Lyft wants to partner with cities to add bike and scooter sharing

With its announcement of Lyft Bikes and Scooters, San Francisco-based Lyft took another step to position itself as a force in multi-modal urban transportation and mobility. This announcement follows Lyft’s recent acquisition of Motivate, the largest U.S. bike-share operator.

According to Lyft president and co-founder John Zimmer, adding bicycles and scooters to the company’s platform will accelerate the demise of individual car ownership which, in his view, is a good thing. Zimmer and Lyft co-founder Logan Green characterize private vehicle use as a failed transportation model, especially for cities. “Just last year, 250,000 Lyft passengers gave up their cars,” Zimmer noted as a significant win.

In Lyft’s new initiative, Zimmer outlined four key tenets guiding the introduction of bikes and scooters: transportation equity, safer streets, transit integration, and environmental sustainability.

To promote greater transportation access and equity, Lyft will invest $1 million to support bike and scooter programs, partnering with local nonprofits and community groups such as TransForm. Part of the plan involves developing income eligible programs along with outreach efforts to get news of the programs to those who need it most.

Lyft will also work with groups like Together for Safer Roads to promote bicycle rider safety. Lyft is partnering with city mayors and other individuals and organizations working to expand protected bike lanes, reduce speeding, and curb preventable traffic violence in the Vision Zero endeavor.

Focused on first-mile and last-mile mobility, Lyft believes that most bike and scooter trips will start or end at transit stops. Integrating all transportation modes including local transit stops and rideshare pickup locations into the Lyft app will simplify mobility access for all.

The ridesharing company also announced a carbon neutral initiative to seek ways to offset emissions from Lyft rides, underscoring its statements about reducing transportation’s environmental impact.

Lyft’s co-founders point out that the bike and scooters addition to its transportation platform will benefit the growing Lyft Relief Rides program developed in partnership with United Way and 2-1-1, a free, confidential referral helpline that connects people with essential services. Lyft launched Relief Rides in June with a $1.5 million fund to provide free rides to people in need.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Lyft takes the bikesharing battle to Uber after buying largest operator in U.S.
• Lyft may join the party by putting its own electric scooters in San Francisco
• Lyft pledges to offset its carbon emissions, commits to carbon-neutral rides
• Uber vs. Lyft: Which ridesharing app goes the distance?
• Lyft’s All-Access subscription plan picks up steam, now boasts a wait-list

To celebrate World Emoji Day, Google’s blobmoji are back as sticker packs

Apparently, it’s World Emoji Day, and while that probably doesn’t mean much for most of us, for Google it means the return of what many consider to be the rightful emoji on Android — the blob emoji, or blobmoji.

For the uninitiated, blobmoji were basically the default emoji on Android for a number of years, before Google replaced them with more standard emoji last year. While the switch was largely aimed at keeping emoji a little more uniform across platforms, many still considered it an unwelcome change. Now, however, it looks like users once again have access to blobmoji, if they want it.

Technically, blobmoji were still available inside of Allo, Google’s now-fading messaging service that debuted in 2016. But most people don’t use Allo, and Google’s has even shifted development of the service to Android Messages, so it’s possible Allo will be depreciated entirely at some point.

But now there is a new way to access blobmoji, and that is through sticker packs in Gboard, Google’s mobile keyboard. According to The Verge, they will be coming to Android Messages too. Now, bringing blobmoji back in sticker packs isn’t quite as useful as returning them to their system-wide status, but it’s at least a consolation for long-time Android fans that have been missing blobmoji over the last year or so.

If you’re interested in getting the blobmoji sticker pack for yourself, you can do so straight from Gboard by downloading blobmoji as an add-on. The sticker pack doesn’t seem to have made its way to Android Messages just yet, but it will likely do so in the near future. There are a few other ways to get blobmoji on Android, but most of them are user-side only — meaning that when you send a blobmoji, only you will actually see it as a blobmoji, and the recipient will see it converted into a standard emoji.

There are other ways to check out blobmoji if you don’t want to download them as sticker packs. For example, you can check out the entire pack of blobmoji over at emojipedia.org, If you’re on iOS, you can even download an iMessage sticker pack — in case you’ve always felt left out of the magic of blobmoji as an iPhone user.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Google wants to replace texting
• Google Assistant: Everything you need to know
• Android P beta 3: Everything you need to know
• Google’s Android Messages for web finally lets you text on your computer
• Everything you need to know about Google’s Wear OS for smartwatches

Don’t let today end without checking out these Prime Day discounts on kids’ toys and baby essentials

You have just a few hours left.

Prime Day 2018 is slowly coming to a close and, luckily for the hopeful shoppers out there, there are still tons of deals in stock and new offers being uncovered by the Thrifter deal team. If you’ve been keeping up during the event, you’ve already witnessed the onslaught of discounts which arrived in waves over the past 24 hours. With so much going on at once, it’s easy for great deals to slip by, which is why we’ve put together the following guide to the best Prime Day discounts for kids’ toys and baby essentials. Of course, you’ll need a Prime membership to take advantage of any of these deals, but if you’re not yet a member, you can start a free 30-day trial to get in all of the discounts.

Though we’ve seen a wide variety of tech and home goods on sale during Prime Day 2018, toys and baby products didn’t seem to earn Amazon’s focus as much. In any case, there are some great deals to be found with a bit of searching, such as 20% discounts or more on Safety 1st car seats and nursery essentials which includes everything from cribs and mattresses to blankets and rocking chairs. You can also grab the Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ‘N Trike for only $56 right now; it’s versatile enough to support children from 9 months old up to five years old.

It’s about time to start stocking up the closet with Christmas presents too, which is why this 40% discount on a wide range of indoor toys is not worth missing out on. It features toys for all ages and includes options like board games and princess dolls. STEM toys are discounted up to 30% too, like the $150 Cozmo robot which can express hundreds of emotions and has a personality of its own.

However, no major sale on toys would be complete without discounts on Nerf and Lego products, and Prime Day is no exception. Nerf deals include the two-pack of Phoenix LTX Lazer Taggers for $45 and a Strike Pack Bundle for $40 which includes three Nerf blasters, 150 Elite darts, and a tactical vest. Meanwhile, Lego fans could grab the Air Race Jet kit on sale for $112 — almost $50 off its regular price — or the Batmobile set based on the Lego Batman Movie for just $39.

There are only a few hours left of Prime Day, so make sure to get everything you want in your cart and checkout before 3 AM EST hits on July 18. Head over to our best Prime Day deals page to take a last look and then start counting down the minutes ’til your packages arrive.

Best Remaining Prime Day Deals

As Prime Day winds down, the deals will start selling out.

Amazon’s Prime Day 2018 is in its final stretch, and the Thrifter team has sorted through thousands of products to find a few hundred of the best deals during the event. As expected, some deals sold out within minutes, and others lasted much longer than anticipated. Instead of trying to sort through all of the deals that have been posted to see what is or isn’t still available, we decided to make things easy for you.

Luckily, even after more than 24 hours have passed, some of our favorite deals are still going strong. From memory cards to RoboVacs, DNA testing kits, smart home supplies, and most of Amazon’s own hardware, so let’s break it down and let you know what you should still be buying.

Amazon Devices

Before the official Prime Day event even kicked off, Amazon slashed the price of its own Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle hardware by up to 50%. We anticipated a price drop across the lineup of devices but weren’t expecting so many of them to become so affordable. Amazon has already stated that the Fire TV Stick, which is down to just $20, was one of the best-selling Prime Day deals in the early results. With how many of these have likely sold already, it’s a bit crazy that more of them aren’t out of stock. Some do have slight shipping delays, so be sure to make note of that when placing your order.

• Fire TV Stick – $19.99 (Was $40)
• Fire TV Stick 4K – $34.99 (Was $70)
• Fire TV Cube – $89.99 (Was $120)
• Echo Dot (2nd-Gen) – $29.99 (Was $50)
• Echo Dot 2-pack – $49.99 (Was $100)
• Echo (2nd-Gen – $69.99 (Was $100)
• Echo Show – $129.99 (Was $230)
• Fire HD 7 Tablet – $29.99 (Was $50)
• Kindle – $49.99 (Was $69.99)
• Kindle Paperwhite – $79.99 (Was $100)

HDTVs

Whether you’re looking to step into the world of 4K or just grab a TV for the guest room, Prime Day has a bunch of great options available. Prices continue to drop on these feature-loaded TVs, and we are beginning to wonder just how low they can actually go. The biggest decision you’ll need to make here is whether you are most interested in Amazon’s Fire TV software or Roku’s offering since these have it built right into the TV.

• Toshiba 43-inch 4K Fire TV – $249.99 (Was $330)
• TCL 40-inch Roku Smart LED TV – $194.99 (Was $290)
• Hisense 43-inch 4K Smart LED TV – $239.99 (Was $350)
• TCL 32-inch Roku 720p Smart TV – $129.99 (Was $200)

Smart Home

Prime Day did not disappoint when it came to smart home gear this year. There were large discounts on everything from video doorbells to security cameras, smart bulbs, lights, and even locks for your front door. With discounted gear from Philips Hue, Ring, August and more, there are still a bunch of great deals you can take advantage of if you want to help lower the cost of your dream home. We are beginning to see shipping delays on a lot of these items, but that shouldn’t be a cause for concern. You can still get your orders in and lock in the discounted price, and Amazon will ship it as soon as they can.

• iRobot Roomba 671 – $229.99 (Was $350)
• Rachio 2nd-gen smart sprinkler controller – $149.99 (Was $250)
• Ring Video Doorbell Pro – $174 (Was $249)
• Ring Spotlight Camera – $139.99 (Was $199)
• Philips Hue Color Bulbs – $36.99 (Was $50)
• August Smart Lock Pro Bundle – $229.99 (Was $279)

More deals

There are a bunch of other great deals across a variety of categories that are still available. From personal care items to fashion accessories, digital media, video game must-haves and more, there’s simply too much to break out on its own. Here’s a small sample of what we think are the deals you just can’t miss out on, but for a full list of deals, you’ll want to check out this great roundup.

• Instant Pot Ultra 8-Quart – $119.95 (Was $180)
• SanDisk Plus 1TB SSD – $149.99 (Was $250)
• iOttie Car Mounts – Various Prices
• AeroPress Coffee Maker – $22.49 (Was $30)
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Headphones – $111.75 (Was $149)
• Tekton Combo Wrench Set – $29.15 (Was $40)
• $20 off $60 Home Essentials Purchase
• 20% off Movies and TV Show Blu-Rays

Every pet owner should purchase this Prime Day deal

Your cat will thank you.

I have news for you: your cat probably hates stagnant water. I know, I know, it’s a bombastic statement, because nobody knows how to raise your fur babies better than you do. But it’s true. If you have a kitty that craves running water from the faucet, you know what I’m talking about.

It’s not your fault. Blame evolution. For one, cats can’t see water very well, which is partially why they sometimes paw at the surface of the water bowl. If it’s running, though, they can hear the water just fine. In addition, standing water screams “unsafe” at our feline friends. In the wild, standing water is a haven for bacteria, so even indoor cats have an association with stagnant water as being potentially unsafe.

Running water is cooler and more oxygenated, so it tastes better. That means your cat will drink more of it. Look at it from a human perspective: would you rather have fresh, clear water straight from a spring, or drink from a glass that’s been sitting out for 24 hours? You’re starting to get the picture now, right?

Enter the PetSafe Drinkwell Water Fountain. Thanks to Prime Day, it’s on sale for just $19.57. That saves you $10 off the regular list price and gets you within a few cents of the best price it’s ever been. The deal is exclusive to Prime members, but you can score a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime if you need to gain access.

This fountain is ideal for cats, but it’ll work with smaller dogs as well. Simply fill the reservoir with water and plug the fountain in. It creates a free-fall stream that will entice your feline friend, which means they’ll drink more water. That creates a healthier kitty and it means you don’t have to constantly adjust your faucet to appease your finicky pet. The fountain is BPA-free and the plastic parts are dishwasher safe.

I have this fountain, and if you can’t tell, I adore it. It does have a few upkeep aspects. If you have hard water, you’ll want to clean it every few weeks to prevent buildup. I usually just run some vinegar through mine and it works out well. You can add some cleaning brushes to your order for only $5 for a deeper clean. Replacement filters are on sale too; you’ll need to replace the filter with each clean for the best experience.

The fountain is quiet, it hasn’t been more affordable since 2016, and most importantly, it will keep your pets happy and healthy. What could be better than that?

Be sure to check out the rest of the Prime Day cat deals as well as the best Prime Day deals. But remember: if you buy one thing, make it this PetSafe Drinkwell Fountain.

Instagram to Introduce Non-SMS Two-Factor Authentication to Prevent SIM Hacking

Instagram is planning to introduce a new two-factor authentication method that will not require a user’s phone number and will instead work with authentication apps like Google Authenticator, reports TechCrunch.

Authentication apps are a safer two-factor option than the phone number method, which can be bypassed through SIM hacking, as outlined earlier today by VICE’s Motherboard.

Image via TechCrunch
SIM hacking involves hijacking a person’s phone number by manipulating cellular service support staff and claiming a SIM card has been lost.

Creating a new SIM associated with the phone number allows it to be stolen, and if that phone number is associated with a social networking account, as it would be with Instagram’s current two-factor authentication method, the results can be devastating.

In Motherboard’s article, for example, SIM hacking is used to steal Instagram accounts, which can be lucrative when highly desired usernames are poached.

Instagram is especially vulnerable to this kind of attack because right now, when you turn on Instagram’s two-factor authentication, account codes and password reset requests are sent via your phone number.

Instagram has already been testing the new two-factor authentication method, with screenshots and details baked into the code for the Instagram Android app. This code was discovered by a TechCrunch tipster, who also shared screenshots.

An Instagram spokesperson confirmed the screenshots are legitimate and said Instagram is “continuing to improve the security of Instagram accounts, including strengthening 2-factor authentication.”

It is not yet clear when Instagram plans to roll out the new two-factor authentication method, but it could come soon as it appears to be nearly finished based on the screenshots.

Tag: Instagram
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Apple Stops Signing iOS 11.4 Following Launch of iOS 11.4.1

Following the release of iOS 11.4.1 on Monday, July 9, Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.4, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 11.4.1 will no longer be able to downgrade to earlier versions of iOS.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.

iOS 11.4.1 is now the only version of iOS 11 that can be installed on iOS devices by the general public, but developers and public beta testers can download iOS 12, the next-generation version of iOS that’s in beta testing ahead of a fall release.
Discuss this article in our forums

TicWatch-E Review: the best value in WearOS smartwatches

Let’s be honest, Android Wear wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire. Like iPads in the tablet world, the Apple Watch rules the smartwatch world. But, with WearOS, Google is making a strong push to try to save the struggling brand.

Unfortunately, newer features and better performance requires better hardware, and many of the original Android Wear watches are being left behind – even the venerable Moto 360.

And replacing them is pricy! Most WearOS-compatible watches are $200 or more, which is no joke considering you’ve likely already dropped $500+ on a phone it connects. MobVoi, though looks to make that hit a little more bearable with the Ticwatch E, a water-resistant WearOS smartwatch with modern features but a manageable pricetag.

Ticwatch E Features

The E – which stands for Express – comes with a number of modern smartwatch features, including WearOS (of course), a lightweight polycarbonate design, heart-rate monitor, GPS, Google Assistant, and a 48-hour battery.

It also features an IP67 rating – which means it’s waterproof up to 1m. MobVoi warns that it’s not “suitable for shower or swimming,” but that rating wouldn’t be given if it wasn’t certified. I even put it to the test by taking it to the lake, and it performed admirably.

Hardware-wise, the Ticwatch E is about on par with the rest of the smartwatch world. It’s powered by a MediaTek MT2601 1.2GHZ processor and 512MB RAM, with 4GB onboard storage.

It has a 1.4″, 400x400p OLED display, with 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy 4.1 for connectivity. There’s only so much oomph you can cram into a 45mm frame, and MobVoi has done about as well as can be expected here.

Ticwatch E Daily Use

From the first time I powered it on, the Ticwatch E performed better than my trusty second generation Moto 360. It’s snappier, smoother, and its battery lasts longer. The watch faces it comes pre-loaded with are…interesting, to say the least. Some of them are wildly garish, with very few of them anything resembling what you could call “understated.”

Luckily, the WearOS Play Store is packed tight with hundreds of apps to change your watch face, many of them with their own built-in marketplace. It was easy to find the one I wanted.

Unlike the Moto 360, which comes with a metal band and a charging dock in the box, the Ticwatch E includes a silicon band and a magnetic charging cable. And while both of those pieces are perfectly serviceable, it really reveals where MobVoi had to cut costs in order to provide the same specs as the Moto 360 for significantly less.

I personally bought a Myriann Charging Stand for my Ticwatch E, and it works great. It’s also easy to grab yourself a nicer band for the Ticwatch E, as it accepts standard 20mm bands. The included silicon band even includes quick-change pins, which are fantastically convenient.

In practice, that supposed 48-hour battery life is closer to about a day of heavy use. You can, perhaps squeeze two days by turning off ambient display and most notifications. The OLED screen definitely helps though, as it allows the screen to turn off pixels rather than dim them for the ambient display. It’ll always get you through a day of use, though – which should be comforting to most.

Value

When compared to most WearOs smartwatches (which routinely hit $250 or more) the Ticwatch E is an utter bargain. It features the same or comparable specifications as many of the top smartwatches on the market, without sacrificing too much in the looks department.

At $159.99, the Ticwatch E is a good $40 cheaper than most, though some lower-end attempts by Fossil and ASUS also hit that price point. Among the WearOS watches that come in under $200, I’d say the Ticwatch E is the best value.

Buy the Ticwatch E from Amazon for just $159.99

New light-emitting implant zaps cancer tumors with incredible precision

Toshinori Fujie

Remember that light-emitting tracking device that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character memorably pulls out of his nose in the 1990 movie Total Recall? A similar device might one day be implanted in your body to help you battle cancer.

The implantable device, which is held in place by sticky bioadhesive “nanosheets,” was developed by researchers at Japan’s Waseda University. It consists of an LED chip that’s wirelessly powered by NFC, the same technology used for mobile payment solutions like Apple Pay.

When tested under the skin of mice with cancer, the device was shown to be capable of effectively shrinking their tumors. It does this by using something called photodynamic therapy (PDT), a treatment which is already being used to fight some cancers. Photodynamic therapy requires the patient to take a drug that makes certain cells vulnerable to light. An endoscope is then used to shine light on the tumor for up to 45 minutes. However, this approach can make it difficult to control dosage, which is where the Waseda University’s new technology comes into play.

“The device can be easily pasted to the target tumor owing to the ultra-flexibility of [our] nanosheets, without conventional suturing,” Professor Toshinori Fujie, who led the research, told Digital Trends. “The beauty of this study is we succeeded in decreasing the light intensity, about 1,000-fold smaller than the conventional therapy, [so as to] avoid thermal damage of normal tissue — yet realized effective treatment of cancer by local light irradiation, thanks to the bio-adhesive nanosheet.”

According to Fujie, the approach could one day be used to help treat cancerous tumors in parts of the body like the brain or pancreas. These organs make it risky to use conventional cancer-treatment approaches, such as surgery or radiotherapy, because of the possibility of damaging surrounding healthy tissues, nerves, and blood vessels.

“Definitely, we should push forward this technology from benchside to bedside to improve the quality of life of patients,” Fujie continued. “We hope to start the translational research as soon as we solve the legal regulation in medical device developments. To this end, our next research is to consolidate the protocol and clinical design to show the effectiveness in the appropriate lesions, which cannot be accessed by conventional PDT, such as hard-to-detect micro-tumors and deeply located lesions.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

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MacBook’s price sliced for an Amazon Prime Day steal at $990

cheap macbook deals

The new school year is now officially just around the corner, which is evidenced by the book bags that are replacing beach chairs on store shelves. If you’re looking to purchase a new notebook for your student, Amazon’s Prime Day is offering a 12-inch Apple MacBook for a mere $989. It’s a solid MacOS-based laptop that’s thin, light and highly dependable, weighing in at a mere two pounds for easy portability.

This 12-inch MacBook, released in early 2016, sports a 12-inch screen with a 2,304 x 1,440 resolution. It’s backed by an Intel Core m5-6Y54 dual-core processor with a base speed of 1.2GHz and a boost speed of 2.7GHz. The graphics are handled by the processor’s integrated HD Graphics 515 component.

Other ingredients tossed into this MacBook include 8GB of LPDDR3 system memory (1,600MHz), 512GB of storage, a built-in FaceTime camera, Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, and a battery promising “all-day battery life.”

The drawback to this MacBook is that it provides a single USB-C port. Not only is it used to charge the MacBook, but it also provides support for data and video outputs. To expand the MacBook’s physical connections, you’ll need a USB-C hub with added ports for peripherals and/or an external display.

Amazon sells this MacBook in silver and gold finishes.

Buy Now

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and choose what we cover carefully and independently. If you find a better price for a product listed here, or want to suggest one of your own, email us at dealsteam@digitaltrends.com.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Save hundreds with the best MacBook deals for July 2018
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