Uber’s self-driving car partner skirted state rules to get noticed

Remember how Otto demonstrated a self-driving big rig truck without anyone in the cabin, making a great case for its eventual acquisition by Uber? It turns out that the company knowingly broke the rules, according to Backchannel… but also didn’t have to face consequences for its actions. Nevada (where Otto shot its promo video) requires both a special license and people in the cockpit for any autonomous testing, but Otto decided that the month of licensing, modification and testing would take too long — it went ahead anyway. Officials were outraged, and there was even talk of the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles backing away from self-driving tech and placing it in the hands of a department focused on business development.

However, there wasn’t much Nevada regulators could do in response. You see, the current rules (which were partly shaped by Otto’s own Anthony Levandowski) don’t actually punish violations. Amendments to the regulations could introduce penalties in 2017, but that’s too late to do anything against Otto.

For its part, Otto maintains that this wasn’t really a test of full autonomy, since there was an engineer in the back monitoring what was happening. That might not fly if Otto ever lands in court, though. Law professors speaking to Backchannel say that monitoring might not count unless someone is at the steering wheel, ready to take over in case of an emergency. And in practice, it might not matter much if police see a pilotless truck and decide to pull it over.

It’s evident that Otto took a big risk by flouting regulations, and the move paid off when Uber spent $680 million to buy Otto just months after that self-driving video appeared. However, the stunt is also a reminder that governments everywhere have to be very careful when producing autonomous driving rules. If they don’t put teeth into their regulations, those limits become meaningless — and that could pose real danger on the road if a company’s technology is flawed.

Source: Backchannel

San Francisco transit hackers threaten to expose data

Looks like San Francisco refused to give in to transit system hackers trying to hold the city for ransom. In a conversation with Motherboard, the attackers (still going by “Andy Saolis”) have threatened to expose 30GB of Muni databases and documents unless they receive the $73,000 in bitcoin that they demanded alongside the initial hack. They’re trying to claim the moral high ground, too. Purportedly, the hack was a “proof of concept” meant to show that the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Authority doesn’t “pay attention to your safety.” This forces SFMTA to “do right job,” the perpetrators claim in broken English.

The threat doesn’t exactly hold a lot of water, though. For one, the hackers don’t have any proof that they actually have the files — they refused to send samples to Motherboard. Also, it’s doubtful that there’s a noble cybersecurity cause here between the demands for money and the Russian email address used to demand payment. Based on current evidence, this appears to be little more than a botched extortion attempt by criminals. They successfully compromised Muni systems, but they weren’t prepared for officials to call their bluff and restore service without paying a dime.

Source: Motherboard

Record swathes of the Great Barrier Reef died in 2016

The Great Barrier Reef lost more coral to bleaching in 2016 than in any other year on record, according to scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. The northern area was hit the worst: A region spanning 435 miles at the tip of the reef lost 67 percent of its shallow-water corals over the past nine months alone.

The story is better in the central and southern regions, which respectively lost just 6 percent and 1 percent of their corals in 2016. “The corals have now regained their vibrant color and these reefs are in good condition,” ARC Centre Professor Andrew Baird said. (We’ve reached out to the ARC Centre for additional information about this year’s die-off and will update this story as we hear back.)

Bleaching can occur when water temperatures rise and stay too warm, causing corals to expel the algae zooxanthellae, which gives them their color and provides them with food. The corals turn white and they’re immensely weakened, though not dead quite yet. If they survive predators and disease, they can be revitalized, though ARC Centre researchers expect it will take 10 to 15 years to regain the northern region’s corals. Another bleaching event could of course slow down the recovery process.

This is the third major die-off to strike the Great Barrier Reef, following less destructive events in 1998 and 2002. Coral bleaching is yet another sign that the planet is warming in unprecedented ways, largely because of human activity.

Source: The ARC Centre

Get your holiday shopping done early with this 20% discount at ShopAndroid

Before you know it the holidays will be here, and you’ll be rushing around fighting off crowds trying to buy last minute gifts. Why not avoid all of that this year and save 20% on a variety of awesome accessories for your friends and family? We know it sounds more appealing, and you can start doing it right now.

That’s right, ShopAndroid is currently offering 20% off accessories with the coupon code Shop16, so you can shop today from the comfort of your own home, and have your gifts delivered to you in just a few short days!

Whether you are in the market for a new case, battery pack or some cables for your phone, you’ll want to check out our wide selection. From devices like the Galaxy S7 to the HTC 10 and even the Honor 8, we’ve got a ton of great accessories for you to sort through.

Remember, you’ll need to use coupon code Shop16 once you’ve loaded your cart up with goodies in order to get the 20% savings. Now, get to shopping!

See at ShopAndroid.com

OnePlus paid a Vine star to unbox the OnePlus 3T inside a fighter jet

Jake Paul pulls multiple Gs while unboxing the OnePlus 3T.

In honor of the OnePlus 3T — the souped-up version of the OnePlus 3 the company released back in June — OnePlus enlisted some help to give its speedier new model an unboxing video worthy of the new Snapdragon 821 processor, 16MP front-facing camera, beefed-up 3400mAh battery, and new 128GB storage option.

Yes, that’s YouTuber and Vine star Jake Paul taking the OnePlus 3T along for a ride in a Mig 15 at an airbase in the Czech Republic. Watch as Paul tries to keep his composure, unboxing the new OnePlus 3T in Gunmetal Grey, talking about some of the upgraded features while the pilot ahead of him take the fighter jet pulls off aerial stunts at dizzying heights.

While cynical YouTube commenters have been quick to question the value of what would seem like a pretty expensive concept for what resulted in a rather superfluous two-minute unboxing offering little insight or informational value for the phone itself, we’re fine to take this fun vid strictly at face value. Besides, it’s easily the coolest unboxing video we’ve seen since T-Mobile unboxed the Samsung Galaxy S7 underwater to showcase the IP68 dust- and water-resistance of Samsung’s 2016 flagship device.

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T

• OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
• The OnePlus 3T is official
• OnePlus 3 specs
• OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
• Latest OnePlus 3 news
• Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums

OnePlus

Google Pixel XL: One month later

With a month of use behind us, how is the larger of the two Pixel phones holding up?

The Google Pixel XL, the larger of the two Pixel handsets, is a great phone. In fact, we currently rank it as the best Android phone you can buy. But the real mark of a top-tier smartphone is that it stands up to months, or even years of use without skipping a beat. That’s why we’re going to revisit both Pixel models over the coming months, updating our impressions as we go.

I’ve been using the Pixel XL since October 14, and during that time it’s been my daily driver, accompanying me on trips halfway across the world, as well as being by my side through more mundane everyday tasks. So it’s time to reflect on my first month with the phone. Let’s dig in.

Hardware, wear and tear

My Pixel XL in Quite Black has accompanied me on 10 flights across four countries over the past month, and in doing so it’s picked up a few signs of wear. I should note that the phone hasn’t been dropped or scuffed (that I’ve noticed), but still there are some early signs of use. The most visible of these are around the back, where the notoriously scratch-prone back glass has continued to pick up abrasions. That’s an inevitable result of having this glass section flush with the back of the phone. (And also, I suppose, an argument in favor of camera bumps, which prop up the back of a phone.

There’s also a small section where the anodized paint job has worn away a little on the top left corner. And a tiny hairline scratch on the front glass, above the display. No idea how either of those happened — I’ve babied this phone as much as any during its first month in service.

The XL’s design is just a little bit boring — unless you’re talking abut the crazy blue version.

None of these small nicks and scratches are really visible unless you go looking for them. In photos, they’re almost impossible to spot. It’s very minor cosmetic damage. Nevertheless, it’s there, and it seems to have accumulated quicker than a lot of other phones I’ve used this year.

As for the design itself, the common criticism that the Pixel looks dull or uninspired is understandable. Especially in black, it’s pretty generic looking. And buyers outside the U.S. don’t yet have the option to buy the more eye-catching “Really Blue” version.

Performance and software

The Pixel was blazing fast a month ago, and so it remains today, even with 70 apps currently installed. I’ve manually updated to the newer firmware version that hit Canadian Pixels recently, giving me the helpful option to have the display wake after I pick it up. It’s a small addition, but it makes a huge difference. I’ve ended up turning off double-tap-to-wake, which right now seems way too sensitive to unintentional touches when the screen is switched off.

Google’s phones take a step beyond stock Android this year, and for the most part I’ve become used to the quirks of the way the Pixel’s UI handles. To begin with, I found Google’s (bizarrely inconsistent) move towards circular app icons jarring. That’s still kind of the case — everyday apps like the camera, Gmail and Google Calendar look bad — a tiny app icon in an enormous circular frame. But slowly things are improving, as third-party apps like Twitter and Uber add decent-looking circular icons. Maybe Google’s vision of this new, circular future for apps will become clearer in the year ahead.

I’m still in love with the ‘Aurora’ live wallpaper.

The Pixel has a bunch of Google-specific software features besides rounded icons, of course. And weirdly, the thing I’ve enjoyed using the most on a daily basis has been the Aurora live wallpaper. Google’s phones have no shortage of impressive home screen backdrops, but the way Aurora dynamically changes based on weather, location and time of day, makes it truly live. Depending on when you use the phone, you can end up with some pretty wild combinations of colors.

There’s a great article on Google’s design site covering this wallpaper and many other aspects of the Pixels’ audiovisual design. For instance, did you know Aurora’s gradients were designed to line up exactly with the glass on the rear of the phone?

I’ve also come to enjoy the convenience of Android Pay, as my bank finally got onboard with the service in the past couple of months — and I’ve been using it the most on the Pixel XL. The service exists separately to the Pixel, of course, but the phone’s hardware still plays a part. It’s useful to reliably be able to tap the top corner of the phone to pay, just like the iPhone. No monkeying around trying to find where the NFC antenna begins and ends.

At the other end of the spectrum I’ve all but completely stopped using Google Assistant. I’m not big on voice interaction with gadgets anyway, and Assistant remains a version 1.0 product with some unfortunate consistency issues.

Storage anxiety

At this point I’m just going to say it: If you’re at all on the fence, just get the 128GB Pixel. You won’t regret it in the long run. An extra $100 upfront will save you the hassle of juggling photos off into the cloud, and clearing out app caches periodically. When you’re paying this much for a phone to begin with, it makes total sense to stump up a little extra and turn storage into a non-issue.

By keeping things relatively light, and offloading photos when I can, I’m usually a little over half-full on this 32GB Pixel XL.

But if you go with a 32GB Pixel, you will eventually run out of space, and have to use the “clear up space” feature to offload your photos to Google’s cloud. Then you’ll be searching for apps to uninstall, media to clear out, music to purge. It’s an issue I’ve run into while traveling this past month. The same has happened to our own Florence Ion, currently traveling in New Zealand, and The Verge’s Vlad Savov, traveling in the Netherlands.

More: How to free up storage space on the Google Pixel

Updated camera impressions

My impressions of the Pixel’s camera really haven’t changed since our review. It’s one of the best phone cameras out there, relying on Google excellent HDR+ processing to match the likes of the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 7 in daylight pics, and occasionally blow them away in full auto when shooting in the dark.

I’ve yet to find the infamous lens flare issue a huge problem. It’s something which sometimes happens, but the light needs to hit the phone’s lens at a very specific angle in order for it to mess up a shot. I’m missing the lack of any manual shooting modes just a bit, but given the fact that the phone leans so much on HDR+, which takes multiple exposures and relies on computation to stitch them together, it’s understandable. (Seriously, you don’t want to turn HDR+ off completely. Low-light photos will look horrible if you do.)

Enough words — here are some pretty pictures taken by the Pixel XL. All are unprocessed, pulled straight from the phone. (You’ll find more in my Pixel XL travel piece from a few weeks back.)

More: Pixel lens flare, and how to avoid it

Still one of the best — but pricey

Little has changed in the past six weeks or so — the Pixel is every bit as good today as it was when I first began using it in mid-October. Google may still be finding its groove when it comes to iconography, but the rest of the Pixel’s software experience is fast, and a joy to use. Welcome touches like the Aurora live wallpaper give the phone that extra bit of polish.

Surprise! The Pixel XL is still great.

Google has nailed every part of the core experience — the Pixel XL is, for me, just about the right size. (I couldn’t imagine going back to something as small as the regular 5-inch Pixel.) Its camera is among the best I’ve used on any phone, and arguably the best overall in some situations. Meanwhile, battery life and day-to-day performance go toe-to-toe with what the competition can offer — though I’m still not quite confident enough that I’ll get two days per charge.

But do yourself a favor and buy the 128GB model. You’ll thank me when you don’t have to delete all your stuff.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

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These apps will make your business a collaboration powerhouse

Improve your productivity and project planning at work with these great apps!

Email is still the go-to communication tool for business, but more often it’s taking a backseat to a wide spectrum of cloud-based apps that can have a positive impact on individual productivity.

We’ll be highlighting messaging, task management and project-based apps that have the potential to completely revamp how your company communicates and organizes projects.

Slack

Slack brings all your company’s communications into one app, allowing for real-time messaging and collaboration on projects. With Slack, you can create channels for different departments or projects related to your company — including private channels for more sensitive topics — and everyone in your company can seamlessly communicate and share files with one another via direct messaging, group messages and even voice calls through Slack apps available for web, PC, Mac, iOS and Android. All this helps to cut down internal email, and keeps all your communication in one archivable, searchable place.

It’s an ideal fit for smaller or medium-sized businesses. You can try Slack with your company for free, and if your team likes it, you can upgrade to a premium version that offers group calling and more feature integration.

Learn More about Slack

Google Apps / G Suite

If your company has been relying on the ubiquitous services of Microsoft Office, but you’re in need of something more collaborative, you should really take a serious look at Google’s G Suite.

If you’re familiar with Google’s offerings (and if you use Android, you should be), you’ll know how well Google does at integrating all their apps and services into one another. Beyond the convenience and ease-of-use of services such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive and Google Hangouts, Google also offers their own creation tools that are surprisingly powerful and perfect for collaboration — Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Forms and Google Slides. Perhaps the best part is the cloud-based storage, allowing anyone on the team to access and contribute to documents on all their devices at any time.

You can jump in and try them out for free, and if they more than serve your company’s needs, you can upgrade to the G Suite Basic or Business plans and get more of everything that makes Google’s products great.

Learn more about Google’s G Suite

Dropbox

Odds are you use Dropbox for your personal cloud-storage needs — why not use it for your businesses needs too? With Dropbox for Business, you’ll get as much space as needed so you can store and access all the important files for your business via the web client, along with apps for Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows.

Dropbox is great for collaboration, too, as teams can work out of shared folders uploading and downloading content to their devices as needed. Dropbox also features unlimited third-party integrations and takes your files security seriously, offering password-protected links, and the option to remote wipe a device in the case of a lost phone or laptop.

Learn more about Dropbox for Business

Trello

Trello offers a fantastic way to monitor progress and encourage collaboration on projects within your company. Built around the concept of boards and cards, it’s an intuitive organization system that can be customized to fit the needs of your company. Anyone on the team is free to create, comment on, or upload relevant files to cards, making Trello a pretty great tool for remote brainstorming sessions. Your team can access Trello on the web, or take it with them always with the mobile app, available for Android and iOS.

Given how simple and flexible Trello is to work with, it just might change the way your company keeps itself organized. You can try it out for free before upgrading to Gold or Business.

Learn more about Trello

Basecamp

Basecamp offers a great all-in-one platform for keeping your company organized and everyone on the team in the loop with what everyone else is working on. It’s a great option for a growing team that’s feeling overwhelmed by constant internal emails and frequent meetings. Message boards, to-do lists, schedules, and file repositories are all combined via elegant design into a system that’s easy to navigate and accessible to the entire team at all times.

Your team can even check in to Basecamp on the go, via the Basecamp app for Android.

Learn more about Basecamp

Your turn

What are your favorite collaboration and communication apps? Let us know!