Month: September 2016

Enlarge / No, this isn't a screencap from the latest Forza Horizon game. (credit: WayLens)

Earlier this month, we took a look at a range of dash cams, cameras that drivers can use to keep a record of what happens around them. The devices can be very handy in the case of an accident (or meteorite strike). But what if you're a driving enthusiast who wants a bit more from your dash cam? While the standard devices are well suited to the daily grind of commuting, they aren't always ideal for capturing a great Sunday morning drive through the hills or an afternoon spent at the track, particularly if you want to overlay telemetry.

One option for the diving enthusiast is to buy a Chevrolet Corvette equipped with the Performance Data Recorder option—you'll be able to read more about how that works in the coming weeks—but that's a $1,750 option on a car with a base price north of $56,000. A cheaper alternative would be to combine a GoPro camera with a data acquisition system like one from Traqmate, or a standalone solution from AiM, but even there you'll be spending at least $1,000. Enter the $499 WayLens Horizon.

Unlike a GoPro, which has been designed to work in all manner of extreme environments, the Horizon has been purpose-designed for one application and one only—recording good looking in-car video. WayLens CEO Mike Schmidt recently gave us a demo of the device, and we came away quite impressed.

Enlarge / Do not reproduce without explicit permission (credit: Seth Anderson)

AT&T is getting rid of Internet Preferences, the controversial program that analyzes home Internet customers' Web browsing habits in order to serve up targeted ads.

“To simplify our offering for our customers, we plan to end the optional Internet Preferences advertising program related to our fastest Internet speed tiers," an AT&T spokesperson confirmed to Ars today. "As a result, all customers on these tiers will receive the best rate we have available for their speed tier in their area. We’ll begin communicating this update to customers early next week.”

Data collection and targeted ads will be shut off, AT&T also confirmed.

Enlarge / The lawyers are petitioning a court housed in the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco. (credit: Bloomberg / Getty Images News)

Two lawyers and legal researchers based at Stanford University have formally asked a federal court in San Francisco to unseal numerous records of surveillance-related cases, as a way to better understand how authorities seek such powers from judges. This courthouse is responsible for the entire Northern District of California, which includes the region where tech companies such as Twitter, Apple, and Google, are based.

According to the petition, Jennifer Granick and Riana Pfefferkorn were partly inspired by a number of high-profile privacy cases that have unfolded in recent years, ranging from Lavabit to Apple’s battle with the Department of Justice.

As they wrote in their Wednesday filing:

Sure, you might think you're the most hip, cool, finger-on-the-pulse of gaming kinda guy having pre-ordered Nintendo's upcoming emulation box, the Nintendo Classic Mini NES. But after you've invited everyone round to fawn over the detail in the Mini NES cartridge slot, served a few light beverages, and began to feel really good about your choices in life, along comes your older, beardier, always-slightly-more-trendy friend. Tucked under his arm, just in sight, is Nintendo's Japan-only Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer, otherwise known as the Mini Famicom.

Distraught, you begin talking about how your Mini NES comes with 30 built-in games in a vain attempt to cushion the blow, but to no avail. The Mini Famicom with its Japan-exclusive games and import-only cachet has stolen your thunder. Oh yes, check and mate my friend. You've been well and truly out-hipstered.

And why not? Just look at how much more exciting the Mini Famicom is with its chintzy red finish. It even has hard-wired controllers, just like on the original Japanese Famicom that was released way back in 1983 (two years before it was released in the US, and three before Europe). Also like the original, the Mini Famicom is functionally identical to the Mini NES, containing 30 emulated versions of classic 8-bit Famicom/NES games that it spits out over a modern HDMI cable in glorious HD. Multiple display modes—including one that simulates old CRT screens—and save states are also part of the package.