SpaceX animation shows the ideal outcome for the Falcon Heavy launch

SpaceX will attempt to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time tomorrow. It’s no small feat and a lot could go wrong, but SpaceX has a released a video showing how the launch will work if everything goes according to plan.

The launch window is open from 1:30 to 4:00 PM Eastern and will take place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. You can see in the video that after it’s launched, two of Falcon Heavy’s three boosters will return to Earth, landing back at Kennedy Space Center. The third will keep traveling a ways further but will also eventually detach and land on one of SpaceX’s drone ships. Falcon Heavy’s payload — Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster carrying a space suit-clad dummy — will then continue on its path to Mars. That is, if everything goes well. Musk has said that there’s plenty of room for error. “There’s a real good chance that it does not make it to orbit,” Musk said at the ISS R&D conference last July. “I hope it gets far enough away from the launch pad that it does not cause pad damage –- I would consider that a win.”

We’ll be watching the launch attempt tomorrow and keeping you up to date on how it goes. We’ll also have a livestream of the event ready for you if you want to follow along. No matter what happens, tomorrow stands to be an incredibly exciting day and one that could push space travel technology further than it has ever been before.

Source: SpaceX

NVIDIA will power Continental’s self-driving car platform

German automotive components producer Continental has partnered with NVIDIA to produce a full-scale self-driving car platform. It will use the GPU maker’s autonomous vehicle hardware and software setup, DRIVE, to make a unified platform that prospective automakers and others can build their own self-driving cars upon.

NVIDIA will provide the Xavier chips, operating system and software from its DRIVE suite, while Continental will contribute its security certification know-how along with its own radar, LiDar and camera products. Both companies intend for their platform to provide clients with level 2 autonomy (smart cruise control like Tesla’s Autopilot feature) to level 5 (full self-driving capability without steering implements).

Continental is far from NVIDIA’s first autonomous driving partner. Despite losing a deal with Tesla, the company announced agreements throughout 2017 with Audi, Toyota, Volvo, Volkswagen and even Chinese tech giant Baidu to collaborate on different self-driving projects. Continental isn’t a newcomer to the field, either: Last year, they planned a test with Canadian autoparts manufacturer Magna to attempt the first autonomous car trip across the US-Canada border.

Source: TechCrunch

Apple Substituting Some 16GB iPhone 5c Models In Need of Replacement With 32GB Models

For the foreseeable future, Apple and Apple Authorized Service Providers will offer some customers who own a 16GB iPhone 5c that’s in need of replacement a 32GB model instead.

Apple shared the new directive with Apple Authorized Service Providers this morning.

“Orders for whole unit service inventory of iPhone 5c (16GB) models may be substituted to iPhone 5c (32GB) models until further notice,” reads the note that was sent out today.

Not all 16GB iPhone 5c replacements will be upgraded to 32GB devices instead, but some customers who take their iPhone 5c models in for repair for a manufacturing issue or other problem may see an upgrade to the larger capacity 32GB model.

Apple did not offer a reason why some 16GB iPhone 5c models are being replaced with 32GB models, but it’s often due to available supply at any given time.

The iPhone 5c was first introduced alongside the iPhone 5s in September of 2013, and it’s the only 4-inch iPhone that Apple has introduced with a colorful plastic exterior.

Apple stopped offering 16 and 32GB iPhone 5c models for sale in most countries in September of 2014, but continued selling an 8GB model until September of 2015. In India, the iPhone 5c was still available through February of 2016, but since that time, the iPhone 5c has been fully discontinued in all countries.
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Apple Music Gets New Head of Editorial With Hiring of Music Journalist Alex Gale

Music journalist Alex Gale has been named the new head of editorial for Apple Music, reports Variety. Gale has previously written for sites like Billboard, Complex, XXL, and Vibe.

Gale, who will work under Jen Robbins, the director of project management and editorial for Apple, will lead the team that’s responsible for all written content on Apple’s music platforms, including Apple Music, iTunes, Beats 1, and some video projects.

Written Apple Music content appears in interviews, Apple Music features, details on playlists, information on videos, album intros, and more.

News of Gale’s hiring comes just after Apple announced that Apple Music has grown to 36 million total subscribers around the world, a six million increase from the 30 million the company reported in September of 2017.

Tag: Apple Music
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