Amtrak’s next-generation high-speed trains arrive in 2021

While Amtrak is a perfectly fine way to travel, especially on the Eastern seaboard, the country’s publicly owned rail company doesn’t exactly have a high-tech reputation. That will change in the next few years, thanks to a massive $2.45 billion loan from the federal government, which the company plans to invest in 28 next-generation train sets and significant upgrades to the Northeast Corridor.

About $2 billion of that federal loan, which Vice President “Amtrak” Joe Biden announced Friday at his home station in Wilmington, Delaware, will be put towards those new train cars, which will boost the Acela fleet by 40 percent when they enter service in 2021. According to Amtrak, the new trains will offer one-third more passenger seating, more outlets and USB ports, improved WiFi quality (finally), and top speeds of 186 mph. (For comparison, Japan’s high-speed rail lines top out at 200 mph.) Thanks to a lighter, more aerodynamic design, the new trains should also cut energy consumption by about 20 percent. The trains will be 95 percent “Made in America” and built in New York state by Alstom.

As for the other $450 million of that federal loan, the company will be putting the money towards revitalizing four stations — including Union Station in Washington DC and Penn Station in New York City — as well as some much-needed infrastructure improvements between DC and Boston.

Source: Amtrak, Delaware Online

US mulls speed-limiting devices for buses and big rigs

Large vehicles like buses and big rig trucks are just as much of a safety concern as everyday cars, and US regulators think technology might be the key to saving lives. The NHTSA and FMCS have proposed installing speed-limiting devices on big commercial vehicles (those with a weight rating over 26,000lbs) to both reduce the chances of a crash and minimize damage when an accident happens. It could help with fuel efficiency and durability, too, by discouraging lead-footed drivers.

Just what that maximum speed would be is up in the air. Current proposals hover between 60MPH and 68MPH. The agencies are accepting public input for the 60 days following the proposal, however, so you can make a case for your preferred limit.

Reactions to the proposal are mixed, Reuters notes. The industry’s American Trucking Association has liked the idea of a speed limiter for 10 years thanks to its safety and potential for lowering costs, but the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is worried that limiters take away too much control and aren’t realistic. What if you need to speed up to avoid an accident? And as many people will tell you, the speed limit on a highway frequently amounts to a polite suggestion — a slower-moving semi-trailer may pose more of a threat as speeding commuters dodge around it. Officials may have to be pragmatic if they want regulations that hold up in real conditions.

Via: Reuters

Source: Transportation.gov

Simulated Mars mission ends its year-long experiment

A NASA-backed, year-long simulation of living on Mars has finally come to a close. The six people in the HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) experiment have left their dome on Mauna Loa to rejoin the rest of society. The test shows that a team can maintain performance, resource gathering and social graces while spending long periods in the relative isolation necessary for a Mars mission, whether it’s a temporary stay or a full-fledged colony. For example, the crew demonstrated that you can extract water from ground that appears to be dry — important when astronauts would likely have to ration water carefully.

The conditions weren’t nearly as harsh as they would be on Mars, of course, but there were strict limitations. Participants could only leave the dome if they had a spacesuit on, for instance, and they had to survive on simple food (usually canned or powdered). Entering the dome was, psychologically, much like leaving Earth — they were cut off from the luxuries of home for much longer than your average camping trip.

This isn’t the last HI-SEAS mission. NASA has offered grants that will keep the experiment going through 2019, and recruiting is already underway for the next two stays. Even so, this extra-long test (there were previous 4- and 8-month stays) is already a big confidence booster. Its data will help NASA tweak its strategies for supporting long-endurance space missions, whether it’s the mix of supplies they need to bring or a choice of personalities that mesh well together.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: University of Hawaii

NBC Sports ‘Goal Rush’ helps you follow Premier League scoring

Premier League soccer started a couple of weeks ago, but this weekend NBC Sports debuted a new feature for fans in the US: Goal Rush. Each week when there are multiple matches going on at the same time, the network will select one for Goal Rush on the NBC Sports app. While the stream will primarily focus on that game (presumably the one with the potential for the most goals), the action will cut away to another in-progress matchup when a goal is scored. For example, this weekend was Arsenal and Watford’s 4-goal affair with highlights from the other games spliced in as they happened.

NBC Sports compares Goal Rush to NFL RedZone, but that’s not really how it works. RedZone cuts to a game before the scoring happens so you can watch it live. For that reason, it doesn’t stick with one game for too long over the others that are also in progress. Scoring in soccer is much less predictable. It’s nearly impossible to know when the goals are coming before they’re scored, so Goal Zone is really more like an in-game highlights show. NBC Sports promises “live look-ins on action at all the grounds,” but that wasn’t the case this weekend. Perhaps the coverage will expand as the season progresses.

For die-hard fans of one club or another, Goal Zone won’t be of much use. Because it sticks with one game the majority of the time, most supporters aren’t going to forgo the chance to watch their team to try it out. Halftime consisted of a collection of clips rather than the in-studio commentary match viewers are used to seeing on NBC Sports Network and its affiliates. For the casual fan who isn’t invested in a team just yet, this could be a great way to keep up with all of the action when there are multiple games on the schedule. Goal Zone is available through the NBC Sports app on Android, iOS, Windows, Roku, Amazon TV, Apple TV and Chromecast. And yes, you’ll need a cable subscription to give it a shot next weekend.

Ready for a RedZone-esque experience? STREAM: @PremierLeague “Goal Rush” live at 10am ET with action from 6 games https://t.co/T23RWSEQ5n

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 27, 2016

Source: NBC Sports Soccer (Twitter), NBC Sports

Opera warns that its web sync service was hacked

Data breaches happen all too often, but it’s rare that they target your browser’s sync service… and unfortunately, Opera just became one of those exceptions. The company is warning users that it detected a hack in its sync system that may have given intruders access to login details. While your passwords are likely safe (all synced passwords are encrypted, for example), Opera isn’t risking anything. It’s resetting all sync account passwords, and it recommends that you change any linked third-party passwords to be on the safe side.

Opera is quick to note that the majority of its 350 million users won’t be affected, since most don’t use sync. However, this still leaves about 1.7 million active users at risk, and there are likely more inactive users who are storing useful passwords. True, it’s doubtful that the breach will lead to serious damage, but this certainly isn’t the kind of news Opera would want following its sale to a Chinese security giant.

[Thanks, Kristy]

Source: Opera Security

Second life

What’s the best way to enjoy this column? With a big cup of Kona.

I like good coffee. Anyone who knows me well knows that I obsess about it. Good beans, a high-quality grinder, and time. Patience. Every morning, I stumble downstairs, boil some water in my well-used Hario gooseneck kettle, and proceed with the ritual: grind, weigh, pour-over. It takes five minutes, longer than many people are willing to wait for good coffee, but to me it’s a rule, not an exception. There is nothing better than that first sip of bright Kenyan coffee as the sun pours in through the blinds, the radio on in the background, sounds of voices familiar and present, comforting.

I think everyone needs these rituals to look forward to each day, to fill in the gaps between the rote and mundane.

I also play dodgeball. It’s something I’ve done for almost ten years, and I’ve broken almost that many fingers (often the same one multiple times). It’s always a conversation starter — “Like the movie?” No, nothing like the movie. Better! — but it’s also an entirely different world than my day-to-day. I get to leave my pinging phone in my bag for two hours, and channel my troubles into a winning score on the court. Cliché, sure, but there’s a reason exercise is the best thing you can do for anxiety.

We are publishing fewer articles overall, with an emphasis on quality over quantity.

As the Northern Hemisphere cools, and the days shorten, I have to remember to really appreciate the rituals, the breaks in the norm, and the opportunities to pull away from the myriad screens that keep me tied to my work, and increasingly my friends and family, day after day.

You’ve seen some of that realignment of thought on Android Central since I took over as Managing Editor, publishing fewer articles, with an emphasis on quality over quantity. In the next few weeks, you’ll see an even greater emphasis placed on individual writers (with some big announcements), and a new approach to news that will hopefully find a compromise between the news ticker (that we admittedly rolled out too early) and the high-quality analysis you expect from a site of AC’s reputation and influence.

As I said in my introduction, my mandate is to make Android Central, and Android as an idea, more broadly accessible to everyone. We already have Jerry doing an amazing (AMAZING!) job delving into the parts of the ecosystem in a way that is both accessible and comprehensive. I’m so excited to read his Saturday column every week, and you should be, too.

Many people just want to know which phone to buy at a certain budget, or what case to get for their brand new Droid.

But many people just want to know which phone to buy at a certain budget, or what case to get for their brand new Galaxy S6, or Moto G4. AC should be accessible and valuable to those who arrive randomly after fastidiously making their coffee in the morning, or returning from the gym, or hanging with friends. People whose phones are a part of their day, not their entire day. I love that we can, and will, cater to both audiences.

We have a busy week coming up. IFA is just around the corner, and you’ll start seeing a trickle leading into a flood of announcements from almost every company whose tendrils even graze the Android ecosystem. Last year we got new smart watches from Samsung, new phones from Huawei and Sony, and some pretty big surprises. I’m excited to see what these same companies have learned in 12 months.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your week!

Daniel

‘Jason Bourne’ in 3D is making moviegoers in China nauseous

In China, where 80 percent of movie theaters built in the last 10 years have 3D projectors, movie studios often release “exclusive,” three-dimensional adaptations of movies that won’t actually see a 3D release stateside. While that can be lucrative for a studio’s bottom line, the plan apparently backfired for Universal Picture’s latest big budget action flick. Jason Bourne may be dumb about technology, but as The Hollywood Reporter explains, a 3D conversion of the film is actually leaving moviegoers feeling dizzy and nauseous, thanks to director Paul Greengrass’ face-paced, handheld camerawork.

“I really felt sick during the fight scenes when I watched it in 3D,” one viewer wrote on Weibo. “It was like a low-budget movie. I need to watch again in 2D.”

According to state-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times, disgruntled (and possibly dizzy) moviegoers took to the streets in Beijing’s Chaoyang district earlier this week to demand their money back. Making things even more difficult for Matt Damon’s fans in China is the fact that almost no theaters are carrying the 2D print in the film’s opening week and ticket prices for 3D editions are often twice that of a 2D screening. Global Times reported that only eight of the 149 theaters in Beijing had the original version of Bourne’s latest exploits. According to Universal Picture’s Beijing office, however, the movie studio is working with distributors to fix that. Either way, the film still managed to pull in $25.1 million during its first three days in China.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Global Times, Deadline

US military worries it will lose the AI war

It took a while for the US military to bolster its defenses against cyberattacks, and it looks like there’s a similar deficit when it comes to artificial intelligence. A new Defense Department report says that the country needs to take “immediate action” to speed up its development of AI war technology. Academic and private research on AI and autonomous tech is well ahead of American forces, the study says. There’s a real chance that we could see a repeat of what happened in cyberwarfare, where the US was focused so heavily on launching attacks that it left itself off-guard.

Naturally, the board already has some advice. It recommends that the Pentagon gather more intelligence on other nations’ AI capabilities, and develop “counter-autonomy” solutions. The military could deceive or overwhelm autonomous war machines, for example. Also, the writers suggest that the US pour many more resources into developing and testing learning AI, such as weapons that adapt to battlefield conditions.

There’s no guarantee that officials will heed the advice, or even that it’s absolutely necessary. However, there are good reasons why the US might not want to sit on its hands. The board cautions that rivals (such as China and Russia) have “less restrictive” policies on lethal autonomous hardware, such as killer robots. That doesn’t mean that the US should follow their lead, but it may need technology that can thwart deadly AI systems before it’s too late.

Via: Defense One

Source: Secretary of Defense (PDF)