"The Beatles’ LEGO Yellow Submarine vs. the Sea Monster," a promo video for The Beatles Yellow Submarine set due out next month. And yes, there's a Blue Meanie included. The concept for the set came from the LEGO Ideas crowdsourcing program, a submission from a fellow named Kevin Szeto:
"As an amateur musician and songwriter, I have always been drawn to the music of The Beatles," Szeto wrote. "The creation of the Yellow Submarine model was really my way of showing my affection for The Beatles, as well as trying to pay a small tribute to The Beatles phenomenon. The Yellow Submarine is bright, fun, and colourful, which also made it a good subject to translate into LEGO form."
The Galaxy S8 is one of the most well-rounded phones on the market, and it's a great choice for power users and first-time smartphone owners alike.
From outstanding build quality and a gorgeous design to one of the best cameras on the market, the Galaxy S8 leaves little to be desired, but its long list of features can feel overwhelming to someone who's new to smartphones entirely. Luckily, the Galaxy S8 has an Easy Mode that lowers the bar for people who are transitioning from an older feature phone, or who needs a bit of extra guidance. Samsung also has a number of intuitive accessibility features that go above and beyond the average Android device.
Bottom line: The Galaxy S8 packs everything and the kitchen sink, and includes Easy Mode to make its myriad of features more approachable.
One more thing: Samsung's Easy Mode can be activated from anywhere, but once you get the hang of it, it's also simple to turn off!
Why the Samsung Galaxy S8 is best
The Galaxy S8 is the best phone for seniors because it's the best phone for most people, and has plenty of options for those who need a bit of extra help.
Easy Mode doesn't have to be a negative thing, and Samsung has done a great job making its Android software simple and intuitive. Even without it, the Galaxy S8 is one of the most accessible Android phones, with plenty of ways to make the software more user-friendly.
Features like Always-On display show you notifications even when the phone is off, while wireless charging support means you don't have to fumble for a USB-C cable in the dark.
The Galaxy S8 is also one of the best-selling Android phones on the market, so it's easy to find someone who can help if you can't figure out a certain feature. Finally, even though it's a relatively compact device, the Galaxy S8 manages excellent battery life.
Like the Galaxy S8, the LG G6 is very easy to pick up and begin using. It has a large display in a relatively small body, excellent performance, and great cameras. It also has convenient features like wireless charging and support for microSD expansion.
Also like Samsung's latest, the G6 has an intuitive Easy Mode, enlarging home screen icons and text while simplifying navigation. Its large display also leaves plenty of room for a large keyboard, and its dual cameras around back take fantastic photos. The G6 may be cheaper than the Galaxy S8, but you wouldn't know it by looking at it.
Bottom-line: The LG G6 offers a similar range of features and accessibility as the Galaxy S8, at a much lower price.
One more thing: The price of the G6 fluctuates heavily depending on where you buy it from. At the moment, it's cheapest at Sprint for $480, though there's an Amazon Prime version with ads for even less, totalling at $400.
You can't do much better than a $230 phone that performs like a much more expensive phone. The Moto G5 Plus combines fast and fluid performance with useful features like Moto Display, all while retaining the simplicity of near-stock Android.
No one makes cheap phones like Motorola, and the company improved every aspect of its Moto G line this year, from the camera to the battery life.
Bottom line: The Moto G5 Plus is an outstanding value with simple software, and it comes unlocked out of the box so you can use it on most carriers around the world.
One more thing: If you don't mind seeing ads from Amazon in your lock screen and notification panel, you can pick up the Prime Exclusive Moto G5 Plus at a $45 discount.
Conclusion
The Galaxy S8 is the best choice for seniors because it is the best choice for most people. Compact, affordable, and extremely easy to use, the phone's Easy Mode is a great example of Samsung broadening the appeal of its phones as they grow more popular.
The Galaxy S8 is one of the most well-rounded phones on the market, and it's a great choice for power users and first-time smartphone owners alike.
From outstanding build quality and a gorgeous design to one of the best cameras on the market, the Galaxy S8 leaves little to be desired, but its long list of features can feel overwhelming to someone who's new to smartphones entirely. Luckily, the Galaxy S8 has an Easy Mode that lowers the bar for people who are transitioning from an older feature phone, or who needs a bit of extra guidance. Samsung also has a number of intuitive accessibility features that go above and beyond the average Android device.
Bottom line: The Galaxy S8 packs everything and the kitchen sink, and includes Easy Mode to make its myriad of features more approachable.
One more thing: Samsung's Easy Mode can be activated from anywhere, but once you get the hang of it, it's also simple to turn off!
Update, November 2016: The Galaxy S8 is our new best overall recommendation, and the Moto G4 was replaced with the Moto G5 Plus.
The debate over what to do about San Francisco’s homeless population has been building for awhile among the many startups and residents here. But now tech billionaires Ron Conway, Michael Moritz and well-to-do hedge fund manager William Oberndorf have each thrown about $50,000 behind a measure to rid San Francisco of its homeless tent cities. Other notable investors,… Read More
Song identifying app Shazam is rolling out music video channels to all of its 120 million monthly active users in a partnership with Vadio, a Portland-based startup. As we recently reported, the Shazam app has been downloaded over 1 billion times since the company was founded in 1999 and has finally become profitable. Through their partnership, whenever a user taps on the Shazam icon to identify… Read More
A new trailer for Disney’s standalone Star Wars film Rogue One has hit the web, and it shows off a glimpse of Jyn Erso's past, the origins of the Rogue call sign, and some intense battle scenes.
There are some intriguing clues here: it opens with Imperial forces advancing on a farm, while Galen Erso comforts his young daughter, telling her that he's doing "it to protect her," before an adult Jyn wakes up in a prison cell. The trailer also shows off Alliance forces breaking her out, while Director Orson Krennic talks about the power that the battle station gives the Empire.
Rogue One is set before Star Wars: A New Hope, and follows an unlikely team of heroes who are tasked with stealing the plans of the Empire’s new weapon, the Death...
Today we’re bringing you four new features for Google Photos — three new ways for you to relive and the share moments that matter, and a quick way to fix some of those pesky sideways photos in your collection.
First, Google Photos will now help you rediscover old memories of the people in your most recent photos. As your photo library continues to grow, we hope that features like this one make it easier to look back at your fondest memories.
Second, we’re making it easier to look over the most recent highlights from your photos. If you take a lot of photos of your child, for example, you may occasionally get a card showing the best ones from the last month. (Hint hint: grandparents would love to see these!)
Third, we've always made animations from photos, but now we make animations from your videos, too. And not just any videos. We look for segments that capture activity — a jump into the pool, or even just an adorable smile — and create short animations that are easy to share.
Finally, when we find sideways pictures in your collection, you'll get a card that helps you easily put them right side up.
For all of these features, you don’t have to do a thing - machine learning in Google Photos does the work for you. Cards will automatically show up in the Assistant tab of Google Photos when they’re ready.
All features are available now on Android, iOS and the web.
iamlindoro says: "I built a site that builds you custom budgets for 600 cities around the world based on your lifestyle, family, housing, and other needs."
Motorcycles aren’t exactly safe, but BMW envisions a future where two-wheel vehicles have enough onboard intelligence to make it possible for drivers to use them without protective clothing. The emphasis here is still on the thrill of the drive, but intelligent driver assistance features will help make it possible for the ride to maintain its thrill while adding a lot more safety.
The… Read More
There are new smartphones hitting the market constantly, but which is the best to pick up when you’re trying to save a buck or two? We’ve seen some great launches this summer and we’re only expecting more over the coming months, but for now, let’s go over the best affordable Android smartphones you can go pick up today…
Verizon Wireless is completely dismissing the idea that it will be slowing down future Android updates on Google's Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. Last week, Google revealed that although it's handling software and security updates for the devices, Verizon must certify them for carrier-sold Pixels before they can be rolled out to customers. That at least raised the possibility that Verizon-sold Pixel phones might not get new Android features as soon as they're available for the Pixels that Google sells directly.
But a very straightforward statement that Verizon gave to Ars Technica seems to eliminate any potential concern. (Emphasis added by The Verge.)
by Claire Lower on Skillet, shared by Andy Orin to Lifehacker
Club soda, seltzer (sparkling water), and sparkling mineral water all have bubbles of carbon dioxide gas suspended within their liquidy matrices, but it’s their other additives that define them.
Club Soda: Club soda is plain water with added minerals and dissolved solids, usually sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, disodium phosphate, and—less commonly—plain ol’ sodium chloride. The carbonation in is added, rather than naturally occurring, and the taste can range from practically flavorless to slightly salty or bitter. Its lack of strong flavor makes it a good choice for adding some effervescence to cocktails, lemonade, or juice.
Seltzer (Sparkling Water): Seltzer is just plain water that has been carbonated, but is (usually) lacking in minerals. Some varieties are flavored with fruit “essence” and oils, and are meant to be enjoyed on their own. Though they lack the slight mineral bite of club soda, they make a pretty good cocktail, especially if you just want to add a tad of flavor by way of pamplemousse or some other fruit oil.
Sparkling Mineral Water: Sparkling mineral water usually comes from a natural spring or well, and can be naturally carbonated, depending on the source. As its name would suggest, there are some minerals in there, though the type and amount of dissolved solids vary from brand to brand. Mineral water is usually best enjoyed on its own, as the flavor imparted by all the minerals (such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium) can be distracting in a cocktail.
Now that we’ve got that cleared up, I recommend celebrating with a bubbly beverage. Whether or not it’s boozy and bubbly is up to you.
by Kristin Wong on Two Cents, shared by Andy Orin to Lifehacker
At one of my first “real” jobs, I was on a project with a group of workers who were notoriously manipulative. I buddied up with someone who seemed easygoing, though. During a meeting, our boss asked her why one of her tasks didn’t get done. My easygoing friend flat-out blamed it on me. It was my first experience with a manipulative coworker and it was not fun.
If you’ve dealt with a similar situation, you’re not alone. A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology called it “social undermining” and “bottom line mentality.” It happens when a colleague will do whatever it takes to succeed or survive, even if it means throwing you under the bus. Another study from DePaul University found that coworkers or even supervisors can be hostile when they feel powerless, leading them to do things they would never do otherwise.
You probably don’t need a study to tell you this is common, though. You’ve likely experienced it yourself. A coworker makes you look bad so they can look good, or they conveniently forget to tell you something important. Or, like my situation, they get in trouble and use you as a scapegoat. Ideally, you just ignore the behavior and it goes away. It’s not always that easy, though. When it starts to affect your life and career, you have to address it.
I should’ve seen it coming with my easygoing frenemy. She constantly gossiped and seemed way too eager to become friends. Another colleague even warned me not to trust anyone (what a fun job.) Small hints like this gradually built up until my gut said, “Run! This isn’t normal.”
If you find yourself putting up your guard around a coworker, “You might wonder if you’re imagining things and being paranoid,” she says. “Well, maybe you are, but under no circumstances should you ignore your feelings. They are often the very first sign of trouble.”
You might not want to believe that people you work with are dishonest and manipulative. Like me, you might feel guilty for even thinking it. It helps to look at the facts.
Your “gut feeling” is just a series of small details that you put together to form a pattern. If you’re unsure of that pattern, look at the facts objectively. What makes you mistrust this person? Do they wear red a lot and you hate the color red? Okay, then you’re being paranoid and judgemental. Do they constantly gossip about a fellow coworker and then ask that coworker if they want to go to lunch? That’s a little different.
If you’re still unsure, you can run their behavior by objective people you trust, like your friends or family. Use them as a sounding board and see what they think.
Cover Your Ass and Distance Yourself
When a coworker starts manipulating you and ignoring the behavior doesn’t work, the next step is to distance yourself from the situation, if possible.
For me, this meant no more lunches with my coworker. No more listening to her gossip or “venting.” I wanted to distance myself from this kind of negative behavior, but I also wanted to cover my own ass. The more she knew about me, the more she could use against me if she ever decided to throw me under the bus again. Career site The Bolde says it’s important to keep a record of your communication, too:
Above all else, cover your ass on everything. Keep all correspondence. If your coworkers ask you to do something, follow up via email. When colleagues try to sabotage you, they might tell you lies to cause you to make mistakes. If you have questions about anything, ask your boss via email and copy the coworker. Tell the boss what was said and ask if that is really what you’re supposed to be doing. The more you cover your ass, the less you have to worry about.
In a similar situation, I worked with someone who had no idea what we were doing on a project because she rarely did any actual work. When it came time to meet with the boss, she would ask me to update her, and I did, so she could contribute to the meeting. One day, though, our boss asked her why part of the project wasn’t working. She said, “Ask Kristin. That’s her area.” I learned my lesson. For future meetings, I would arrive early so she didn’t have a chance to ask me for help. After a while, her lack of knowledge revealed that she really wasn’t doing any work. In other words, I distanced myself and let her sabotage herself.
Be Direct
My solution worked, but the unfortunate downside was that I became manipulative, too. Sure, I was defending myself, but by leaving my desk to get to the meeting early, I was engaging in the same indirect, passive-aggressive behavior. Looking back, I should’ve been more direct.
Early on, you might be able to address the situation with a simple conversation. If you weren’t invited to a meeting, for example, you can approach the person who left you off the invite, tell them you’re sure it was an oversight, and ask them to include you in the future. Having that kind of conversation “puts the offender on notice,” said Kathy Robinson, founder of the coaching firm TurningPoint in Arlington, Mass.
Plus, it keeps a record of the behavior, in case you’re ever thrown under the bus.
Being upfront works in some situations, but not all of them. If the undermining is passive-agressive, your friend might play dumb. Or, they might turn it around and ask why you’re being confrontational.
Being direct lets the other person know you’re aware of their manipulative behavior, and in some cases, that may be enough to nip it in the bud. Stooping to their level might work, but it may also be a sign of weakness.
It helps to understand what might motivate the manipulative person. Once you’re pretty sure they’re manipulating you, it’s useful to know how they operate. This way, you can avoid situations that give them a chance to do their worst.
For example, at another job, a colleague pushed me out of a project that I knew his supervisor wanted me to be a part of. Whenever his supervisor was not cc’ed on an email, he would tell me my work wasn’t necessary. The solution? Make sure the supervisor was always copied. This way, he didn’t have a chance to manipulate in the first place.
It also helps to know what motivates that person. In my case, this coworker seemed to be after a specific type of work that he was highly protective of, and oddly enough, I didn’t even want to do that type of work. When it fell on my lap, I’d ask if he wanted to do it. After a while, he curbed his sketchy behavior because he realized I wasn’t a threat.
For me, the worst part about working with manipulative people was the lack of support. I worked hard, so our supervisors all knew better and my job was fine. It’s draining to be around people who prefer you fail.
To keep my energy high and stay empowered, I surrounded myself with as much outside support as possible, from friends and family members to interns who worked on other projects for the same company.
Receipt of positive or helpful support from close friends and family was related to lower depression; receipt of problematic support was related to increased depression. A positive x problematic support interaction suggested that the costs of problematic support do not cancel out the benefits of positive support.
When you feel like someone is out to sabotage you at work, you want to stay professional and avoid engaging in the same behavior, which can be tempting. To avoid this, it helps to spend time around people who want you to succeed.
Manipulative behavior is common, but fortunately, it doesn’t exist everywhere. It’s smart to search for job postings, even when you have no intention to quit. Obviously, you don’t want to let one bad apple lead to your resignation but, if nothing else, knowing you have options can help you feel more empowered and in control of the situation.
Confused about all the paid Amazon subscriptions? Well, join the club. The way I understand it, there's Amazon Prime that gives you plenty of perks and its little brother, Prime Video, that only lets you access movies and TV series. But you can also get more reading and audiobook material through Kindle Unlimited and now you'll be able to add Music Unlimited to the list.
Whereas Amazon Prime members already had access to Prime Music with a selection of more than 2 million songs, Music Unlimited opens up the catalogue to tens of millions of songs and curated playlists.
Our curiosity pushes us to try new experiences: to learn, to grow, to change our point of view, or simply to have fun.
Luckily for us, our cities are full of opportunities for new experiences. But sometimes, to get ourselves started and discover these secrets, we need a guide to inspire and motivate us.
That’s why Google Arts & Culture has created Curio-cité, a way of rediscovering our cities by following along with guides, artists and experts.
The first episode, which takes place in Paris, invites you to visit ten different hidden corners. Put on your boots and visit the mysterious “underground lake” of the Opera Garnier, which inspired the Phantom of the Opera. Stroll down the Petite Ceinture, the obsolete railway that once circled Paris. Explore the Tour Paris 13, the largest collective exhibition of street art ever produced.
You’re also invited accompany David de Rueda, urban explorer and photographer, on a journey to even more unusual places — like a 360° immersive tour of the historic Papeteries de la Seine, a paper mill that was closed in 2011. Explore digital content and exhibitions curated by David and our partner, the City of Paris.
And if Curio-cité inspires you to go on a real-life urban adventure of your own, we’ll be inviting a few lucky explorers to explore more of hidden Paris. To learn more, follow Google France on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ or use the hashtag #GoogleCuriocité.
And who knows, maybe we’ll meet up again in a few months to explore a different city...
HoloLens, Microsoft’s $3,000 mixed-reality goggles (or “the world’s first self-contained holographic computer” in Microsoft’s parlance), was only available in the U.S. and Canada so far. Today, however, the company announced that it will also start selling the devices in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Preorders start today… Read More
A UK parliamentary committee has urged the government to act proactively — and to act now — to tackle “a host of social, ethical and legal questions” arising from the rise of autonomous technologies such as artificial intelligence. Read More
Samsung issued earnings guidance last week that suggested the calamitous Galaxy Note 7 recall wouldn't have a major impact on the company's bottom line, but the company just released a statement adjusting its forecast significantly. Operating profit for the third quarter of 2016 is now estimated to come in at 5.2 trillion won ($4.6 billion), down 33 percent from the previous figure, while revenue expectations have been slashed by 2 trillion won to 47 trillion ($41.8 billion).
Earnings of 5.2 trillion won would represent the first year-on-year profit decline for Samsung in a year. The company made 7.39 trillion won in Q3 2015, which was a return to profit growth after two years of decline; the company is now predicting a 30 percent drop...
According to the movie industry the most damaging form of piracy involves the distribution of films that are not yet released or are enjoying their first-run in theaters.
The claim makes some sense. Due to the business model employed by the studios, titles still in cinemas are usually not available for consumption elsewhere, meaning that it’s impossible to compete for that business.
As a result, much time and effort is expended trying to stop people recording (‘camming’) movies in theaters. In the United States it’s an extremely serious offense punishable by jail time, and over in the UK those who record and then upload to the Internet can receive the same treatment.
The job of catching these people has usually fallen to two UK bodies – The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Film Distributors’ Association (FDA). In the past, the FDA fully sponsored a dedicated FACT investigator with duties that included staff training and building relationships with the police. Now, however, things are on the move.
The FDA says it has launched a new anti-piracy unit. Titled the Film Content Protection Agency, it will take over the work previously carried out by FACT. According to Screen Daily, several of FACT’s theatrical experts will be rolled into the new unit.
Back in May, it was announced that Hollywood will withdraw its funding for FACT, ending a 30-year relationship and depriving the anti-piracy group of 50% of its budget. Now it appears that the Motion Picture Association has thrown its support behind the FDA’s new unit instead.
“Cinema security is a key priority for the industry and the MPA welcomes this important step by FDA,” said Stan McCoy, MPA president and managing director for EMEA.
“We will work closely with the new unit to analyze threats and offer practical support as it fulfils its UK-wide remit on behalf of film distributors and other partners.”
According to the UK’s Companies House, the Film Content Protection Agency was formed as a limited company during the summer, registered to the FDA’s Kingly Street address in London.
At the time of incorporation, the FCPA had a single director, 85-year-old Barbara Kahan, who remained in the role for a whole day and then resigned. Kahan is rather active for an octagenarian. According to the government, she’s held posts in more than 18,000 companies.
It’s possible that Kahan set up the new anti-piracy company and then resigned, but that left FCPA without any directors or people with significant control. What’s also problematic is the state of the new website set up to promote the new anti-piracy group.
Currently it’s completely non-functional, having gone down sometime in the past couple of days. However, when the site was up it was providing information on the unit and detailing its goals. While most of the claims seemed fairly accurate, one particular section caught our eye.
Titled “It’s the Law”, the section stated that “The penalty for online copyright theft is up to a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine – in line with the theft of physical goods.”
Search snapshot of the currently-down site
While all anti-piracy outfits hope this will indeed become true in the months to come, the above statement is certainly not accurate under current UK law.
Ignoring the deliberate replacement of ‘infringement’ with ‘theft’ (which is not helpful when advising the public about legal matters), the current maximum prison sentence in the UK for online infringement is two years.
Amendments to boost punishments are indeed underway as part of the Digital Economy Bill but they still in progress in the House of Commons and are many stages away from being written into law.
Only time will tell how the new anti-piracy unit will manifest itself but it seems likely that it will maintain the same pressure applied for years by FACT, but under a new banner.
FDA President Lord Puttnam welcomed the creation of the new unit.
“I’m delighted this new unit is up and running,” said FDA President Lord Puttnam.
“It’s an important addition to the distributors’ armoury in safeguarding theatrical releases and enabling UK audiences to enjoy films to their maximum effect in legitimate formats.”
The U.K. government has agreed on an amendment to draft surveillance legislation aimed at strengthening the public perception of privacy safeguards by adding a statement of priority to the face of the legislation. Read More
Part of the goal of the Internet of Things, if we must continue calling it that, is improved efficiency for our newly intelligent appliances. But we could effect that in a much simpler way by passing data over the energy grid itself, suggests a successful trial in the UK. Read More
Naked mole rats, the desert-dwelling animals that look like the lovechild of an uncooked sausage and a scrotum, don’t feel certain kinds of pain — and now, scientists may have a better idea why.
The lovechild of an uncooked sausage and a scrotum
In fact, these poop-eating, subterranean creatures have a lot of enviable qualities: they candodge cancer, live decades longer than other rodents, and go without oxygen for 30 minutes at a time. They might even have evolved a way to avoid the unpleasant, secondary pain that comes from putting heat on an injury, according to a new study.
Think of the last time you cut or burned yourself and then ran lukewarm water over the wound — the water burned and hurt the injury more than uninjured skin,...
Self-driving cars — or more accurately self-driving pods — took to the road in a city outside of London Tuesday in what organizers are calling the first public test of driverless cars in the UK. To be sure, it was at extremely low speeds in a sparsely trafficked area, but was still celebrated as a milestone by Great Britain, which has lagged behind the US in testing self-driving cars.
Fabio De Paola/PA
The autonomous Lutz Pathfinder Pod, developed by the Oxford Robotics Institute and a university spinout company Oxbotica, navigated its way around a small area in the southern English town of Milton Keynes at 5 mph, turning corners and stopping as pedestrians crossed its path, according to Reuters. The test was...
Two years ago, Richard Clarkson made the Smart Cloud, a delightfully realistic-looking cloud-shaped lamp / speaker. The design was meant to evoke a thunderstorm, with the cloud flicking accurately and booming out thunder (along with also functioning as a regular lamp and Bluetooth speaker).
But the problem with the original Smart Cloud was that it had to be hung from a ceiling cord, which completely broke the illusion of having a magical, musical cloud floating in your living room. But Clarkson is back this year with a new project, Making Weather, that combines his original Smart Cloud with magnetic levitation technology from Crealev to solve this problem by making a true floating cloud.
There was a great deal of consternation earlier this month when it was revealed the Pixel phones would ship with Android 7.1, but Nexus phones were going to lag behind. Today, there's a little less reason to be upset with the announcement of the Android 7.1 developer preview. It's coming later this month, but not to all the same devices we saw in the last preview.
Google says that the preview will start off supporting only the Nexus 5X, 6P, and the Pixel C.
If you want to get a piece of information removed from the internet, there are few tools more powerful that a court judgment saying that it is defamatory. A judgment like that will get Google to de-index the result and frighten most web-hosts into getting rid of it. So it follows that the sleaziest end of the "reputation management" industry has occupied itself with securing these court orders at high volumes and low costs.
(more…)
The New York Times describes it as a "a humbling about-face."
The demise of the Galaxy Note 7 is a major setback for Samsung, the world’s largest maker of smartphones. The premium device — with a 5.7-inch screen, curved contours and comparatively high price — won praise from consumers and reviewers, and was the company’s most ambitious effort yet to take on Apple for the high-end market.
But Samsung has struggled to address reports that the Galaxy Note 7 could overheat and catch fire because of a manufacturing flaw. Last month, the company said it would recall 2.5 million phones to fix the problem. But in recent days, Galaxy Note 7 users emerged with reports that some devices that had supposedly been repaired were overheating, smoking and even bursting into flames. And on Monday, Samsung asked Note 7 customers to power off the phones while it worked on the problem.
The debate over what to do about San Francisco’s homeless population has been building for awhile among the many startups and residents here. But now tech billionaires Ron Conway, Michael Moritz and well-to-do hedge fund manager William Oberndorf have each thrown about $50,000 behind a measure to rid San Francisco of its homeless tent cities. Other notable investors,… 
Song identifying app Shazam is rolling out music video channels to all of its 120 million monthly active users in a partnership with Vadio, a Portland-based startup. As we recently reported, the Shazam app has been downloaded over 1 billion times since the company was founded in 1999 and has finally become profitable. Through their partnership, whenever a user taps on the Shazam icon to identify… 
Motorcycles aren’t exactly safe, but BMW envisions a future where two-wheel vehicles have enough onboard intelligence to make it possible for drivers to use them without protective clothing. The emphasis here is still on the thrill of the drive, but intelligent driver assistance features will help make it possible for the ride to maintain its thrill while adding a lot more safety.
The… 
HoloLens, Microsoft’s $3,000 mixed-reality goggles (or “the world’s first self-contained holographic computer” in Microsoft’s parlance), was only available in the U.S. and Canada so far. Today, however, the company announced that it will also start selling the devices in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Preorders start today… 
A UK parliamentary committee has urged the government to act proactively — and to act now — to tackle “a host of social, ethical and legal questions” arising from the rise of autonomous technologies such as artificial intelligence. 
The U.K. government has agreed on an amendment to draft surveillance legislation aimed at strengthening the public perception of privacy safeguards by adding a statement of priority to the face of the legislation. 
Part of the goal of the Internet of Things, if we must continue calling it that, is improved efficiency for our newly intelligent appliances. But we could effect that in a much simpler way by passing data over the energy grid itself, suggests a successful trial in the UK. 
