Month: April 2016

A Google self-driving car. (credit: Google)

As US regulators consider issuing guidance allowing the sale of self-driving cars, an industry group representing automakers has urged the government to take things slow.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in January that within six months it intended to "develop guidance on the safe deployment and operation of autonomous vehicles." The agency is working with officials in states and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators to develop a "model state policy" that would eventually lead to a consistent policy for the whole country.

With that effort in progress, the NHTSA held a public hearing Friday to get different viewpoints. Paul Scullion, safety manager at the Association of Global Automakers, warned that issuing guidance instead of writing regulations could allow dangerous cars on the road. "While this process is often time-consuming, these procedural safeguards are in place for valid reasons," Scullion said, according to the Associated Press.

(credit: Chariot for Women)

A new Boston-area startup hopes to be a new on-demand ride service that will only offer rides to women, trans women, and children of any gender under 13.

Chariot for Women, which was founded by a husband-and-wife team from Charlton, Massachusetts, is set to launch nationwide on April 19. Its pricing will be much more similar to traditional taxi fares, with a base charge and a per mile rate—and with no surge pricing.

The company says that it is focusing on safety and will only employ female drivers, who will have background checks run by Safer Places. All prospective drivers must also pass Massachusetts’ Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI), according to TechCrunch.

This offer from Google is being phased out in Kansas City. (credit: Google)

Google Fiber is no longer offering free Internet service to any customer who wants it in Kansas City.

While Google Fiber is most famous for its $70-per-month gigabit plan, customers could also get slow Internet—5Mbps downloads and 1Mbps uploads—without paying a monthly service fee. The plan required only a $300 construction fee that could be paid up-front or in 12 monthly installments of $25 each.

But that plan is now gone in Kansas City, Re/code reported yesterday. The free offer was still online as recently as Wednesday, but the current offers now begin at $50 a month for symmetrical 100Mbps service.

(credit: David Mulder)

A nucleus is one of many membrane-bound compartments that distinguishes our eukaryotic cells from the prokaryotic cells of microorganisms like bacteria. Eukaryotic cells also possess energy-producing compartments we call mitochondria.

Because mitochondria look like prokaryotes, it's long been assumed that eukaryotic cells came into existence when one prokaryote swallowed another prokaryote. The subsumed prokaryote then set up shop inside the host prokaryote and evolved into a mitochondrion. A problem with this idea is that prokaryotic cells lack the ability to phagocytose—to swallow other cells. Eukaryotic cells can, but every eukaryote we know about has mitochondria. It's not clear which came first: the ability to swallow other cells, or the mitochondria.

But over time, researchers have made the case that the ancestor of all eukaryotes belonged to a group of organisms called archaea. And now, one team says it can point the finger at a specific organism.

Very blurry images of the supposed Blackberry Hamburg (left) and Blackberry Rome (right). (credit: DHabkirk's BBM Channel)

In an interview with the Middle Eastern site The National, BlackBerry CEO John Chen detailed the company's plans for the future. If you haven't been following along, BlackBerry is now an Android OEM, having launched the BlackBerry Priv at the end of 2015. The Priv was $700, a price point Chen admitted "was probably not as wise as it should have been." Now the company is going to try a pair of "mid-range" Android devices.

Chen told The National that "A lot of enterprise customers have said to us, ‘I want to buy your phone, but $700 is a little too steep for me. I’m more interested in a $400 device.'" The report says BlackBerry plans "to launch two mid-range Android handsets this year, one with a physical keyboard and one with a full touchscreen."

Chen's comments line up perfectly with a very blurry image that appeared last week on the BBM channel of BlackBerry Central founder Dylan Habkirk. Pictured are prototypes of the "BlackBerry Hamburg" and the "BlackBerry Rome," both of which are described as "mid-range" devices, with "two new hardware features that haven't been on a BlackBerry before." Habkirk later shared a BlackBerry patent on a fingerprint reader.

It's basically a big version of the 13-inch system. (credit: Peter Bright)

If Dell's XPS 13 was the most striking 13-inch laptop to be released last year, HP's Spectre x360 was a close second. While it didn't have the Dell's stylish narrow bezels, it nonetheless offered good looks, great battery life, and one of those fancy hinges that let you fold the screen all the way back. It also had a webcam that was usably placed, unlike the XPS 13, making it a very solid choice.

Just as Dell made a bigger version of the XPS 13, the new XPS 15, so too has HP revisited the Spectre. The 15.6-inch Spectre x360 is a bigger version of the 13-inch device: a sleek, attractive 4.1lb device with the same 360 degree hinge.

While I personally am a huge fan of the 13-inch form factor for its greater portability, 14- and 15-inch systems are the biggest sellers. Many buyers prefer their larger screens and, generally, longer battery life.

The LG G5.

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On paper, the LG G5 seems like a great device. There's an innovative modular design that gives you both a removable battery and an aluminum unibody enclosure. It's got the usual high-end 2016 flagship specs: a Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM, and a 5.3-inch 1440p display. All the little extras seem to be there too: a microSD slot, a USB Type-C port, a fingerprint reader, and an IR blaster.

There's more to a device than what the specs look like on paper, though. And when you take a closer look, the LG G5 starts to disappoint. Our review unit fails to meet really basic manufacturing and engineering standards. Exposed edges in commonly-touched places are so sharp that they're uncomfortable. Components don't line up correctly, the backlight isn't even, and in general it feels more like a rushed engineering prototype than a polished, finished product.

Design and build quality

There has been some controversy online as to whether or not the G5 body is metal. This video shows large plastic-looking chunks being shaved out of the G5 with a razor blade. LG felt this was damaging enough to issue a press release: