Uber reportedly preparing to sell its Southeast Asia business

Late last year Uber sold off its business in China to a competitor, and now it looks like the Southeast Asia region could follow a similar path. CNBC reports that it’s preparing to make a deal with Grab, a company that claimed to have 95 percent of ride-hailing business in the region last year. Grab was in the middle of raising a $2.5 billion round of investments from sources including (recent Uber investor) Softbank when it made that claim, and the rumored deal would give Uber a “sizable” stake in its competitor. If this happens, it could, like the company’s settlement with Waymo over trade secrets, help Uber pave the way for an IPO soon.

Source: CNBC

Facebook: Two-factor authentication spam was caused by a bug

A number of people have been receiving random notifications from Facebook after giving the social network their phone number for two-factor authentication. Worse, if they attempt to cancel that by replying to the message, say with STOP or CANCEL, Facebook would post their replies as a status update for all to see. Now, the social network has admitted that the issues were caused by a bug and promised to roll out a fix that will stop non-security-related notifications in the next few days.

Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos explained that the website didn’t intentionally spam people who signed up for two-factor using their phone numbers. After all, Facebook doesn’t want to deter people from signing up for 2FA. “[T]he last thing we want is for people to avoid helpful security features because they fear they will receive unrelated notifications,” he said.

The exec has also revealed that responses to the notifications got posted as status updates due to an old feature that allowed posting via test message. Obviously, that’s no longer as useful in a world where WiFi hotspots and mobile data are becoming more and more common. That’s why Facebook is now working to deprecate that feature, so those sick of getting random notifications can rage-reply to them without having to worry that their friends would witness their meltdown.

Until Facebook rolls out a fix, those affected by the bug can go to Settings > Notifications to switch off text notifications. (That’s what I did when I started getting these messages some months ago.) Those who’d rather not risk the same thing happening in the future can choose to use a physical key or one of those code-generating apps instead of giving their phone numbers to the social network.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Facebook

5 practical uses for Elon Musk’s impractical flamethrower

Let’s start with the obvious: Elon Musk is an interesting man. He proposed “warming up” Mars for human habitation by dropping thermonuclear weapons on it. He wants to alleviate Los Angeles’ traffic congestion by building tunnel networks below the city and using them to transport cars on high-speed electric sleds. He just sent one of his own $100,000 cars into space, presumably for the same reason that you used to melt G.I. Joes as a kid — because he could.

(We’re not buying the whole “experimental payload” line. Please. You wanted to shoot a car into space, and it’s fine. It’s your rocket.)

In a way, Elon Musk is the tech equivalent of the previous century’s big-game hunters. He’s always on the hunt for the next big trophy, the one that stops people in their tracks, the one people say he’s crazy to even attempt. Some of his “exploits” have no perceived value to anyone, but they make the rest of us want to get out there and do something equally daring. Or maybe 50 percent as daring. Because we don’t have anything like his bail money.

On Saturday, January 27, Musk opened a pre-sale for what must surely have been an idea scribbled on a bar napkin: flamethrowers. And all the brosephs rejoiced.

The flamethrower is being marketed by Musk’s new side hustle, an outfit called The Boring Company. Despite being priced at $500 (or maybe because of it), it only took five days for the first run of flamethrowers to be claimed by mayhem-makers around the globe.

These would-be Rambos may have to wait a while to get their new toys, however. Certain countries’ customs agencies have stated their objections to shipping anything labeled “flamethrower.”

Apparently, some customs agencies are saying they won’t allow shipment of anything called a “Flamethrower”. To solve this, we are renaming it “Not a Flamethrower”.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2018

In response, Musk floated a few name changes out on his Twitter, like “Not a Flamethrower” and “Temperature Enhancement Device.” And all the brosephs retweeted.

It only made the situation better when California Assemblyman Miguel Santiago intervened on this bro-fest in classic vice principal fashion, announcing his intention to introduce legislation to ban sales of the flamethrower in the state of California.

In response, Musk posted a faux-PSA on Instagram, showing himself running while lighting the flamethrower. The caption reads: “Don’t do this. Also, I want to be clear that a flamethrower is a super terrible idea. Definitely don’t buy one. Unless you like fun.”

And all the brosephs bowed down.

The flamethrower is drawing criticism from more than just party-pooper politicians. Many say it more resembles an Airsoft rifle that functions like a blowtorch, making for a certain buzzkill on those visions of Rambo grandeur.

Or maybe “Temperature Enhancement Device”

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2018

Whatever, man. It’s a handheld gun that shoots fire. So maybe it’s not a real flamethrower by the strictest definition. So maybe it doesn’t shoot as far as a certain Arizona-based company’s flamethrowers. There are still lots of ways to put the Boring Company’s latest to to good, even practical use. And we’ve highlighted our top five.

(And no, we don’t mean roasting nuts. That was a dumb joke, Elon. Stick to your strengths.)

No. 1: Home Security

Picture a burglar breaking into your house. Now picture yourself coming at that burglar from the top of the stairs, swinging a flaming rifle. It’s enough to scare any criminal straight. Even if you should hurt yourself in the effort (as is entirely likely with such reckless use of the flamethrower), no intruder wants to f*** with the guy writhing on the floor wrapped in flames. Not unless he’s as crazy as you are.

No.2: De-icing a Driveway

Salt ruins your wheel wells. Sand is a pain to clean up. Wouldn’t it be ideal if your driveway was just dry? Pop in your earbuds, put on some death metal, and go to town on that slab of concrete. That new “dad/husband/brother/roommate of the year” coffee mug is practically yours.

No. 3: In the Kitchen

Whether you’re finishing off a vat of creme brûlée, or adding some nice singe marks to an entire roasted pig, the flamethrower will give you Costco-level value for your time and effort. Love that smoked flavor effect in your cocktail? Treat the entire neighborhood by felling a tree, surrounding it with highball glasses filled with whisky, then unleashing the flame and quickly tenting it with a heavy-duty tarp. Wait about 60 seconds for the flavor to infuse, then finish with bitters and a twist. Be sure to save a couple for the firefighters when they show up.

No. 4: Clearing Unwanted Foliage

Honestly, this is probably why Assemblyman Santiago took such issue with the Boring Company’s flamethrower promotion. In the wake of the gnarliest wildfire season ever, a 6-foot jet of flame is the last thing a California homeowner needs for lawncare. But for those in more humectant climates, the flamethrower can make quick work out of Bermuda grass, kudzu vine, and that backyard vegetable garden that you sort of forgot about. Plus, it’s a well-known fact that soil pH, carbon, and nutrient levels increase after burning. So you’re not just saving time, you’re actually improving your yard. (Memorize that for when the homeowner’s association guy comes by.)

No. 5: Getting Attention

This may well have been the inspiration for the flamethrower sale in the first place. The Boring Company’s first venture was selling ball caps. Some speculate the flamethrower thing is just a way flashier ball cap, i.e., a stunt designed to raise visibility around Musk’s Boring Company. Because, you know, even Elon Musk is afraid of being forgotten about.

Point is, the whole point of a domestic flamethrower is to draw attention. We suggest undertaking any (or all) of the previous four uses on behalf of someone you’ve been working up the courage to talk to. De-ice their driveway. Clear their front garden out for spring planting. Think of it as a John Cusack holding the boombox over his head type of move, but way more practical. If they don’t appreciate it, they don’t deserve you.

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Google’s idea for radar-based gesture control could change the remote forever

Remote controls are functional, but they’re … well, boring. Ever since the remote went wireless, they’ve been mostly the same. Even as hardware remotes are replaced with apps on our phones, they’re still not as useful as they could potentially be. That could be about to change, however, as recent patent filings indicate that Google could be working on a radar based control interface that could revolutionize not just how we control our TVs, but many of the devices in our homes, from refrigerators to laptops.

The technology would require two parts: A transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter could be a device you wear on your wrist — i.e., a smartwatch — or it could be built into your phone, while the receiver would be built into the product you want to control. The transmitter would emit a radar field, as shown in the image below, that would sense your gestures and transmit them to the receiver. The same field could even be used to both sense gestures and transmit them, though that wouldn’t have to be the case.

Google’s patent application mentions an example where a user wants to transmit a playlist of songs from her smartphone to a stereo system. She could simply point her phone at the stereo system, and make a gesture between the phone and the stereo system, sweeping the songs on to the stereo. By making other motions within the field, she could control playback, turn up the volume, or any other number of actions.

There have been some attempts at gesture-based control systems in the past, but most of them, have ranged from awkward to use to nearly nonfunctional. In the case of this potential system, we’ve already seen a similar technology from Google in Project Soli, which was capable of tracking extremely precise movements, like turning a virtual dial. We haven’t seen any products actually using the technology, but it certainly showed potential.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that this may never happen. Companies patent things all the time, and many of these patents go unused. In this case, however, Google filed two separate patents for the same technology: One for use in the home, and another for use in vehicles. This could indicate that the company is either currently or will soon be working on products using this technology.

We’ll see this type of control come eventually, regardless of who offers it first, but Google’s idea does look like one we want to try.

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SpaceX plans to launch its first ‘Starlink’ broadband satellites this weekend

Elon Musk likely silenced his naysayers forever (or at least for a few months) after the successful (and rather awe-inspiring) launch of the Falcon Heavy earlier in February, and now, the entrepreneur is headed back into space with yet another project that at one point seemed far-fetched. Musk has long outlined plans to launch low-orbiting satellites to beam high-speed internet to folks around the world as part of a program called “Starlink,” and now, it looks like those plans are coming to fruition. Really, when it rains, it pours success for Musk’s extraterrestrial endeavors.

Now targeting February 18 launch of PAZ from SLC-4E to allow for additional time for pre-launch systems checks. Falcon 9 and payload remain healthy.

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 16, 2018

According to a letter posted to the FCC’s website earlier this week, it would appear that the first couple satellites of what is eventually slated to be an entire fleet will go into orbit this weekend. The experimental satellites are named Microsat-2a and -2b, and will launch (of course) on a SpaceX rocket — specifically a Falcon 9 rocket. In addition, the rocket will be carrying a radar observation satellite from the Spanish government. This satellite, called “Paz,” is meant to capture footage of the Earth at a highly detailed scale. And as exciting as that is, chances are that Starlink will still be the star of the show.

As CNET reported, the FCC actually granted SpaceX a license to launch the first Starlink satellites late in 2017. In SpaceX’s original application, the company noted its objectives, writing, “In addition to proving out the development of the satellite bus and related subsystems, the test program for the Microsat-2a and -2b spacecraft will also validate the design of a phased array broadband antenna communications platform.”

SpaceX has been quite tight-lipped about the entire enterprise, and has not made an official comment regarding the imminent launch of its first two test satellites in the project. That said, Joy Dunn, the company’s senior manager of new product introduction, did take to Twitter to drop a hint (though it’s since been deleted). It read, “Really looking forward to this one” with two satellite emojis, and linked to a SpaceX tweet about the successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 that is slated to go into space soon.

Whether or not SpaceX chooses to talk about Starlink now, we could soon be reaping its benefits should the promise of satellite-based Wi-Fi come to fruition. Until then, we’ll just have to patiently await the takeoff of the Falcon 9. The rocket is slated to go to space on Sunday, February 18, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in in Santa Barbara County, California.

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The latest weapon in the fight against potholes? Your smartphone

Keeping tabs on the quality of roadways isn’t an easy job. With tens of thousands of miles for public officials to monitor, and a limited budget to do so with, it’s no surprise that some public roads can fall into a state of disrepair that makes them unpleasant to drive on.

That’s something a tech company with the brilliant (if you love puns as much as we do!) name RoadBotics is hoping to help solve. It has developed some smart AI algorithms that work with the cameras found in smartphones to continuously monitor road conditions as drivers travel around the United States. Its deep learning technology is designed to spot the kind of anomalies that experienced roadway inspectors are trained to identify. It then uses this data to create a dynamic map so that public officials can understand the status of their roads, streets, bike paths, walkways and bridges in almost real-time.

“We use a standard smartphone and any vehicle, in combination with our cloud-based deep learning platform, to assess the quality of roadways including road surfaces, signage and other common features of urban, rural roads and highways,” RoadBotics CEO Mark DeSantis told Digital Trends. “A standard cell phone is mounted anywhere on a dash or windshield with the phone’s camera pointed forward. The app is turned on and begins collecting video data. That video data is stored on the phone until the the phone sees a friendly Wi-Fi, at which point all of the image data is automatically uploaded to our platform, which then produces a multicolored road network assessment map.”

The technology is currently being used in 22 municipalities, towns, cities, and counties across eight states. DeSantis said that the first deployment outside the U.S. is set to be announced soon.

“Currently, we collect the data on behalf of our customers to add to our customer’s convenience as well as learn in detail some of the challenges with collecting data,” he said. “However, we’ve been testing several fleet, customer and even crowd-sourced data collection tools.”

Whether private citizens would be willing to collect data for their public officials in exchange for better maintained roadways remains to be seen. Hey, maybe local governments could throw in a small tax credit as a thank you to users who were happy to help!

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A drone and helicopter reportedly collide in South Carolina

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

A drone may be the cause of a recent helicopter crash in South Carolina. If the unmanned flying object is determined to be the at fault, this will mark the first drone-related crash of an aircraft in the U.S, Bloomberg reports. On Wednesday, February 14, a student pilot and an instructor told the Charleston Police Department that a small drone materialized directly in front of their helicopter, causing the aircraft to veer off course. While the instructor took the controls in order to avoid colliding with the drone, the tail of the copter snagged either a tree or brush, resulting in a crash landing.

Luckily, no one was hurt in the incident, although the helicopter didn’t quite escape unscathed — Bloomberg reports that the tail of the aircraft “appeared to have significant damage.” While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the helicopter went down around 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday, it did not reveal whether or not a drone may have been involved. That said, the National Transportation Safety Board has been made aware of initial reports suggesting the involvement of a UAV, and is compiling further information, per a statement from the NTSB.

The incident underscores the importance of strict drone regulations, many of which are already in place throughout the U.S. For example, drones are generally only legally permitted to be flown within 400 feet off the ground, and must stay within sight of its human operator at all times. Moreover, drones are meant to steer clear of any traditional aircraft. But in the numerous drone safety issues that have arisen over the years, the vast majority involve illegal flights.

In the case of the South Carolina incident, the quadcopter seemed to be a Phantom drone, which is manufactured by DJI, one of the most popular drone makers in the world. Unfortunately, neither the drone nor its operator has been located.

“DJI is trying to learn more about this incident and stands ready to assist investigators,” the company said in a statement. “While we cannot comment on what may have happened here, DJI is the industry leader in developing educational and technological solutions to help drone pilots steer clear of traditional aircraft.”

This isn’t the only recent incident involving one of these unmanned aircraft and larger, traditional planes and helicopters. On Wednesday, Canadian authorities reported a crash involving a drone and a charter plane. The FAA also said earlier in the week that it was investigating whether an air-tour helicopter ran into a drone in Hawaii.

“The likelihood that a drone will collide with an airline aircraft is increasing,” trade group Airlines for America wrote in a letter to a letter to Congress this week, along with the Air Line Pilots Association and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. But outside of an outright ban on drones, it’s unclear as of yet exactly what can be done to mitigate these incidents.

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Purdue’s microbots are designed to wander around inside your body

“All-Terrain Microbots” sounds like it should be the name of a 1980s cartoon, accompanied by its own toy line and sugary breakfast cereal. In fact, it’s a description of the tiny microscale magnetic tumbling robots being created by researchers at Purdue University. And don’t laugh, because they may one day just save your life!

Sized 400 by 800 millionths of a meter, making them smaller than a pinhead, the dumbell-shaped microbots move by tumbling end-over-end. This unusual form of locomotion is powered by magnetic fields, and makes it possible for the microbots to travel across uneven surfaces like bumps and trenches.

“What is neat about our design is that we have come up with a way to tailor the magnetic properties of the robot that will cause it to tumble in different ways when subjected to a rotating magnetic field,” David Cappelleri, an associate professor in Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering and director of Purdue’s Multi-Scale Robotics and Automation Lab, told Digital Trends. “This allows it to tumble over different types of rough, bumpy, and sticky surfaces in both dry and wet conditions. Getting a microrobot to traverse terrains like this is a challenge since surface forces like friction and stiction dominate at the microscale. By tumbling the robot over these different terrains, we avoid having to try and pull or push the robot around and have it getting stuck.”

Purdue University

According to Cappelleri, the robots have been specifically designed for medical use, with a hollow midsection area that could one day be used to carry a drug payload for delivery in the body. Because commercial MRI machines in hospitals already generate magnetic fields, these could be programmed to apply rotating magnetic fields able to drive the robots to their target location where the drug is to be administered.

So will the doctors of the future be telling patients to “take two all-terrain microbots and call them in the morning” then? Possibly, but there is still work to be done before we reach that point.

“Recently, we have been focused on the fundamental research side of things to obtain the best locomotion of the robots in different terrains and environmental conditions,” Cappelleri said. “Next, we plan to focus on closed-loop control of the robots as well as different payload designs. We are interested in commercializing these in the future, but we still have these and some other basic research questions to answer first.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Micromachines.

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Scientists invent an onion that doesn’t make you cry. Checkmate, Mother Nature

D-Keine/Getty Images

We love cooking with onions, but we hate chopping them up — and we’re far from alone. That is because onions produce a chemical irritant when cut, which stimulates the eyes’ lachrymal glands to make you cry. You won’t have to suffer for much longer, though.

The “Sunion,” a new type of onion created by nutrition company Bayer, promises to end countless agonizing cooking sessions by no longer bringing large numbers of knife-wielding chefs to tears. Thirty years in the making, the breakthrough vegetable wasn’t created using any cutting edge (and therefore controversial) genetic modification, but rather the old-fashioned method of cross-breeding to eradicate the volatile compounds that are responsible for tearing.

Best of all? Unlike a lot of the research we cover, this isn’t some promising bit of research and development that may land on shelves years, or even decades, from now — but rather produce that will be available for sale at a store near you as soon as next month.

“Sunions are a breakthrough product and a game-changer in the kitchen thanks to their unique tearless quality,” Lyndon Johnson, senior crop sales manager at Bayer, told Digital Trends. “They are sweet with a great crunch and consistently delicious. Unlike other onions that become more pungent over time, Sunions become sweeter every day. Once harvested, Sunions are stored and consistently tested to establish when they will be ready to ship. Unlike any other onion variety, a sensory panel with full authority and power to determine ship dates follows a tightly-controlled protocol that includes both flavor and tearlessness.”

Johnson explained that this is the Sunion’s first season, with the initial crop appearing in mid-December. At present, they are being grown only in Nevada and Washington, although this could expand in future as they become more popular. Johnson suggests that they will be available for sale across the United States in March or early April. “We see the market growing nationwide in upcoming seasons and plan to ship around five million boxes of Sunions in five years,” he said.

It’s almost worth shedding tears of joy. Soon we will be able to put away the onion-slicing goggles for the last time!

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Microsoft’s Cortana is finally on IFTTT

Microsoft keeps striving to find Cortana a place in the crowded smart assistant market, and despite losing a minor feature, it’s still adding functionality. Today, Cortana added IFTTT, and launched with interactions to link it up with 550 apps and devices.

Cortana lags behind some of its peers in this field, too: Google Assistant added IFTTT functionality in October 2016, while Amazon’s Alexa included an IFTTT channel the year before. But if you’ve committed to Microsoft’s voice assistant, at least you can set up your own interactions — and create your own ‘applets’ for free now given IFTTT’s free ‘maker’ tier.

Source: IFTTT blog