New York energy company is using drones for inspection
Different industries and companies use drones for different tasks. For New York energy provider Con Edison, that task is to inspect 10-story boilers that produce steam and energy for some of the most iconic buildings in NYC, including the Empire State. The company has begun testing the use of drones (equipped with cameras and thermal systems) for inspection at one of its steam plants on the East Side of Manhattan. Workers typically have to go through confined-space training and to build tall scaffoldings to check a plant’s boilers. Con Edison’s round, 1.1-pound carbon fiber machines can simply fly all over the place, capturing videos and photos.
The company’s UAVs sound like they have what it takes to be effective inspectors: they can can roam plants for 10 minutes at a time, were designed to withstand collisions and can capture 1280x1080p resolution videos. However, human personnel still play a part by analyzing footage and images to figure out what the company needs to repair. Margarett Jolly, Con Edison director of Research and Development, said using drones can help them “speed up the process while still upholding and perhaps improving quality and safety.” The energy company has uploaded videos of the inspection below, if you’re interested in seeing what a steam plant looks like from the inside.
Source: Con Edison
Apple Pay users can withdraw money from select BoA ATMs
If you’re an Apple Pay user with access to the cardless ATMs Bank of America installed earlier this year, you might be able to withdraw cash from the machines using your phone. Reports that BoA’s machines will support Cupertino’s mobile wallet began circulating back in January. Now a Redditor who goes by the moniker “WhatWhatTech” successfully used Apple Pay to withdraw cash from his account through a machine in Redondo Beach, California. These cardless ATMs have an NFC logo right beside the card slot — simply tap your phone on that logo, and you’ll be prompted to key in your PIN before the screen displays all the available transaction options.
Before you get too excited, though, take note that the feature hasn’t been enabled for all cardless machines just yet. Further, you can only get the ATM to spit out cash if you’re using a BoA card, and you can’t deposit money using the service. Still, it’s worth a shot if you have access to one of them. According to BoA’s website, its cardless machines now also support Samsung Pay, in addition to the Android Pay support announced in May. It’s likely being rolled out slowly, as well, so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work on your first try.
[Image credit: WhatWhatTech]
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: WhatWhatTech (Reddit), (Imgur), Bank of America
CBS names an exec to develop shows for its streaming service
Like it or not, CBS will be creating more series for its year-old streaming service. CEO Les Moonves promised the addition of “three to four original series per year,” starting with a new Star Trek show and a spinoff of The Good Wife. To keep things running smoothly, CBS has moved Julie McNamara from drama development at CBS Television — where she was already overseeing the two original All Access series — to a newly created position: Executive Vice President, Original Content, CBS All Access.
CBS won’t catch up to Netflix’s pace at this rate, but it does have a deep library of content that it owns to back the $6 per month service, plus live TV (in some areas). Adding a few originals could make it a very interesting competitor to the other streaming services — especially if back episodes of older series become harder to find elsewhere.
Source: CBS
Sphero’s SPRK robot for kids can now withstand more abuse
Nearly two years ago, Sphero decided to turn its robot ball into more than a toy. The company launched SPRK, an educational program for kids to build up their coding skills, as a complement to its charming connected device. Then, in 2015, it followed that up with the Sphero SPRK Edition, a redesigned version with a clear shell and a companion app that let users set up commands for the robot to follow. Now Sphero is introducing the second generation of its education-focused ball, dubbed SPRK+. It’s a minor but still noteworthy upgrade compared to the original version.
SPRK+ sports a more scratch-resistant body and tap-to-connect features, which will make it easier to pair it with iOS and Android smartphones or tablets. The new, tougher UV coating is important because this model is intended to be used in schools, where the robot ball is prone to drops and other situations that could scratch its shell heavily. It’s less prone to scratches this way, according to Sphero. Of course, like its predecessor, SPRK+ is water-resistant as well.
To go along with SPRK+, Sphero also revamped the SPRK Lighting Lab app for iOS and Android. There’s now more of a community aspect to it, where teachers and students can share their lessons, activities and programs with others. Sphero says the Lightning Lab application is what ties the entire experience together, as it allows it to continue promoting skills to anyone through robotics. “We just want to make toys that inspire,” a Sphero representative said to Engadget during the SPRK+ demo.
The SPRK+ arrives today for $129 on Sphero’s site, as well as Apple stores and retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.
Apple Once Again Blocks Older Versions of Adobe Flash Player Due to Vulnerability
Last week Adobe issued a security advisory for Flash Player, indicating that version 21.0.0.242 and earlier had a critical vulnerability that could potentially cause a crash and allow an attacker to take control of the infected system. Adobe issued a fix a couple days later.
Apple today published a support document explaining that users with out-of-date versions of the Adobe Flash Player plug-ins will see a “Blocked plug-in,” “Flash Security Alert,” or “Flash out-of-date” message when attempting to view Flash content in Safari.
Plug-ins like Adobe Flash Player have long been an issue for Apple, requiring forced updates and security fixes to patch vulnerabilities. When vulnerabilities arise, Apple has been consistent in blocking older versions of the web plug-ins. Apple is looking to reduce the risk of potential issues with macOS Sierra, in which Safari will deactivate Flash Player and other plug-ins by default in an effort to push the more modern HTML5.
To continue using Flash, users must download the latest Adobe Flash Player update from Adobe’s website.
Tags: Safari, Adobe Flash Player, Vulnerabiltiies
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Google wants to help symptom-searchers find the right diagnosis
It’s easy to search for medical advice on the internet and to come away from it thinking you’re dying.
If you have a headache or a weird rash or stomach pains, the first thing you’ll likely do is search for your symptoms and their likely causes on Google, but because the internet is a strange and wonderful and awful place, you’ll end up with tonnes of misleading results. Well, Google thinks it can do better, because it’s rolling out a new symptom search feature that’s supposed to show you better results.
So, in the future, when you use the Google app for iOS and Android to search for a symptom like “headache”, you will see a card-like list that shows related conditions (“migraine,” “tension headache,” “cluster headache”, etc), an overview description, information on self-treatment options, and advice about what might warrant a doctor’s visit. Google is curating this list from health conditions mentioned in web results.
But it’s gone a bit farther: Google checks those health conditions against medical information it collected from doctors for its Knowledge Graph: “We worked with a team of medical doctors to carefully review the individual symptom information, and experts at Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic evaluated related conditions for a representative sample of searches to help improve the lists,” Google explained.
Google’s card-like lists might also include illustrations, stuff you can swipe on, or drop-down menus that you can tap to see more information. Also, Google said it plans to expand this feature from US- and English-only to other countries and languages. It will also bring the feature to desktop. The company has likely developed this feature because more than 1 per cent of Google searches are symptom-related.
Keep in mind all medical information on Google should only be used for informational purposes. You should consult a doctor for medical advice.
This Microsoft video shows what Chrome does to a laptop battery
If you’re like us, you have a love-hate relationship with Chrome.
Google’s web browser is fast, secure, and loaded with powerful features – so, naturallt, it’s one of the most popular browsers today. However, it’s becoming clear that it isn’t exactly the most efficient browser available. There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence online as well as some tests that show Chrome has a negative effect on your laptop’s battery life.
But nothing has driven that message home better than a new battery test video by Microsoft. The Redmond-based company wanted to prove that its Edge browser lasts longer than other browsers when used specifically for video playback and basic surfing. In Microsoft’s video, for instance, Chrome lasted 4 hours and 19 minutes during a streaming video test.
Microsoft Edge, on the other hand, lasted 7 hours and 22 minutes. The test also showed Opera and Firefox use more battery than Edge when playing video, opening sites, scrolling articles, opening new tabs, etc. To further show how Edge offers lower overall power consumption, Microsoft published data it collected from “millions” of Windows 10 PCs.
Keep in mind most people don’t watch web video for hours on end, so Microsoft’s battery test video is a little extreme. Also, Microsoft conducted this test using Surface Books, and we suspect browser efficiency varies by hardware.
Still, it’s obvious that Google should do more to improve Chrome’s battery efficiency.
Is this Samsung’s new Gear S3? Leaked pics seem to reveal watch
It’s time for the Gears S3 rumours to start up, apparently.
A recent leak suggested that Samsung’s follow-up to the Gear S2 smartwatch is codenamed Solis and will run Tizen, but now, overexposed images posted to Twitter (and spotted by SamMobile) have given us a first look at the upcoming watch. It’s hard to tell if they’re real. All we can see is a round smartwatch with a Rolex-like design, including a metal bracelet and fluted bezel.
The images are also stamped with the brand “Gear S3”. These could be fakes or a bad Photoshop job, but either way, it’s safe to assume that Samsung is developing a Gear S3 and might even launch the watch at IFA 2016 in Berlin. That show will kick off in early September. We’ve assumed the Gear S3 will make an appearance then because Samsung launched the S2 at last year’s IFA.
There’s not much else to go on for now, but stay tuned to Pocket-lint’s Gear S3 hub for all the latest news, including more leaks and rumours.
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Single-molecule switch gets us closer to light-powered computers
The computer and gadget industries have boosted the power of components by shrinking them to near-microscopic scale. One radical field, molecular electronics, takes this to its logical extreme: constructing circuits and devices from single molecules. Researchers at the Peking University of Beijing have just created a switch that can be dependably flipped on and off when hit with one photon, clearing the way for infinitesimally small applications in systems that use light instead of electricity.
Researchers are diving into the field of optical electronics for obvious reasons: light moves faster than electricity, which means faster computations. Shrinking those components results in even faster speeds, which could be useful in systems like solar panels, light sensors or biomedical applications, suggests Scientific American.
Previous attempts to create this single-molecule component were finicky, resulted in switches that got stuck in the “on” position or couldn’t be activated by different types of light. The Peking University researchers used different materials that allowed the switch to stabilize in either binary position yet still be activated by light.
This switch could last for up to a year, which is a vast improvement on the shelf lives of earlier attempts. “In many cases, molecular junctions have lives of minutes, hours, or in fortunate cases days,” Ioan Bâldea of the University of Heidelberg, Germany told Scientific American. While we’re still years from seeing these switches deployed in commercial products, it’s an important step to building stable components at a microscopic scale.
Source: Scientific American
