday season were less than anticipated. Not long after the news broke on Nikkei, the stock market responded to the news and Apple’s share prices fell 1.9 percent — a loss of $45 billion.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of issues surrounding the iPhone X. Last week, an analyst from KGI Securities predicted that the iPhone X would be permanently retired in the summer of 2018, following sales that were less than expected.

Interestingly, production numbers for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 have not been altered, with Apple still expecting to maintain a production target of 30 million units for the cheaper, less advanced models. This tallies with another previous report from analysts Cowen & Co. that customers preferred cheaper iPhones to the more expensive iPhone X and blamed the extremely high $999 iPhone X price tag as the reason that many Apple consumers were gravitating to the other models.

The reason for the high price tag is likely for a handful of reasons. Apple’s iPhone has always been a premium brand but the iPhone X broke new ground even in that marketplace. Most commentators point to the price of OLED displays as being a large part of the reason that the iPhone X’s price was so inflated above the market average. The OLED screen on the iPhone X was Apple’s first, and with mobile competitor Samsung being the only supplier who could supply enough displays for Apple’s needs, the iPhone giant would have likely been paying top dollar for each display.

Regardless of this news, Apple’s iPhones continued to sell well toward the tail end of 2017. While $45 billion may also be a large sum of money, it’s not a massive relative drop for Apple, which is on track to becoming the world’s first company valued at $1 trillion.

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Grab this Microsoft update now if your PC was affected by the Spectre fixes

The last few weeks have been rough for technology manufacturers and users alike, with the Meltdown and Spectre exploits making headlines and requiring fixes that can slow down our gadgets. Intel issued microcode fixes for its own CPUs meant to address the issue and then quickly retracted them due to system reboots and instability. Now, Microsoft has concluded that fixes meant to address the Spectre Variant 2 exploit are bad enough to cause data loss, and its issued its own fix.

For now, this fix comes via a support bulletin that it issued the following statement:

“Intel has reported issues with recently released microcode meant to address Spectre Variant 2 (CVE 2017-5715 Branch Target Injection) — specifically Intel noted that this microcode can cause “higher than expected reboots and other unpredictable system behavior” and then noted that situations like this may result in “data loss or corruption.” Our own experience is that system instability can in some circumstances cause data loss or corruption. On January 22, Intel recommended that customers stop deploying the current microcode version on impacted processors while they perform additional testing on the updated solution. We understand that Intel is continuing to investigate the potential impact of the current microcode version and encourage customers to review their guidance on an ongoing basis to inform their decisions.”

Microsoft’s response, for now at least, is to simply turn off the mitigation against Spectre Variant 2. It provided an update that users can run at the Microsoft Update Catalog site, along with steps to manually disable and enable the mitigation by modifying the registry. The registry is a finicky thing, though, and so be careful if you choose the latter route.

While it’s usually a bad idea to turn off security measures meant to protect against known exploits, in this case, the damage that Intel’s bad microcode can cause clearly outweighs what Microsoft considers to be a negligible potential for harm. According to the company, there have been no known attacks based on Spectre Variant 2, at least as of Thursday, January 25.

Microsoft will likely issue a more widely available update once its official Patch Tuesday update rolls around next month. This emergency out-of-band update might be worth running in the meantime, though, particularly if any of your PCs have been acting a bit crazy since being updated with the Spectre fixes.

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Apple may launch three new Macs with Apple hardware inside in 2018

If you asked most fans what the hallmark of Apple products was, you would probably receive a few different responses. Many though, would likely cite how homegrown they can be. They use Apple-approved software, bought through Apple marketplaces, and, in some segments, use Apple hardware, too. According to one report, that is going to become more common in the near future, with as many as three new Mac models, possibly launching as soon as the end of 2018.

The most common place to spot Apple hardware is in its mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. However, in 2016 and 2017 Apple introduced the T1 and T2 co-processors, which offloaded some of the functions from the Intel CPU to the Apple design.

The report from Bloomberg highlights that only two Mac lines currently use those custom Apple processors: The MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and iMac Pro. However, it claims that Apple is working on “at least three” new Mac models that are built using its own custom processors, with plans to release them as soon as this year. The source is said to be someone “familiar with the matter.”

Where the report wasn’t specific is in what models we can expect to see refreshed with Apple hardware inside. It does suggest that it will include “updated laptops and a new desktop,” but doesn’t cite a range or model. It could be that with the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar utilizing an Apple T1, that we’ll see more MacBooks introduced using Apple co-processors. It is unlikely to relate to the MacBook Pro though, as previous reports suggested that we wouldn’t see anything meaningful from the MacBook Pro range in 2018.

Apple’s Jony Ive did recently state that Apple was well aware of concerns Mac fans had about the various Apple hardware ranges though, lending more credence to the rumor of a 2018 hardware refresh of some ranges.

Steve Jobs was a big fan of Apple building its own chips to put in its own products. Not only does it give Apple more control over the supply chain, but if it does the job right, it should mean better products and higher profit margins for Apple. Considering how dangerous the recent Spectre and Meltdown bugs proved to be, too, it may be that using its own hardware could make its products more secure.

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