Month: December 2018

When Apple introduced the fourth iteration of its smartwatch, the big new selling point wasn't a feature we typically associate with a watch or any sort of smart device. Instead, the company added a feature that had only recently arrived in the form of specialized consumer devices: an electrocardiograph (ECG), a device made for monitoring the heart's electrical activity.

But the watch was ready before the software was, meaning an examination of the technology wasn't possible in our comprehensive review of the Apple Watch Series 4. Last week, Apple finally enabled the missing features, and we've spent a few days checking them out.

Basic features

People who haven't used the Apple Watch may not realize just how much it's an extension of an iPhone. This includes the heart-monitoring software, which requires an update to both the Watch and iPhone OSes before it will work. (This caused a small bit of confusion when the software wouldn't launch after we upgraded only the watch's OS.) Once the update is done, the Health app on the iPhone will incorporate any ECG data generated using the watch. On the watch side, the update will install a new app.

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Oakland is just one of many cities across America that is trying to sort out how it will manage the rapid influx of shared electric scooters on its streets. A new permitting process is being discussed at forums held across the city, with a vote expected within months.

After all, tech startups have sprung up with essentially the same business model: via a smartphone app, unlock a scooter for $1, then pay $0.15 per minute afterward.

Enlarge (credit: TechBargains)

Greetings, Arsians! Courtesy of our friends at TechBargains, we have another round of deals to share. Today's list is a busy one, but we'll highlight a deal on the Xbox One X, which is down to $400 at Walmart.

Microsoft's beefed-up console has been down at that price for most of the holiday season, but it remains a solid discount of $100 nonetheless. While you'll need a 4K and HDR-capable TV to truly take advantage of the device—and while the PS4 still has a larger community—the One X is still a performance improvement over the Xbox One S for those who have already boarded the Xbox bandwagon. Just make sure you plan to play games that actually support its added horsepower, since the cheaper One S is already capable of playing 4K video.

If you're not an Xbox fan, though, we also have deals on Razer's DeathAdder Elite gaming mouse, Nintendo Switch games, the Apple Watch Series 3, a bunch of Amazon devices, and much more. Have a look for yourself below.

Enlarge / After arriving from China, Wenhong Chen and Funina Wu, from Frederick, Maryland, are photographed at Dulles as part of the US Customs and Border Protection's newly implemented biometrics system. (credit: Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

A new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog has concluded that the agency does not always adequately delete data seized as part of a border search of electronic devices, among other concerns.

According to a new 24-page document released Tuesday by DHS’ Office of Inspector General, investigators found that some USB sticks, containing data copied from electronic devices searched at the border, "had not been deleted after the searches were completed."

Investigators checked an unspecified number of drives across five ports of entry around the country.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Christian Michaels)

A Federal Communications Commission advisory committee has proposed a new tax on Netflix, Google, Facebook, and many other businesses that require Internet access to operate.

If adopted by states, the recommended tax would apply to subscription-based retail services that require Internet access, such as Netflix, and to advertising-supported services that use the Internet, such as Google and Facebook. The tax would also apply to any small- or medium-sized business that charges subscription fees for online services or uses online advertising. The tax would also apply to any provider of broadband access, such as cable or wireless operators.

The collected money would go into state rural broadband deployment funds that would help bring faster Internet access to sparsely populated areas. Similar universal service fees are already assessed on landline phone service and mobile phone service nationwide. Those phone fees contribute to federal programs such as the FCC's Connect America Fund, which pays AT&T and other carriers to deploy broadband in rural areas.

Sidecar, as advertised on its 2012-era website. (credit: Sidecar)

Sidecar, an app-based ride-hailing startup that folded three years ago this month, has sued Uber, alleging that the dominant rival is "now a monopolist," and as such drove Sidecar out of business.

The lawsuit, which does not seek specific monetary damages, asks a San Francisco federal judge to declare that Uber is in violation of federal antitrust laws and state anti-competitive laws.

Sidecar shut down in December 2015, and its assets were sold to GM shortly thereafter.

Enlarge / Solar panels sit on the roof of Google headquarters in Mountain View. (credit: Kimberly White/Corbis via Getty Images)

I love solar energy. Thanks to solar energy, on average, I’ve not had to pay for electricity for the last two years. Just because solar is already pretty good, though, doesn’t mean that it can’t be even cooler. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you transparent solar panels.

This area of research is addressing a couple of places where solar panels could be improved. For instance, it would be quite nice if we could coat windows with solar collectors but still let the light through. And, as a side effect, it may allow us to use each photon of light a little more efficiently. But how should we do that?

Using each photon twice

It turns out that these goals are connected. One of the ways that solar panels lose energy is when the photons have more energy than the solar cell can cope with.

Aston Martin

The world of ultra-high-performance cars is an odd one. Stratospheric prices and tiny production runs mean few will ever see one on the move; fewer still experience one from the driver's seat. The relentless march of progress pushes their specs further and further to the edge; 400hp might have seemed more than you'd ever need in the 1970s but would now be barely adequate in a sporting sedan. And they often act as harbingers for impending global catastrophe—just look at the timing of the Ferrari Daytona or McLaren F1.

In the current era, we had to find a new term to even describe these four-wheeled exotics. Calling them supercars no longer sufficed, so now we have the hypercar. A few years ago, McLaren, Ferrari, and Porsche kicked things off with a trio of hybrids, each costing more than a million dollars and each nearing 1,000hp.