Tinder Social is a new feature for finding friends to hang with
You already meet potential love matches on Tinder. Why not use the app for making new friends to go and hang out with? That’s what the company hopes you’ll do with the launch of Tinder Social, a new feature that lets users create groups to make connections and hang out together.
Tinder Social came about after a test in Australia that proved a glut of the app’s users have been looking for a feature to aid in planning out their night, their hangouts, and ways to meet new people for concerts and other friendly excursions aside from romantic encounters.
When using the feature, Tinder users can “unlock” Tinder Social to create a group of 1-3 friends with a sole focus, like attending a movie or hitting up a bar. The group access can be turned on or off at any time. When users swipe right on a group they like, the groups will combine and offer up a group chat for planning the event.
The feature is available in the US, UK and select other areas around the world. Need a group to go out Pokemon training with? This could become your go-to solution if you’re a hardcore Tinder user. It’s important to note, however, this isn’t the first app to allow its users to find friends rather than lovers. Dating app Bumble is attempting the same thing with its BumbleBuzz feature.
NASA institute will find ways to protect astronauts’ health
Lengthy deep space missions pose higher risks to spacefaring humans compared to trips to the ISS or to the moon — after all, our bodies evolved for life on Earth. In an effort to find ways to reduce those risks, NASA has joined forces with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The partners will operate a new institute, slated to begin its operations on October 1st, dedicated to developing ways to protect astronauts’ health for long-duration missions.
Thanks to the astronauts who spend months aboard the ISS, we know how outer space affects the human body. One of the effects of long-term stays in microgravity, for instance, is the deterioration of bone and muscle mass. The increase in intercranial pressure brought about by zero-g also leads to major eyesight problems.
According to the agency, the Translational Research Institute (NTRI) will develop “point-of-care astronaut health and performance applications.” Translational research is a method that takes results from lab experiments involving cells or animals and applying them to human subjects. As such, it has the potential to give rise to real world applications much faster than traditional research can. Since NASA wants to send humans to Mars by 2030, it only makes sense that the agency wants to find ways to ensure the safety of its astronauts as soon as possible.
Source: NASA
Apple and Facebook helped bust the world’s biggest torrent site
When you’re the owner of the world’s biggest torrent-sharing site, the last thing you’d expect to land you in trouble would be a totally legitimate (and legal) purchase via iTunes. But that’s what happened to 30-year-old Ukrainian Artem Vaulin a.k.a “tirm,” owner and operator of KickassTorrents (KAT), who was yesterday arrested and charged in Poland for criminal copyright infringement and money laundering. He’s been accused of illegally reproducing and distributing hundreds of millions of copies of movies, video games, TV shows and music albums totalling more than $1 billion. The US is now waiting to extradite him.
Founded in 2008, the site has slowly grown to become the biggest torrent-sharing website in the world. It finally took the mantle in 2015 after The Pirate Bay experienced multiple raids, battled lengthy spells of downtime and its three founders were arrested. KAT counts more than 50 million unique monthly visitors and is estimated to be the 68th most frequently visited website on the internet — according to Alexa.
In a 48-page criminal complaint (PDF) filed with the U.S. District Court in Chicago, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reveals how it was able to track Vaulin. Jared Der-Yeghiayan, a special agent with the US Department of Homeland Security, was tasked with tracking the man behind KAT and it’s his report that attempts to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that Vaulin should be brought to justice. This is how it played out.
The fake ad
From November 2015, an undercover IRS Special Agent spoke with a KAT representative about hosting an advertisement that would direct visitors to an undercover site. An agreement was made and the ad, which purportedly advertised a program to study in the United States, would be placed on individual torrent listings for $300 per day. When it finally went live on March 14th 2016, a link appeared underneath the torrent download buttons for five days. It was a short campaign, but it was enough to link KAT to a Latvian bank account, one that received €28 million ($31 million) in deposits — mainly from advertising payments — between August 2015 and March 2016.
This back-and-forth also enabled investigators to identify an important point of contact: the email address pr@kat.cr. Not only was it linked to website enquiries, it was the email associated with KAT’s social media presences such as Facebook. Agents were able to obtain records from Facebook that showed the “official.KAT.fanclub.” page was almost certainly associated with KAT.
Apple’s involvement
Using basic website-tracking services, Der-Yeghiayan was able to uncover (via a reverse DNS search) the hosts of seven apparent KAT website domains: kickasstorrents.com, kat.cr, kickass.to, kat.ph, kastatic.com, thekat.tv and kickass.cr. This dug up two Chicago IP addresses, which were used as KAT name servers for more than four years. Agents were then able to legally gain a copy of the server’s access logs (explaining why it was federal authorities in Chicago that eventually charged Vaulin with his alleged crimes).
Using similar tools, Homeland Security investigators also performed something called a WHOIS lookup on a domain that redirected people to the main KAT site. A WHOIS search can provide the name, address, email and phone number of a website registrant. In the case of kickasstorrents.biz, that was Artem Vaulin from Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Der-Yeghiayan was able to link the email address found in the WHOIS lookup to an Apple email address that Vaulin purportedly used to operate KAT. It’s this Apple account that appears to tie all of pieces of Vaulin’s alleged involvement together.
On July 31st 2015, records provided by Apple show that the me.com account was used to purchase something on iTunes. The logs show that the same IP address was used on the same day to access the KAT Facebook page. After KAT began accepting Bitcoin donations in 2012, $72,767 was moved into a Coinbase account in Vaulin’s name. That Bitcoin wallet was registered with the same me.com email address.
What happens now?
Homeland Security has already asked that the seven KAT domains named in the complaint are forfeited for their role in facilitating piracy. Verisign is expected to seize the .com and .tv domains, while Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests will be sent to registrars in Costa Rica, Tonga and the Philippines. Homeland Security then expects those sites to be redirected to a server of its choosing.
Right now, KickassTorrents appears to still be up, at least via the numerous proxy services that support it. However, it’s probably only a matter of time until it becomes a lot harder to find. While investigators already had a lot of evidence before they added the iTunes transaction to the mix, the idea that a legal media purchase could be the undoing of a piracy king kinda breaks the irony meter.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Justice.gov, Criminal Complaint (PDF)
Alcatel’s Idol 4S bundle is an affordable way to try out VR
This is the year of virtual reality. With the most eagerly anticipated headsets finally becoming available and many content makers creating VR material, 2016 marks the year the medium is started to go mainstream. Alcatel is looking to make it easier to embrace virtual reality by bundling a headset with its latest flagship, all for an impressively low price of $399 ($350 if you preorder). As the first phone to ship with its own VR Goggles, the Idol 4S already stands out for its value. It also has some respectable specs in its own right, including a Quad HD display, two-way speakers and sharp 16-megapixel camera. It’s even got a glossy new makeover. But hitting that price means Alcatel had to make some trade-offs, with the most notable being the CPU. Still, it’s a good phone for those who can live with middling performance.
Hardware
Props to Alcatel for its effort, and for generally succeeding in upping its style game. While last year’s Idol 3 had an unexciting, unassuming look, the 4S is the slick, dressed-up sibling. Its glass-covered body and shiny metal edges are a step up from its predecessor’s bland plastic back. But that style is strongly reminiscent of the Galaxy S6. Sartorially, Alcatel isn’t pushing any envelopes here; it’s still playing catch-up.
There’s nothing new about the Idol 4S’s flat, blocky frame and its 5.5-inch AMOLED display. Even its charging port on the bottom edge is of the older micro-USB variety, as opposed to USB Type-C.
Still, that doesn’t mean the Idol 4S isn’t a handsome handset. Just watch out: That glass covering is a heck of a fingerprint magnet. You’ll need to wipe it down frequently to keep the phone looking pristine.
I also wish Alcatel had gone with physical or capacitive navigation buttons below the Idol 4S’s screen, instead of relying on the software keys in Android. Those digital buttons take up a row of display space, and disappear whenever I play a game or full-screen video.
On the right side sits a round silver button that Alcatel calls the “boom key.” You’ll also find a circular fingerprint sensor etched into the Idol 4S’s rear, right under the camera. This placement is designed to be easy for your finger to reach while the phone is in use, but it’s not the easiest to find by touch, because the area isn’t depressed like it is on other phones.
VR box
When you first open the Idol 4S packaging, you’ll find a white rectangular box with a silver circle on the bottom. Press that, and you can pull apart the whole setup. The top half is the headset, which at first blush looks nearly identical to Samsung’s Gear VR, while the bottom half is a case that contains accessories.
The Idol 4S VR Goggles (yes, that’s the official name) differs from the Gear VR in a few ways. Alcatel placed its controls on the bottom of the viewer, as opposed to on the right edge like Samsung. The Idol 4S also comes with an extra headpiece to help the headset sit more comfortably on your head.
Most important, Alcatel’s system is based on Google’s Cardboard, whereas Samsung’s is the result of a collaboration with Oculus. Those who have never used the Gear VR probably won’t notice the difference in quality, but since I’ve spent a good deal of time with both, it’s clear to me that the Alcatel viewer is not as immersive. I’ve never noticed pixels when using the Gear VR, but a few minutes into a 360-degree video on the Idol 4S VR Goggles I started spotting the fine dots.
Otherwise, the headset, which is spongy around the eyes, feels light and comfortable enough to wear for extended periods. If you wear glasses, putting the goggles on may be a hassle, but it’s not much more difficult than with other setups.
Alcatel provides a VR launcher app that serves as your gateway to compatible content. With it, you get a basic navigation menu with seven tiles floating in a horizontal row over a starry backdrop. These icons let you see games, regular pictures and videos, 360-degree images and videos, a tutorial and Littlstar.
The latter is a third-party provider of VR video content from channels such as ABC News, Discovery VR, Showtime and other independent brands. Its offerings are mostly short, entertaining clips that occasionally look suspiciously like promotional material for those brands’ upcoming shows. In the week that I’ve had the Idol 4S, though, the Littlstar library doesn’t appear to have been updated with new stuff. But to be fair, neither Alcatel nor LIttlstar promises frequent additions to the selections.
Thankfully, Littlstar isn’t the only way to get good VR content on the Idol 4S. You can also go into the VR store app or find more media through Google’s own apps for Cardboard section. Unfortunately, the Idol 4S isn’t certified for Google’s Daydream mobile VR platform yet, so it might not be forward-compatible with upcoming media. Still, for the price, the Idol 4S Goggles and the basic content Alcatel offers is an easy and accessible way to dip your toe into virtual reality.
Display and sound
Just like its predecessor, the Idol 4S has a bright panel that’s easy to see even in direct sunlight. Its 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display is vibrant and sharp, which makes watching Netflix and playing games more immersive. Colors looked more saturated than I’m used to on my iPhone 6s screen. Even though I did eventually start noticing pixelation in VR content when looking through the viewer, high-res videos generally appeared crisp on the phone itself.
One other novelty in the Idol 4S is its dual JBL-certified speakers that pump out sound through both the front and back of the device. This prevents muffling of the audio when you put your phone down on a surface, and worked surprisingly well on both an office table and my bed. I noticed slightly clearer echo when the phone was face up rather than down, but the difference isn’t noticeable unless you go looking for it like I did.
The Idol 4S’s speakers were also satisfyingly loud, and I never had to struggle to hear it at top volume. The included Waves MaxxAudio app lets you change sound profiles for specific situations such as Music, Movie or General. You can also customize the output of bass, treble and revive, but, in general, I left these settings alone.
Software
Like any respectable phone being launched this year, the Idol 4S ships with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The company said an update to Android Nougat is on its way, although it hasn’t given a timeframe yet.
As is its habit, Alcatel has skinned the otherwise stock OS with the company’s own icons for apps such as Messages, Dialer, Camera and Contacts. This cartoonish look won’t be for everyone, but it’s simple enough to resolve with a theme download.
A new feature for the Idol line is the aforementioned Boom key on the device’s right side. Pressing this in specific apps launch specialized tasks, such as activating photo collages in the Gallery, volume and bass boost in a music player, enhanced surround sound in a video playback and improved voice quality and loudness during a call. These are preset in the software, and you can’t change them or add more, but you can customize what pressing (or double pressing) the Boom key does when the phone screen is off and on.
The in-app Boom functions are hit or miss: I didn’t ever need photo collage mode when viewing my Gallery, but I found the volume boosts very handy. I also liked being able to open a specific app of my choice with one press while the screen is on.
Thankfully. not much bloatware comes loaded on the Idol 4S. In addition to the VR apps mentioned earlier, Alcatel also includes its fun Music app that has a Mix mode for turntable-style DJ-ing on the go. You’ll also get useful titles such as Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp, and the just-tolerable NextRadio and Swiftkey.
Camera
The Idol 4S’s 16-megapixel rear camera took decent shots that weren’t superexciting, but what did impress me was the HDR mode. First of all, turning on HDR may make snapping a pic a tad slower, but it made pictures significantly more colorful and vibrant, while retaining an impressive amount of detail. If you’re shooting a landscape and want some extra oomph, I’d recommend enabling HDR to really bring out all the hues.
Outdoor shots aside, the Idol 4S was also adept at capturing scenes inside buildings. In these situations, however, white balance can be a bit finicky. Alcatel lets you adjust this in manual mode, and you’ll also find options for Panorama, Slow Motion and Micro Video (a la Apple’s Live Photos).
In addition, you get a “Fyuse” mode for taking 360-degree panoramic videos, which you can view as a picture. It’s a little difficult to use, and that’s after a software update Alcatel issued with bug fixes. The camera often had trouble detecting the direction I was moving in and failed to record the video. When it did work, the resulting Fyuse video is basically a video that you can play by dragging on your screen or moving your phone in the corresponding direction.
In low light, the Idol 4S struggled to get a steady shot. Turning on the flash will help get clearer pictures, but it added a yellowish green hue. Until a software fix is issued, don’t expect many great photos at night.
Selfies are decent once you turn down the portrait enhancement to avoid looking muddy and fake. Unlike many other phones with so-called selfie flashes, the Idol 4S actually has a separate bulb next to the front camera to light up your portrait, instead of using the phone’s display. This selfie flash was strong enough to light up my shirt in addition to my face, while still keeping the accurate colors intact.
Performance and battery life
As an iPhone 6s owner and a reviewer of high-end devices, I’m used to blazing speeds and have little tolerance for lag. As such, I was expecting the Idol 4S with its midrange Snapdragon 652 chip to be noticeably slower than I’m accustomed to. I was pleasantly surprised, then, when the Idol 4S held up well under my torture test, during which I had AZ Screen Recorder capturing my Pokémon Go battles with a handful of other apps open.
The resulting video was smooth and had no dropped frames, while my in-game experience was close to (just slightly slower than) what I see on my iPhone without a screen recorder running. I did encounter the occasional stutter and pause, and the phone struggled when I tried to run two games concurrently with the screen recording, crashing when a Hangouts message arrived. Not the best for someone in the middle of an intense high-stakes battle for Pokéstop territory.
More-expensive phones fared better than the Idol 4S on synthetic benchmarks in general, especially when it came to graphics. But the OnePlus 3 stands out, beating the Idol 4S on all but one test despite costing the same.
Moto G4
AndEBench
9,742
13,841
16,371
16,159
Vellamo 3.0
4,831
5,202
2,819
2,762
3DMark IS Unlimited
18,051
30,058
9,851
9,841
GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan Offscreen (fps)
15
48
6.6
6.6
CF-Bench
75,760
41,653
60,998
61,030
Still, the Idol 4S’s performance is impressive for a phone that is using a slower chip than the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 820 that all the high-powered flagships are packing.
The Idol 4S’s 3,000mAh battery provided ample power to last through the day. It lasted 10 hours and 41 minutes on our battery test, which involves looping an HD video at 50 percent brightness. That’s nearly an hour longer than what we saw on the OnePlus 3, although it pales in comparison to the Moto G4’s 12-hour-and-30-minute runtime.
When you run out of juice, recharging is swift, thanks to support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 standard. Within 15 minutes of plugging the device in, I saw the power level go up to 33 percent. By the time an hour had passed, the phone was back up to 84 percent.
The competition
With a retail price of $399, the Idol 4S goes up directly against the OnePlus 3 and ZTE Axon 7. Although we’ve yet to review the Axon, its Snapdragon 820 chip with 4GB of RAM, Quad HD AMOLED display and sexy frame already make it seem like the more promising phone for power users. Plus, ZTE says the phone will be compliant with Google’s Daydream mobile VR platform by the fall, making it a worthy consideration for virtual reality fans.
We really liked the OnePlus 3’s performance, handsome build and clean Android-based system with bonus features. It even has a USB Type-C charging port, which will delight early adopters who have already made the switch to the reversible cable. However, the OnePlus 3 has a less-sharp 1080p screen and didn’t last as long as the Idol 4S on our battery test.
If you’re looking for an even cheaper phone than the Idol 4S, Moto’s new G4 and G4 Plus pack plenty of power and more stamina for a low starting price of $200. The G4 Plus also offers better low-light camera performance than the Idol. But the trade-off is a more basic design and lower-resolution screen.
All that considered, no other company has started shipping a VR headset in and as the box of its smartphone, which leaves Alcatel with its unique proposition: Come for the aggressively priced bundle, stay for the intro to VR. And in the meantime, you may discover that the Idol 4S itself is a perfectly adequate phone.
Wrap-up
The Idol 4S is not the sort of fancy handset you’re likely to brag about to your friends, but you’ll definitely want to show off the VR bundle. The 4S may not be the fastest phone around, but its combination of rich display, superb speakers, long-lasting battery and decent cameras make up for the shortfall in speed. Alcatel needs to improve the main camera’s low-light capabilities, as well as build out more extensive library of VR content, potentially through Daydream.
Ultimately, you can’t argue against good value. The truth is, if you order the Idol 4S for $350 before Aug. 3rd, it is the best deal on the market. Miss that deadline, and you’ll have to be more invested in VR than the average buyer, but not so keen that you need a top-notch experience. The Idol 4S’s success will depend on the size of that crowd, and its ability to keep that group engaged.
Apple Helped FBI Identify Alleged Owner of World’s Largest Torrent Site
U.S. authorities have arrested the alleged owner of the world’s largest torrent site after Apple shared personal details linked to an iTunes transaction that enabled federal investigators to locate their suspect.
According to TorrentFreak, Ukranian-born Artem Vaulin was arrested yesterday in Poland on suspicion of running KickassTorrents (KAT), which recently surpassed The Pirate Bay as the go-to site for unofficial copies of movies, TV shows, and music.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested 30-year-old Vaulin’s extradition on charges of criminal copyright infringement and money laundering. The key piece of evidence that led authorities to Vaulin appeared to come when Apple handed over his personal details after investigators matched an IP address used to log in to the KAT Facebook page with one linked to an iTunes purchase.
Filed in a U.S. District Court in Chicago, the criminal complaint reads: “Records provided by Apple showed that tirm@me.com conducted an iTunes transaction using IP Address 109.86.226.203 on or about July 31, 2015. The same IP Address was used on the same day to login into the KAT Facebook.”
According to the complaint, KAT operates in 28 languages and offered movies still in cinemas, as well as other content, earning significant revenue from advertising throughout the site. Investigators also reportedly posed as an advertiser to the site, which revealed a bank account associated with it.
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates KAT’s value to be over $54 million, with annual advertising revenue in the range of $12.5 million to $22.3 million. KAT reportedly helped distribute over $1 billion in pirated files, according to assistant attorney general Leslie Caldwell, who commented on the case.
“In an effort to evade law enforcement, Vaulin allegedly relied on servers located in countries around the world and moved his domains due to repeated seizures and civil lawsuits,” said Caldwell. “His arrest in Poland, however, demonstrates again that cybercriminals can run, but they cannot hide from justice.”
In addition to Vaulin’s extradition, the criminal complaint has also ordered the seizure of a bank account associated with the site, as well as the seizure of several KAT domain names. TorrentFreak reports that while the main KAT domain appears to be down, various proxies still lead to working versions of the site.
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Video Depicts iPhone 7 Mockups in Gold, Rose Gold, and ‘Space Black’
Another video has emerged online showing probable mockups of iPhone 7 units, but this time viewers are given a better idea of what the new handset might look like in three colors that Apple may offer this September.
The video was posted to YouTube channel ConceptsiPhone yesterday and shows the iPhone 7 in Rose Gold, Gold, and what the titling calls “Space Black”.
The mockups depict the now familiar design expectations such as protruding camera, repositioned antenna bands, and no headphone jack, but it’s the “Space Black” reference that stands out as a curiosity this time around.
Rumors in June pointed to the possibility that Apple was readying a darker variant of its traditional Space Grey color, described by one source as “close to black, though not quite black”. This so-called “new, darker shade” was thought to more closely resemble the look of the “space black” stainless steel Apple Watch, which is darker than the “space gray” aluminum Apple Watch Sport.
However, earlier this month, alleged photographs of Apple’s proposed iPhone 7 colorways stuck to showing the company’s typical four variants of Rose Gold, Space Gray, Gold, and Silver, similar to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
The “Space Black” variant depicted in the latest video does look darker than a typical iPhone 6s Space Grey unit, but the poor lighting makes identification a guessing game, and it could be just as likely that the unusual naming convention is simply a botched amalgam of previous rumors.
On the other hand, Apple has used different shades of “space gray” and “black and slate” across its device lineups over the years. The iPhone 6s and iPad Pro, for example, each have a lighter shade of “space gray” compared to the iPhone 5s and original iPad Air respectively.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are expected to be officially unveiled by Apple in the fall. In addition to the aforementioned features, the smartphones are expected to have faster Apple A10 processors, 32GB of base storage, improved waterproofing, and faster LTE and Wi-Fi.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Tesla’s Master Plan part two involves self-driving trucks, busses, and cars that make money for you
For the first time in ten years, Elon Musk has published the first major update to Tesla’s master plan, which includes a number of key areas the company is working on for the short-term and long-term future. In Musk’s Master Plan, Part Deux, Tesla will evolve the home energy market, large public transport and load-carrying vehicles, as well as self-driving cars.
Tesla Master Plan part II: Solar and battery integration
Although it was given only the briefest mention, top of Musk’s pile was the home energy business. With the company in the process of buying SolarCity, the roof panel company, Tesla will eventually create a solar roof panel system that incorporates the battery for power storage.
In the short-term, it seems the most logical way to achieve that is to sell roof panels and the Tesla Powerwall together as a package. To make this happen, Tesla and SolarCity need to be the same company to “break down the barriers inherent to being separate companies.”
Tesla Master Plan part II: Large vehicles
Having virtually reached the end goal of the first part of its master plan, i.e. building a low cost, high volume car, Tesla can now look forward to other areas in the vehicle space. For consumers, that involves releasing the Tesla 3 as well as a “new kind of pickup truck” and a compact SUV. With those three, Tesla will have most sectors of the consumer market covered. But it’s arguably in the large vehicle sector that Tesla will make its most exciting moves.
Tesla wants to build both heavy-duty trucks and “high passenger-density urban transport”. In other words: Lorries and busses that can drive themselves. Both are already in development, and will be ready for unveiling by some time in 2017. Musk claims the Tesla Semi truck will both be fun to drive and can significantly reduce the cost of cargo transport.
As for the bus, Tesla thinks it makes sense to make busses smaller. With the rise of autonomy, busses can be made smaller and can – with a redesign of the seating – still hold a good number of passengers. Eliminating the centre aisle and putting seats where there are now entry ways will make this possible.
Using Tesla’s electric motor tech along with the autopilot system will mean the busses can match acceleration and breaking to other vehicles, ensuring that traffic continues to move smoothly.
The bus could take people right to their destination for those with the app on their phone, otherwise people will be able to get on and off at existing bus stops, summoning them using a button in the bus stop.
Tesla Master Plan part II: Ride sharing
Returning to cars, and a big part of the future of driving, in Tesla’s eyes, is that an autonomous car can potentially make you enough money that it covers the monthly loan or lease cost. With a fully-autonomous car, you could make it available for sharing with others as part of Tesla’s shared fleet. That means when you’re working or on holiday, other people can summon the car and pay to ride in it.
In big cities where demand outstrips supply, Tesla will be operating its own fleet, so customers will always be able to hail a ride from a Tesla.
Of course, in order to make this possible, much needs to be done in the entire area of self-driving vehicles. Hardware doesn’t need much improvement, it’s the software making sense of all the sensor data and controlling the car that needs the most work.
Tesla Master Plan part II: Autopilot
In its current state, Tesla’s autopilot system is twice as safe as a human driver (according to a 2015 NHTSA report), but it will remain in its “beta” state until that number reaches 10x.
Then there’s the regulations that need to be drawn up in each region and market to make it legal to be in a self-driving car. Currently, drivers need to be in control of their vehicle at all times. But in future, we’re going to be able to just sit, relax, sleep, read a book or sip tea, while our cars do all the work for us. For that to be possible, legislation needs to be made.
In short, the future that we’ve been dreaming of since we were kids is closer than ever, and it’s Tesla driving that dream in to reality.
‘TowerFall’ team’s next game is all about climbing a mountain
TowerFall may have been focused on multiplayer mayhem, but developer Matt Thorson’s next project looks like a different type of chaos. Celeste is a tough-as-nails 2D platformer a la Super Meatboy about the perils of climbing a mountain. No, not dealing with vertigo or rockslides, but slippery slopes and spike-filled pits. That’s assuming the game follows the groundwork of the same-named prototype Thorson and co-developer Noel Berry put on the web in 2015. The game’s out next year and really that’s about all we know at this point. There’s a cryptic GIF on the development blog, sure, but that isn’t much to go by.
Despite its two-button control scheme, the web version of Celeste wasn’t simple by any means so I don’t expect the expanded version to be any different. As Rock, Paper, Shotgun notes, Interested mountain climbers can still check out that early version online.
Via: Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Source: Celeste Game
OnePlus starts teasing soft gold color variant of the OnePlus 3
Last month, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei revealed that the soft gold color option of the OnePlus 3 will be launching in the second half of July. As we approach the last week of the month, it looks like the company is getting ready to launch the color variant, based on teasers shared on its Weibo account.
With a launch likely imminent, who’s interested in the soft gold color variant of the OnePlus 3?
OnePlus 3
- OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
- OnePlus 3 specs
- OnePlus 3 vs. the flagship competition
- Latest OnePlus 3 news
- Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums
OnePlus
Moto Turbo finally picks up Marshmallow update in India
Motorola has done a commendable job of rolling out quick platform updates to its phones, but a few notable exceptions include the Moto E in select regions and the Moto Turbo. The latter is finally making its way to Marshmallow, with the Android 6.0.1 update now rolling out to users in India.
The update (as spotted by Best Gadgetry) weighs in at 965.2MB, and includes the latest security patch as well as all the features introduced in Marshmallow including Doze battery-saving mode, granular permissions, Now on Tap, and much more.
If you’re using the Moto Turbo in India, now would be a good time to head into the phone’s settings to download the update.
Thanks Steven!
