Tesla posts first profit in two years
Tesla’s having a good month. Last week it announced that all the cars it’s now producing will have the hardware needed for fully autonomous driving, on Friday it’s holding an event in Los Angeles where it’s expected to unveil a solar panel-filled roof for those cars. Plus it turns out that the the Model S got a 59-percentage sales bump year-over-year last quarter. To top it all off, it just posted a profit of $21.9 million for the third quarter.
The company also reported record production numbers, deliveries and overall revenue. In a letter to shareholders Tesla said that orders for the Model S and X grew 68 percent over the same period last year. It also increased production by 92 percent since last year and 37 percent since the second quarter. It expects to deliver on its goal of producing 50,000 cars in the second half of 2016.
Overall revenue was up 145 percent from third quarter 2015 to $2.3 billion which might make shareholders a little less nervous about the company’s $2.6 billion plan to acquire SolarCity.
The automaker also noted that it’s on track to begin deliveries of the new Model 3 in late 2017. The company’s shareholder letter states, “we have completed production line layouts and will soon begin installation of new body welding and final assembly lines.” Of course if you pre-order one now, you’re not going to get it until 2018.
During the quarterly call when asked about the possibility of having to share its driving data with other automakers Musk said, “we’d be happy to share information that would improve safety.”
Tesla also announced that its still on schedule to begin cell production at the Gigafactory later this year. So it should be up and running for Model 3 deliveries near the end of 2017.
As for the upcoming solar-roof event, Musk said, “you should see what we unveil on Friday. It’s really great.”
Source: Tesla
Microsoft is making a play for Apple’s base of creatives
During today’s Surface event Microsoft executives used the word “creative” tens of thousands of times. Sure, they talked about using Word, Excel and Powerpoint as a way to achieve these artistic goals, but at the core the company that’s traditionally filled meetings with large spreadsheets and bullet-pointed mission statements is going after the designers of the world. The question is: Why?
By all accounts the Surface Pro and Surface Book are solid computers. They’ll fit right into any Windows-centric home or office with their fancy pen and detachable displays. But wander down to the local coffee shop and you’ll be hard pressed to see the company’s hardware. A majority of the computers being used to write scripts, update web pages, create logos and compose songs are MacBooks. The Apple logo has been associated with artists for decades. Microsoft wants its logo on those machines creating content.
“Creatives” (ugh that word) form bonds with the machines that help them produce their work. That MacBook becomes their favorite paint brush or pencil. The attachment these folks have with Apple products kept the company afloat (barely) in the 90s. It’s an illogical love for a piece of hardware that I myself succumbed too when I was a designer in the late 90s.
Microsoft was about work. Apple was about art. Art is cool, work is not.
You can argue the merits of the competing operating systems until you’re blue in the face. But to designers and artists, Apple was and still is the obvious winner.
That dedication and evangelism not only kept Apple alive during its darkest hours, but it helped propel the company to become a tech juggernaut. Everyone wants to be cool and picking up few Apple products is a great way to show that you were one of the “crazy ones” ready to change your mindset to “think different.”
Microsoft and especially CEO Satya Nadella wants that sort of devotion for their products. They want to be loved. In fact at the Windows 10 event in 2015 Nadella said, “we want people to love Windows on a daily basis,” and “we wanna make Windows 10 the most loved release of Windows.”
To get that love — or at least a very strong like — it’s focusing on the computer users that make the deepest attachments to their tools: creatives aka the “cool kids.” They need them to show up to the coffee shops carrying a Surface Book to work on a client’s logo. It needs a creative director to guide clients over to a Surface Studio to walk them through the design of their site.
It’s human nature to want to be like the coolest person you know. If your job is working on mundane spreadsheets all day, the fashionista with the Surface Book looks like the awesomest person in the world. You might not be able to pull off the duds or the do, but you sure as hell can buy a computer to be cool.
That’s all Microsoft wants. It wants you to think you’re cool when you buy its products because it’s achieved that status in the eyes of artists. These hip new users probably won’t do much for the company’s bottom line (remember Apple almost died when all it had were the cool kids), but it’ll give it some much needed counter-culture clout. And if you happen to fall in love with a piece of metal and plastic and tell all your friends about your latest symphony, that’s even better.
What happened at Microsoft’s Surface event
Microsoft spent more than two hours on stage today introducing new products and software updates, but it all really comes down to one thing: the Surface Studio. It’s one of the most impressive pieces of hardware Microsoft has ever developed and a truly unique take on the all-in-one computer. If you’ve become addicted to using a digital pen on devices like Microsoft’s own Surface Pro or the iPad Pro but have craved a larger canvas, look no further. Of course, this doesn’t come cheap — the powerful and impeccably designed machine will set you back at least $2,999.
Beyond the Surface Studio, Microsoft also rolled out a new high-end Surface Book convertible laptop and announced that the Windows 10 “Creators Update,” which includes plenty of 3D-focused features, will roll out in the spring. Oh, and who can forget that crazy new Surface Dial? Let us catch you up with everything Microsoft rolled out today, won’t you?
Apple TV’s ‘TV guide’ app expected to appear tomorrow
Add one more thing to our list of anticipated announcements during Apple’s launch event tomorrow: a new “guide” for Apple TV. First reported by Recode in August, now sources tell it and USA Today that an app built to help people discover TV shows from multiple services at once will be revealed.
USA Today sources indicate it has been described as “the Watch List,” while Recode says that Netflix won’t be a part of it, at least at launch. Tossing a recommendation-based layer of universal search on top of other video apps isn’t the Apple TV service rumored to have been in the works, but it’s what we’re apparently going to get. Check in tomorrow at 1PM ET for all the details.
Source: USA Today, Recode
Watch Microsoft’s Surface event in 10 minutes
Microsoft had no shortage of announcements at its big Surface event. The Surface Studio all-in-one was undoubtedly the centerpiece, but the tech pioneer also unveiled a supercharged Surface Book, low-cost third-party VR headsets, the art-oriented Surface Dial accessory and a major Windows 10 update that’s focused on creators. It’s a lot to digest, we know. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend ages reading our liveblog to see what happened. We’ve recapped the choicest parts of the announcement in a 10-minute video that you can watch right here — you just have to sit back and enjoy.
Surface Studio: A stunning all-in-one PC that doubles as a drafting table
Microsoft is taking a page out of Apple’s playbook by catering to creators.
People in illustrating, graphic design, and other related artsy fields have long used MacBooks and iMacs as their tools of choice when it comes to running software like Adobe Photoshop, but with Mac and PC sales slowing across the world, Microsoft seems keen to turn the tables around. It not only announced an upcoming Creator Update for Windows 10 that features an overhauled Paint app, but it added a new member to the Surface family: the Surface Studio. It’s an all-in-one machine geared toward creative professionals
Pocket-lint
It has both hardware and software features designed to make creating artwork easier. This is essentially a touchscreen drafting table. The Surface Studio features an industrial design with a 28-inch LCD display and a “zero-gravity” hinge that allows the display to lay nearly flat. The slim base houses all the processing components, and there’s only one cable coming out the back. Microsoft has created its version of the iMac, but it’s much more versatile because it can transition from a standard desktop to a gigantic tablet.
While in the standard desktop mode, the Surface Studio functions as a normal computer but looks absolutely stunning visually. The whole device is straight up sexy. The monitor is so thin. It’s like someone took a 28-inch Surface tablet and mounted it. At first glance, it is difficult to believe it is an actual monitor and not some high-resolution photograph. You may think pics of the Studio make it look better than it actually is… no way. It really is that impressive to look at and play with in person.
The Surface Studio has a natural and smooth feel to it, so that every motion on the display is seamless and every stroke beautiful. It could be one of the best desktop computers I have ever used. It isn’t just a regular desktop; the ability to lay it down is extremely cool. It needs almost no effort to gently glide into a more flattened position. While lowered onto a table, it has an almost Star Trek-type of vibe, putting you behind this space station-like control center. Looks are not even close to the only thing it has going for it. Even though it is so thin, it still has enough power to hold up against any other AIO. It also has a lot of potential, especially for creative types.
Pocket-lint
With one finger, you can begin drawing. And if you use Microsoft’s Surface Pen and new Surface Dial, you can completely unleash your inner artist. The Dial is a puck-like input device you can use to rotate things and basically control things shown on the screen. It’s contextual as well, so depending on where you place, it’ll serve up specific options. Options for Adobe Photoshop, for instance, won’t appear in Microsoft Word. Dial is an interesting offering, considering Apple is expected to soon announce a new MacBook Pro with its own contextual OLED touch panel.
The Surface Dial makes the Surface Studio amazing to work with. It was tough to figure out at first, because it has so many options, but watching a Microsoft PR with it, who has obviously used the device many times, was like poetry in motion. Changing colours and the size of the brush within seconds, and in small wrist turns, was like watching someone solve a Rubik’s cube in mere seconds.
The Dial sits on your desk or directly on the screen of your Surface Studio, and it can move both clockwise and counterclockwise. When pressed downward, it selects and can toggle between different parts of a feature. For example, when choosing RGB for colour options, if you twist it around, it moves around the color wheel. By clicking down, you’ll see it change the type of colour wheel. Or, if you select a brush type (you may be on a brush size that you can spin to shrink or enlarge as you draw), you can press down on your Dial to turn the angle of your brush or change the opacity, among other features.
Pocket-lint
The Dial could be used on other devices since it can be connected via Bluetooth, but the ability to rest it on your screen is not available to other devices, as Microsoft and developers are building that functionality directly into their Windows apps. But, like on the Surface Studio, you can use it to scroll through pages and documents, change volume, and also brightness. It basically functions like a smart mouse for other laptops. The options for what you have visible on the Dial can also be customised.
First Impressions
If you get the Surface Studio for your home, there is a good chance you won’t have any pens, paper, paint, or any other art supplies still around, because you won’t need them. The options for creating are endless, with the ability to change your brush size, type, colours, opacity, and just about anything else you would need to change. The ability to use it in a more natural angle for creating art is also a big plus. We personally don’t like to draw on a screen that is directly in front of us like a desktop, but it gives such a natural feel to working on projects, with the hinge that can go from nearly flat to even past the point of straight so that you can still see the screen when sitting from a lower angle if you wanted.
The Surface Studio is an all-in-one art studio for digital artists. If you fit that bill, you can pre-order one starting today for $2,999, with deliveries expected in December. Though it carries a high price-tag, it seems to be worth it if you’re any type of artist.
Google Pixel cameras are experiencing excessive lens flare
The new Google Pixel and Pixel XL have plenty of features that can stand up to the competition, but there’s one that Google apparently didn’t intend on including: excessive lens flare on that highly rated camera. Redditors and members of google’s own Pixel User Community have been reporting cases of “rather extreme lens flaring” in “the overwhelming majority” of handsets.
This Halo effect is weird on the Pixel. pic.twitter.com/kGlTwGaOsY
— Danny Winget (@superscientific) October 22, 2016
As many photographers and will tell you, lens flare can be caused by a variety of factors and can even be a cool and desirable artistic effect. But as Googler IsaacOnCamera notes on the Pixel forums, this “halo/arc flare” happens as a bright arc in the corners of the frame and is definitely unintended. The good news is: Google says there’s nothing wrong with the Pixel hardware and there’s no reason to replace your device if you find your bright, sunlit shots are suddenly dappled with unwanted halos. The company says a software update to the HDR+ mode will correct the problem in the next couple of weeks. Of course, that also means you’ll have to keep HDR+ enabled if you’re not a fan of the J.J. Abrams look.
Via: PetaPixel, 9to5Google
Source: Google Pixel User Community
Waste the day away playing Android.com’s 404 page game
Need to kill some time? Look no further.
A website admin never wants you to follow a dead link and end up on a /404 page. But hey, it’ happens. And if you hit this sort of snag on android.com, you’ll find an excellent (and deceptively difficult) game to play, right in the browser.
There are two Androids shooting various Android-themed tasty treats into a contraption, which you control with clicks of a mouse — the goal is to direct the treats into one of three pipes coordinating with the treat. You see, the game seems simple, but quickly gets out of hand. The treats come faster and faster, and the pipes quickly get confusing.
One Android up on the top keeps score, and another in the middle counts how many times you fail to make the proper link — make five mistakes, and it’s game over.
We’re not going to say whether or not you should spend the next couple of hours playing the android.com/404 game. But we know it’s probably going to happen anyway — post your high score in the comments!
Where to buy the LG V20 in Canada
Where do I buy the LG V20 in Canada?
The LG V20 won’t be widely available in Canada, but you will still be able to find it in almost every province, on two carriers.
While the phone won’t be available at the Big Three carriers, it will be coming to regional providers Wind Mobile and Videotron. The former operates in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, while Videotron has an extensive network in Quebec.
Note: This page will be updated as more information becomes available. Check back soon for updates!
The LG V20 will be available on October 28 in Canada.
Buy the LG V20 at Wind Mobile
The LG V20 will be available at Wind Mobile on October 28. Pricing has not been confirmed.
See at Wind Mobile
Buy the LG V20 at Videotron
The LG V20 will be available at Videotron on October 28. Pricing has not been confirmed.
See at Videotron
LG V20
- LG V20 review: Built for power users
- LG V20 specs
- All LG V20 news
- LG V20 vs. Galaxy Note 7
- Discuss the V20 in the forums!
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Don’t expect those wireless Apple AirPods to launch anytime soon
Contrary to what Apple first said, the AirPods won’t launch this month.
When Apple unveiled its wireless AirPods in September, it said they would be available in late October. The world therefore expected Apple to announce during its 27 October event an actual release date for the earbuds – maybe the company would even launch them after the event.
Nope.
Apple has confirmed to TechCrunch and CNET that it is delaying the launch of its first pair of wireless headphones. In a statement, Apple said it needs “a little more time before AirPods are ready” for customers. Although it didn’t provide a new release date for the £159 headphones, Apple explained it doesn’t “believe in shipping a product before it’s ready”. Such an Apple thing to say.
We’re not sure why Apple has delayed the product. It could be a technical issue, but that’s just speculation. It’s not common for the company to delay launching products, so this news definitely has the rumour mill fired up. For more details on what Apple might actually unveil during its “Hello Again” event, such as the new MacBook Pro with an OLED touch panel, check out this round-up.
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