BMW M550i review: Equal parts luxury and power

Cruising along on the autobahn at 220 kilometers per hour (136 miles per hour) is equal parts exciting and anxiety-inducing because my brain can’t shake the feeling I’m still breaking the law. That concern didn’t stop when I pulled over. I also experienced some apprehension about using BMW’s Display Key to control the $73,900 BMW M550i sedan.

The Display Key with its tiny touchscreen basically replaces a lot of the features found in a car’s companion app. Drivers can lock and unlock doors, set the temperature in the car and check on their fuel level from a range of about 980 feet.

I wasn’t nervous about using the key fob to check on the car’s status, though. It’s the key’s ability to act as a remote control that lets you pull the vehicle in and out of a parking space without you sitting in the automobile that had me a little freaked out.

I was nervous because even though while it is parking the car is traveling at only 1 mile per hour and uses its sensors to keep from running into other vehicles, I started thinking “what if it hits the other car and oh great now I’m in Germany with a wrecked car and a rightfully angry driver yelling at me.” It turns out that this worry, like my concern about driving fast, it was misplaced.

While pulling into a space in a parking lot, if you know there’s not going to be enough room to exit the vehicle, the driver can use the key fob’s Remote Control Parking option while standing outside the M550i. Just get out, press the parking button, and with the controls on the tiny display, pull the car into the space. Of course, you still have to make sure you don’t accidentally run into anything. BMW says the car’s sensors will bring it to a stop once it determines you’re completely in the space, but it’s still on you to stop any potential collisions.

The thing is, I would never pull into a spot like that (unless it’s an assigned spot in a tight urban garage). If there’s not enough room to open my doors, there’s not enough room for the other vehicles and now you’ve either stopped someone from getting into her car, or you risk someone dinging your car. If I return and I’m boxed in on either side, that’s where the Remote Control Parking makes the most sense. I can just pull out and be on my way.

The Display Key sounds great, but the limited range stops it from being a must-have feature. With a range of fewer than a 1,000 feet, it’s helpful when the car is parked in front of your home or work. At, let’s say, the mall, it becomes less beneficial because the car is out of range. At that point, you would use the BMW Connected app on your smartphone. Just whip out your phone and you can take care of most of the key’s features not counting the remote parking.

So the key feels a bit gimmicky, but because of the parking feature, it’s actually quite useful in certain situations. And frankly, it’s only one element of a car that’s stuffed with tech.

When I was actually driving, BMW’s semi-autonomous adaptive cruise control and lane-keep-assist proved to be a blessing while I was stuck in Munich gridlock. The car handled slow-moving and stop-and-go traffic with zero issues. I can’t stress this enough: If you’re about to buy a car, splurge on the driver’s assistance package. Especially if you commute. You can thank me later.

One thing I do want to note is how much I liked the HUD (heads up display). BMW seems to have figured out how to layout a ton of information (speed, directions, alerts when you’re following too closely, etc.) without it feeling crowded.

The BMW infotainment system is still a solid gateway to navigation, media and a host of other features. You can use the touchscreen, but unless I was using CarPlay (still a $300 option, which is ridiculous), I relied on the control knob in the center console.

Also because that controller is where your hand sits at the end of the center armrest near the shifter, I could stay planted firmly in my seat instead of leaning forward to reach the touchscreen. Not deviating from the preferred sitting position is important when you’re driving fast, and you will want to drive fast because the M550i is quick. The 4.4-liter twin turbo V8 engine will get you from zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds. Plus, it’s an all-wheel-drive vehicle that has 456 horsepower and 480 pounds of torque, so all that power is firmly planted on the ground when you stomp on the accelerator.

Yes, it’s crammed with a lot of power, but it’s also comfortable. It’s a luxury sedan that even after a long day of driving in multiple conditions, I was sad to exit and hand back to BMW.

But it sits in a weird place in the 5 Series lineup. It has more performance than your typical 5 Series (the car maker’s midlevel luxury sedan), but it’s not completely an M vehicle (the automaker’s high-performance brand) with all the power and tuned suspension that would imply. It’s a bit of a happy medium and you notice that in the corners. It does an outstanding job as a luxury sedan, but if you judge it while taking sharp corners as a sport sedan (an M car), it’s not quite there. Which is totally fine because the starting price for an M5 sedan is $102,600, and most folks who buy that car will rarely get a chance to push it to its limit.

The M550i I tested with all the bells and whistles was about $88,000. Sure, an M5 will blow it away in the corners and in a straight line, but we don’t always need an insanely powerful car to get around. The M550i is “good enough.” If that sounds like a compromise, it’s not. The slightly more powerful 5 Series is an enjoyable cruiser that’ll leave you with some extra cash in the bank. And if your door is blocked when you leave your financial institution, you can use the Display Key to pull out.

Source: BMW

How to load movies onto your Oculus Go

Loading videos on to your Oculus Go is a breeze. Here’s how to do it!

So you couldn’t deny that great price point and you went ahead and bought yourself an Oculus Go. You’ve spent a little time with it. You’ve played with a few apps and gotten ensconced in a few games. However, you are now ready to watch some of your own movies on this modern wonder.

Whether you are working with a Windows system or MacOS, it’s a breeze to do. Here’s how!

Windows

Connect your Oculus Go to your PC with a micro USB cable.
In your headset, you will have to give your PC permission to gain access. Select Allow Access to Data.
Once you are connected to your PC, the Autoplay feature should open. If it does, select Open Device to View Files.

If Autoplay does not start, you can manually browse to Oculus Go Storage through File Explorer. It will be named VR-Headset.

Once you have your VR-Headset open, select Internal Shared Storage.

Open the folder named Movies.

You can now drag and drop videos into the storage of your Oculus Go.

MacOS

Download the File Transfer Tool from Android and install it on your Mac.
Connect your Oculus Go to your Mac with a micro USB cable.
Open the File Transfer Tool you just installed.
In your headset, you will have to give your computer permission to gain access. Select Allow Access to Data.

A folder named VR-Headset should automatically open

Now open the folder called Movies.

You can now drag and drop videos directly into your Oculus Go

Whether you’re watching some home movies or The Star Wars Holiday Special, you can now kick up your virtual feet and enjoy watching whatever you choose. The virtual world is now your oyster.

NASA’s InSight lander is on its way to Mars

The first NASA mission that will look into the Martian interior is now on its way to the red planet. NASA’s Mars InSight lander has launched on top of a ULA Atlas V rocket and is a historic launch in several ways. In addition to being the agency’s first spacecraft to study the Martian subsurface, it’s NASA’s first lander since the Phoenix arrived on the planet in 2008. The Curiosity followed the Phoenix four years later, but as we all know, the car-sized spacecraft that loves taking selfies is a rover.

InSight is also the first NASA interplanetary mission to launch from the West Coast, particularly from Space Launch Complex 3E at the US Air Force Vandenberg Base. After it arrives on the planet on November 26th, (around 3PM Eastern time), it will deploy a seismometer and a heat probe to detect Marsquakes and monitor the flow of heat. Its findings will help us better understand what’s underneath the Martian surface, such as how thick its crust is. The data it sends back could also shed light on how rocky planets and their natural satellites are formed — including our own.

LIFTOFF! Humanity’s next mission to Mars has left the pad! @NASAInSight heads into space for a ~6 month journey to Mars where it will take the planet’s vital signs and help us understand how rocky planets formed. Watch: https://t.co/SA1B0Dglms pic.twitter.com/wBqFc47L5p

— NASA (@NASA) May 5, 2018

Source: NASA

Google Chrome will now block autoplay videos based on user preferences

alexeyboldin/123RF

Your days of being startled by a video that seems to begin playing out of nowhere on your browser will soon come to an end. In its most recent update (which brings us to Google Chrome 66), Google Chrome has begun to automatically block autoplay videos based on your preferences, which could cut down on the number of times you have to frantically mute your computer while trying to determine where that infernal noise is coming from.

In a recent blog post, Google Chrome product manager John Pallett wrote that “a significant number” of autoplay videos are axed by users who don’t want them — either by muting, pausing, or closing out of the tabs altogether — within only six seconds of the videos’ start. This demonstrated to Google that many Chrome users have absolutely no use for videos that begin unannounced and unwanted, and consequently, the search giant has addressed the issue.

With this new update, if you stop an autoplay video on a website, Chrome will remember this preference, and block any subsequent autoplay videos the next time you visit the site. On the other hand, if you’re alright with the videos that are triggered automatically on some other websites, Chrome will allow those to keep playing undeterred.

But wait, you say — I’ve just started using Chrome, so how will Google know what I prefer? For those folks, Chrome will allow for autoplay videos to proceed on more than 1,000 websites where most other Chrome users allow videos to play with sound. However, the more you use Chrome, the better the browser becomes at understanding your personal do’s and don’t’s, and will make adjustments accordingly.

Ultimately, Pallett writes, the new policy will block around 50 percent of autoplay videos that you want nothing to do with, which should cut down on the noisiness of your browser quite significantly.

While this learning feature is a new tool from Chrome, you can actually already select to disable audio on certain websites if you’re running Google Chrome 64. You just have to right click on your website tab and select “mute site” in order to never hear anything from that particular page again.

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You could win $200,000 playing Quake in August

QuakeCon/Facebook

QuakeCon 2018’s version of the “peace, love and rockets” of years past is set to give Bethesda fans a full weekend of classic gaming action while looking forward to future games. For the first time in the event’s history, the exhibition hall will be opened for the full weekend, giving visitors plenty of time to look around. For those looking for competitive gaming action though, the best Quake Champions players in the world will also be competing for their share of a $200,000 prize pool.

Although plenty of gaming companies hold large events to hype up their next games and celebrate their back catalog, QuakeCon is a little different. With a major focus on the bring-your-own-computer (BYOC) LAN party feel of the event, it combines classic gaming with big prizes and an event hall full of exhibitors, with much of the organizing and production handled by eager volunteers.

QuakeCon will be much the same this year when fans gather for what will be the 23rd event of its kind. But it’ll be much bigger than ever before. The BYOC arena will be twice as large as last year and the keynote address and panels are returning, giving new details on upcoming Bethesda games and the wider communities of existing games. The exhibition hall is going to be open all day every day, too, running from Friday through Sunday.

There will be plenty of competitive play in the Esports area of this year’s QuakeCon, as well as in the BYOC arena. And for those who want to see the best players in the world take each other on, the QuakeCon Open will have $200,000 up for grabs and that should bring top-tier Quake competitors to the gaming table.

Tickets for those who want to simply walk around and soak in the atmosphere while visiting the exhibitions will, as usual, be entirely free. Those wanting to join the BYOC party, however, will need to splash out $75 for a ticket. You can also spend $200 or $400 for additional privileges like priority BYOC seating, priority event access, customer service, and a BYOC seating upgrade.

QuakeCon 2018 ticket registrations are coming soon, with the event itself set to take place between August 9 and 12 at the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine, Texas.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• The History of Battle Royale: From Mod to Worldwide Phenomenon
• Super Smash Bros. game will headline Nintendo’s E3 2018 festivities
• Get ready, gamers — E3 2018 tickets go on sale to the public February 12
• From ‘Anthem’ to ‘Smash Bros. on Switch,’ here are the games coming to E3 2018

We scanned all the brands to find the best scanners for every need

Looking for a scanner for the office, professional photos, or just your at-home receipts? Today’s digital scanners excel at taking the work out of scanning with a bunch of advanced image optimization and the ability to transfer PDFs immediately to the cloud storage of your choice. They’re an ideal choice when a mobile scanning app just won’t work.

So let’s take a closer look at the top scanners on the market for homes, business, and professional freelancer use—all at a variety of prices so you can find the best one for your budget!

The best

Canon CanoScan LiDE220 ($90)

If your needs are smaller and you don’t want to spend several hundred dollars on a new scanner, this friendly Canon model should be much more your speed. For under $100 it provides auto scan modes, automatic setting adjustment, and document spacing fixes for clearer images. It also includes cloud compatibility with services such as Dropbox and Evernote.

All in all, it’s a quite versatile scanner that’s at home on an office desk or in a personal study room. However, with that low price you are also giving up a lot of speed: It takes the model about 10 seconds to scan one letter-sized page, which is quite slow if you have a lot of paperwork.

Buy it now at:

Amazon

The rest

Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 ($500)

This speedy Fujitsu model is the ideal choice if you have a lot of documents to scan (and expect to do a lot of scanning for the foreseeable future, too). It use an intelligent scan with color detection, auto rotation for any upside pages, and automatic skipping for blank pages, so you don’t have to waste time organizing every single page. It’s also fast enough to scan up to 25 double-sided pages per minute, and it can handle sizable stacks of records, up to 50 pages at a time. Plus, we’re big fans of the minimalist design and control option s(which include scanning via Wi-Fi. When done, the ScanSnap saves docs as PDFs (or other common formats), and you have an option to send them directly to popular cloud services like Dropbox or Drive.

Overall, it’s an excellent heavier-duty scanner, which is why the price is a bit high for the average office scanner. However, it is almost entirely focused on traditional document scanning as opposed to photos, receipts, or other content, so it may not be the right fit for everyone.

Buy it now at:

Amazon

Visioneer RoadWarrior 4D Mobile Scanner ($132)

For those who like the idea of a mobile scanner, this Visioneer model is one of the best mobile scanners around. It has many of the same capabilities as a more expensive office scanner, including scanning both sides of the page at once, the ability to share scans, and a continuous feed mode for fast work.

It’s a great solution to scanning in receipts and other at-home items with a device that’s good for casual use and can be moved around as needed. However, note that it is USB power only, so you’ll need a computer, laptop, or some other USB port nearby to use this.

Buy it now at:

Amazon

Epson WorkForce ES-400 ($350)

Maybe you’re looking for a heavy-duty office printer, but for a lower price than some of the models that we’ve talked about. This WorkForce model is more affordable, but still a reliable professional scanner with excellent specifications, including speeds up to 35 pages per minute (at 300 dpi), double-sided scanning, , and a 50-page document feeder.

Cloud scanning options offer uploads to Drive, Evernote, SharePoint and other common choices. You can also enable some smart scanning options like auto cropping and blank page removal, although it’s not as feature-rich as some of our picks.

Buy it now at:

Amazon

Epson Perfection V800 ($800)

The Perfection is a strong choice if, in addition to document scanning, you also need high-quality photo or image scans. It offers up to 6400 dpi scanning resolution to capture every detail, and offers some great color replication as well. You can also choose between two different lenses, with an extra-high resolution lens to push quality even further.

The model also comes with a number of additional features for photo capture, including a series of film holders, software to adjust the results, and smart dust/scratch removal to get rid of defects in physical photos. On the downside, there’s no feeder option for fast document scanning, so photos need to be your primary focus.

Buy it now at:

Amazon

Editors’ Recommendations

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Nvidia shuts down its GeForce Partner Program, citing misinformation

Nvidia’s GeForce Partner Program (GPP) is shutting down due to the company’s unwillingness to battle “untruths” and “rumors” surrounding the platform, the company said on Friday, May 4. The company launched GPP at the beginning of March so that gamers know what they’re buying when shopping for a new gaming PC. With this program, partners would provide full transparency regarding the installed hardware and software in their products. 

“The new program means that we’ll be promoting our GPP partner brands across the web, on social media, at events and more,” Nvidia’s John Teeple said. “And GPP partners will get early access to our latest innovations, and work closely with our engineering team to bring the newest technologies to gamers.” 

Shortly after the launch, unnamed sources from add-in card and desktop/laptop manufacturers came forward to reveal that the program will likely hurt consumer choice. Even more, they worried that some of the agreement language may actually be illegal while the program itself could disrupt the current business they have with AMD and Intel. They also revealed one major requirement: The resulting product sports the label “[gaming brand] Aligned Exclusively with GeForce.” 

As an example, if Asus wanted to add its Republic of Gamers (RoG) line to Nvidia’s program, it wouldn’t be allowed to sell RoG products with AMD-based graphics. Of course, manufacturers can choose whether or not to join Nvidia’s program, but membership supposedly had its “perks” including access to early technology, sales rebate programs, game bundling, and more. 

AMD vice president and general manager Scott Herkelman had something to say without calling the program out by name. To the company’s defense, desktop and laptop manufacturers almost always list the hardware components of their products, thus Nvidia’s program really wasn’t about transparency in the first place. But Herkelman felt the need to pledge that it’s reigniting the freedom of choice. 

Yet he didn’t stop there. Herkelman jumped on Twitter to provide a more heated statement regarding the competition’s partner program. 

“Many of you told me how our competition tries to use funding and allocation to restrict or block your ability to market and sell Radeon based products in the manner you and your customers desire,” he said to AMD’s partners. “I want to let you know that your voices have been heard and that I welcome any others who have encountered similar experiences to reach out to me. Together we can work to ensure that we give gamers what they truly deserve — freedom of choice.” 

According to Nvidia, all it asked of its partners was to “brand their products in a way that would be crystal clear.” The company says it didn’t want “substitute GPUs hidden behind a pile of techno-jargon.” Specifications for desktops and laptops tend to list their graphics components and PC gamers are generally intelligent shoppers that don’t need any clarification. 

Regardless, Nvidia is pulling the controversial program because the “rumors, conjecture, and mistruths go far beyond” the program’s intent.

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What to expect from Microsoft Build 2018: Less Windows, more cloud

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Microsoft Build, an annual conference for developers, will begin on May 7, 2018 and run through May 9. It’s the company’s largest event of the year, hosting over 6,000 developers, but it’s not necessarily the most interesting for fans and tech nerds. This is the gig where a sweaty Steve Ballmer famously chanted “developers, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS!” until he seemed on the verge of tears.

What that means, put simply, is you shouldn’t expect any big news about Windows, Surface, or other products that cater to home users. That’s particularly true this year. In the past, Microsoft has sometimes shown big new features of upcoming Windows releases – but a big patch just released. We’ll likely see hints at what the next Windows patch looks like but don’t expect anything concrete.

Don’t expect Surface devices

As for Surface?

Microsoft has never made a major Surface product announcement a Build, so it likely won’t start this year. The Surface Pro and Surface Book 2 are still competitive, so we likely won’t see an update for either until fall of this year.

Surface Pro 4 Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

It’s not inconceivable to think Microsoft would tease a new Surface device at the conference. Build wouldn’t be a bad place to briefly talk about the long-rumored Surface Phone, because developers will be interested in it and how to code for it.

Still, that’s a stretch. Build is a hardcore developer conference, and single tickets start at $2,500. Devoting time to a device that doesn’t necessarily impact how developers code for Microsoft products might make the attendees rather cross.

Do expect coding

Microsoft has two keynotes planned for Build. The first is on May 7, the second is on May 8, and both start at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time. The keynotes can be intriguing, as Microsoft often uses them to demonstrate cutting-edge technology or near-future concepts. Just be prepared to sit through coding. Yep. Live coding. On stage.

This coding sessions have infamously become a sore point for tech journalists and Microsoft superfans. Each group would rather see hot new features than watch someone de-bug using the latest version of Visual Studio. Build isn’t for either group. Build is for developers, and developers want to see how a new feature will change the way they work.

While drab, the coding sessions can be insightful. They offer a surprisingly deep look at how Microsoft, and its software, operates. That’s not something you’ll find at Facebook F8 and Google I/O keynotes, both of which are more traditional press conferences.

Get ready to get nerdy

What this all means, in sum, is you’ll need to get nerdy. Real nerdy. Build can be a spectacle, at times, as Microsoft isn’t shy about placing bold demos on stage. At its heart, though, it’s for developers, developers, developers. You’ll learn where the company is going, and what its engineers think the future will look like – not when your next Surface will hit store shelves.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Wander ‘Burning Man’ in VR with help from the Smithsonian

Despite hosting tens of millions of visitors annually, the Smithsonian remains inaccessible to anyone unable to physically make the trip to visit. That’s why the Smithsonian American Art Museum is partnering with Intel to accelerate efforts in digitizing its 157 million-piece collection. It’s first project will allow attendees to virtually wander the site of the annual Burning Man festival.

As part of the “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” installation at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery in Washington DC, patrons will be able to don VR headsets and visit the Black Rock Desert in Android Jones Deep Playa Experience. Back in the real world, visitors will be able to view everything from sculptures and art to costumes and jewelry that came from the festival. All without getting caked in the desert’s infamous dust. The exhibit runs through January 21st, 2019.

Source: Intel

5G and a whole lot of Benjamins [#acpodcast]

Daniel Bader is back from South Korea, and he has plenty of insight to share with Andrew Martonik and Jerry Hildenbrand about the (finally official) LG G7 ThinQ. But first, Sprint and T-Mobile are merging to become a Voltron of cellular service in the United States. They discuss the business rationale behind this alliance; as well as pros and cons of this news from a customer perspective.

The crew also look ahead with a preview of Google I/O 2018 and new Google Assistant
features on Wear OS. Put this show in your earholes now!

Listen now

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Show Notes and Links:

• Sprint and T-Mobile are merging
• The T-Mobile / Sprint merger may be good news, but it probably isn’t
• LG G7 ThinQ hands-on preview: All about that bass
• LG G7 specs
• MrMobile can’t stop ThinQing about the LG G7
• Google I/O 2018 preview: All of the big announcements you can expect
• Google Assistant on Wear OS gets smart suggestions and Assistant actions

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