Michigan embraces our self-driving future
Michigan isn’t just America’s high five, historically it’s the heart of the auto industry as well. And now the state looks to be preparing for the future. Today, Governor Rick Snyder has signed four bills into law regarding autonomous vehicle repair, research, driving networks and accident responsibility.
For the latter, Michigan recognizes that with autonomous vehicles, when it comes to following traffic laws, the automation system is responsible — not the driver. That bill, SB 995, would also allow driverless vehicles to lawfully operate on Michigan streets and highways. This effectively ends the ban on autonomous cars in the state.
Senate Bill 996 (PDF) allows auto manufacturers to essentially create on-demand taxi services. But it has already come under fire for how it’s worded. Some, like Google, have read it to mean only the likes of General Motors and Ford could do this. The Michigan Department of Transportation told Recode that Apple and Google wouldn’t fall into the “motor vehicle manufacturer” classification until they had vehicles on the open market that meet the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The thing is, one of Google’s self-driving cars already meets said standard.
Another law (PDF) will expand what’s considered lawful as far as autonomous driving testing facilities, like the one that recently broke ground at the historic Willow Run manufacturing campus. What’s more, if you take your self-driving car into the shop, so long as the vehicle is repaired to manufacturer specs, a new piece of legislation says that the garage is exempt from any product liability lawsuits.
This turnaround is certainly a good move forward, especially given Michigan’s place in the auto industry. But as always with bureaucracy, there are kinks to iron out and it’s highly likely that not everyone who this affects will walk away happy.
Chrome will provide clearer warnings for insecure retail sites
Chrome’s developers have futzed with the way that it displays insecure sites over the past few years, and for now, non-HTTPS sites display a “neutral” info symbol. Google warned that would change soon for certain types of sites, however, and we can now see how with the Chrome 56 beta. Any non-encrypted HTTP pages that collect passwords or credit card numbers will prominently display as “not secure” in the URL bar. That, Google says, is the prelude to a bigger scheme to clearly mark all HTTP sites as non-secure, something it kind of did before.
Google may have toned down the warnings in 2015 to let more publishers convert their sites to HTTPS. However, webmasters appear to have taken the hint, as the search giant recently said that a lot more sites are now fully encrypted.
Another interesting thing you can check out in beta is Web Bluetooth support, which allows developers to connect web pages to smartphones and printers via Bluetooth “with just a few lines of JavaScript.” That would enable you to, for instance, see your heart rate or control a Lego car via a website.
The other significant new feature coming to Chrome is CSS “position: sticky” command support. That helps you, for example, create web page titles that stick to the top of a page until the reader scrolls to a new section, making it easier for them to figure out where they are (as shown above).
Chrome 56 is now out in beta for Windows, OSX and Android via the Canary beta release channel, with the warning that “it’s designed for developers and early adopters, and can sometimes break down completely.” It should arrive formally for the rest of us in January 2017.
Source: Chromium Blog
Google Search experiment asks users to rate movies and TV shows
Try looking up a movie on Google — if you notice a thumbs up and a thumbs down sign inside the movie’s info box, you’re among the few who has access to the tech titan’s new experimental feature. The big G has confirmed to Search Engine Land that it has begun testing out a way for users to rate films and TV shows right within search results. As you can see in the image below the fold, you can find either option above the usual IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes ratings. There’s even a new “Google users” percentage right next to those two.
At the moment, it seems to only show up on the desktop version of Google search, so you may want to try going a Google search on a computer. One can only guess what other features the company cooks up based on this one, though. Google could start recommending movies and shows, or it could surface certain titles nearer the top of the results page, based on how you vote. We’ll know for sure if ever this experimental feature becomes a permanent one.
[Image Credit: Android Police]
Via: Android Police
Source: Google Operating System, Search Engine Land
Gmail for iOS Updated With New Browser Preference, Multiple Message and Compose Options
Google has issued an update to its recently redesigned Gmail app for iOS that brings a few notable changes to email composition and management on mobile devices.
In version 5.0.7, an option in the Settings panel lets users select their favorite browser (Safari or Chrome) for opening links in emails.
Users are now also able to select multiple messages in their inbox by tapping on the sender’s profile image or icon next to the email, while messages can be marked as read or unread by selecting the email and tapping the ‘open/closed envelope’ icon in the top toolbar.
In addition, it’s now possible to edit quoted content when replying to a message, and to copy and paste rich text content in a message.
Gmail is a free download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]
Tags: Google, Gmail
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Google opens up its Assistant actions to developers
When Google first unveiled its Assistant earlier this year, the service seemed to have quite a lot of potential. Unfortunately, in our testing of the company’s new Home speaker and Pixel smartphones, we found the digital helper rather limited. Now that Google has opened up Assistant’s developer platform, though, the service could finally become as powerful as promised.
The platform, called Actions on Google, was briefly described at the company’s October event, and is a little bit like IFTTT. Developers will eventually be able to create at least two types of Actions — Direct and Conversation. For now, only Conversation Actions are available. These create a back-and-forth interaction with Assistant, and “users won’t need to enable a skill or install an app, they can just ask to talk to your action,” according to Google’s announcement post.
Interested developers can request to become early access partners to try out upcoming features, and those who want to get started on Conversation Actions can go over to the Actions for Google website. The company promises to make the developers’ integrations across the various Assistant-enabled services and devices such as the Allo app and the Pixel phones. It also says that support for purchases and bookings as well as deeper Assistant integration is coming, although it doesn’t say when. Eventually, though, it looks like Google’s digital helper is going to get many more functions, making its supported devices potentially smarter and more useful.
Source: Google
Go full ‘Westworld’ with HBO Now in Google’s VR headset
Just bought a Daydream View? Well you’re in luck, because Google has released a flurry of new apps for its Daydream VR headset.
The headline addition is arguably Gunjack 2: End of Shift. Previously announced with the working title Gunjack Next, Gunjack 2 is the spaceship battling sequel to Gunjack, one of the best-selling VR games to date. Developed by EVE Online creators CCP, the game lets players use the Daydream motion controller to shoot down aerial adversaries, promising daily procedural missions and a cinematic, cut-scene led story.
EA’s popular racing franchise Need for Speed is another notable addition to the gaming lineup. An adaptation of the popular mobile title Need for Speed: Limits, it’s EA’s first full foray into VR, discounting the add-on Star Wars: Battlefront PSVR experience.
Outside of gaming apps, there’s a VR version of popular TV streaming service, HBO Now. As you’d expect, HBO Now on Daydream plasters a 2D image of shows like Game of Thrones and Westworld onto a giant virtual “screen.”
HBO, Gunjack and Need for Speed aside, there’re other titles coming to Daydream today — LEGO Brickheadz, Wands, Underworld Overlord and Layers of Fear, to be precise. In our review of the Daydream View, we praised it for its comfort and great virtual reality experience, but criticized the meager launch app selection. Today’s news goes a way towards making Daydream View a more enticing option.
ICYMI: Using brain power to move a game character
Today on In Case You Missed It: University of Washington researchers were able to use a magnetic coil at the base of test subjects skulls to watch them play a simplified 2D computer game with just the power of their thoughts. Meanwhile UC Berkeley researchers built a small robot called the SALTO that weighs only 100 grams but is based on the jumping abilities of kangaroos.
Google just created a bit of fun on its Twitter account, where users can tweet at the search engine with emojis, then get a response from the account show the nearest location for whatever taco or burger you need asap. ‘Cause typing into a search bar is passé now, I guess. For your reminder that: Scientists, they’re just like us!– be sure to check out CERN’s silly Mannequin Challenge. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Biggest names in VR band together to create industry standards
The world’s most popular virtual reality headset makers have assembled. Google, Oculus, Sony, HTC, Samsung and Acer have come together to create a non-profit organization called the Global Virtual Reality Association (or the far snappier GVRA, for short). The association’s goal is to “promote responsible development and adoption of VR globally,” according to its website, and members will do so by researching, developing and sharing what it believes to be industry best practices.
GVRA also intends to serve as a resource for policymakers, consumers and industries interested in the medium. In a statement on the organization’s website, Google’s director of immersive design Jon Wiley said,”The GVRA is a necessary first step toward ensuring great VR experiences for everyone.” Execs from the other founding companies made similar statements, echoing the same sentiment. Although Microsoft’s HoloLens is technically an AR device, it’s a bit surprising to not see the Windows maker in this list.
Citing VR’s potential to improve “sectors ranging from education to healthcare,” as well as the resulting contributions to the global economy, GVRA also states that its founding members will work to maximize the platform’s potential and to “ensure those gains are shared as broadly around the world as possible.” Considering the clout some of these companies already have in tech, it sounds like this will be the virtual reality authority in the future.
It’s a little concerning that the only affiliates of the organization so far appear to be hardware makers. Hopefully, the GVRA will soon gain some members from different parts of the industry, including representatives who are more invested in the impact of VR on our health.
Source: Global Virtual Reality Association
YouTube in 2016 was all about viral challenges
Like clockwork, the 2016 edition of YouTube’s annual Rewind retrospective video is here to sweep us back through all the whimsy and virality that made its way across the streaming site in the past year. For 2016, YouTube lined up an impressive roster of over 200 creators and artists like Hannah Hart, Casey Niestat, the Slow Mo Guys, Unbox Therapy and (of course) James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke team to recreate the most popular videos, memes and songs from the past year, including the bottle flip heard round the world. The whole package is wrapped up in a new mashup by The Hood Internet and remixed by Major Lazer, but first: the Rock and his infamous fanny pack get to do the intro.
All told, the top 10 videos on YouTube this year had a collective 550 million views for a combined 25 million hours of time spent watching. Adele’s Carpool Karaoke naturally topped the list with nearly 136 million views alone, followed by latecomer Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen with 95 million and homegrown curiosity channel What’s Inside? with nearly 60 million views on its “What’s Inside a Rattlesnake Rattle?” video.
Also new this year: YouTube filmed a couple of the Rewind 2016 scenes in 360 video as a dizzying Easter Egg for the superfans.
Source: YouTube Blog
New in our buyer’s guide: the Pixel and Pixel XL, and more!
Nope, we’re not done adding phones to our buyer’s guide. Hot on the heels of inducting the new iPhones (and before that, the Galaxy S7 and HTC 10), we’re tossing in both of the new Google phones, the Pixel and Pixel XL. While we’re at it, we decided the PlayStation VR deserved a spot in our gaming section right alongside other premium virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. At the opposite end of the price spectrum, the $50 Amazon Echo Dot is a great value at that price. Lastly, GoPro — a staple company in this list — earns a spot for its newest flagship action camera, the Hero5 Black. Find all that in more in our buyer’s guide, and stay tuned for our next round of additions, likely sometime after CES.
Source: Engadget Buyer’s Guide
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