California Governor Signs Nation’s Toughest Net Neutrality Law

The nation’s largest state adopted sweeping net neutrality protections, setting up a legal showdown with the federal government over the future of the internet. California Governor Jerry Brown Sunday signed a bill banning broadband providers such as AT&T and Comcast from blocking, throttling, or otherwise discriminating against lawful content passing through their networks. Almost immediately, the Justice Department filed suit to block the law.

The California law would restore Obama-era protections the Federal Communications Commission voted to jettison last December, and in some cases, go further. For example, the California law bans broadband providers from exempting their own content from data caps while charging for data used by competitors. That will affect AT&T’s practice of exempting its DirecTV streaming video service from its mobile customers’ data limits but not data used by Dish’s Sling TV service, and other similar arrangements. The old FCC rules, by contrast, allowed the commission to investigate such deals on a case-by-case basis.

“Today marks a true win for the internet and for an open society,” said state Senator Scott Wiener, the sponsor of the California bill, in a statement.

California is the second state to adopt its own net neutrality rules, following Washington. The Washington law is less comprehensive than the California law, because it doesn’t cover data caps, and may include loopholes that in some cases would let broadband providers create so-called fast and slow lanes on the internet. Other states, including Hawaii, Montana, and Oregon have adopted laws or executive orders that ban state agencies from doing business with internet providers that violate the principles of net neutrality.

But the Justice Department sought to block the California law, arguing that is was pre-empted both by FCC rules and the Constitution. The FCC order overturning the Obama-era protections includes a section banning states from passing their own net neutrality rules. ““Under the Constitution, states do not regulate interstate commerce—the federal government does,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. “Not only is California’s Internet regulation law illegal, it also hurts consumers,” said FCC Chair Ajit Pai.

In a speech at the Maine Heritage Policy Center this month, Pai said, “Broadband is an interstate service; Internet traffic doesn’t recognize state lines.”

Defenders of the California law said they hope to prevail, because the FCC essentially abandoned regulation of broadband when it repealed the Obama-era rules. Chris Lewis, vice president of Public Knowledge, a public-interest advocacy group, said it is disingenuous for the FCC to decline to regulate internet providers, but then block states for trying to do so. “The FCC has abdicated its authority over broadband and here is a state stepping up to fill the void,” he said.

Legal experts have said it’s not clear whether the FCC has the authority to preempt the states. In 2007, a federal court ruled that the FCC could stop Minnesota from treating internet phone services like Vonage the same way it regulates traditional landline phone services. Net neutrality advocates, meanwhile, point to a 2016 federal court ruling that the Obama-era FCC didn’t have the authority to preempt certain state laws concerning municipal broadband. But Marc Martin, a former FCC staffer during the presidency of George H.W. Bush who is chair of law firm Perkins Coie’s communications practice, told WIRED earlier this year that neither case is an apples-to-apples comparison to the fight over net neutrality.

The adoption of state laws, particularly in California, will increase pressure on Congress to deal with the issue. Several lawmakers have introduced bills they’ve described as protecting net neutrality, though some would still leave telecom providers free to favor certain types of traffic over other types. In May, the Senate passed legislation that would restore the FCC’s Obama-era rules, but the House has yet to schedule a vote on the issue.

A group representing broadband providers Sunday called on Congress to act. “Rather than 50 states stepping in with their own conflicting open internet solutions, we need Congress to step up with a national framework for the whole internet ecosystem and resolve this issue once and for all,” said Jonathan Spalter, CEO of USTelecom, in a statement. Spalter said the California law will not advance the cause of net neutrality, “nor will it help advance the promise and potential of California’s innovation DNA.”

By contrast, citizens groups that support net neutrality hailed the governor’s signature. “This victory in California is a testament to the power of the free and open Internet to defend itself. And it’s a beacon of hope for Internet users everywhere who are fighting for the basic right to express themselves and access information without cable and phone companies controlling what they can see and do online.” said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, a digital rights group.

In another case that will affect the future of net neutrality, state attorneys general, with the backing of consumer groups and the tech industry, are challenging the legality of the FCC’s decision to overturn the Obama-era rules. They argue the FCC ran afoul of federal law prohibits federal agencies from passing “arbitrary or capricious” regulations.

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More Great WIRED Stories

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Ikea issues recall of popular Calypso ceiling lamp due to safety hazard

Ikea has issued a recall of one of their popular ceiling lamps due to a safety hazard. Reports indicate that the glass shade of the Calypso ceiling lamp can come undone causing the glass shade to fall and shatter.

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Kanye West’s comments about the 13th Amendment are confusing and bad

Americans work too much — Here’s how we can change that

American culture romanticizes overworking. At the federal level, the United States is the only country in the Americas without a government-mandated paid paternity leave. There is also no federal law requiring employers to provide paid sick time or paid time off.

At the employer level, many American organizations – particularly in Silicon Valley – encourage employees to stay at the office by eliminating the need for them to leave. Sprawling tech campuses often feature nap pods, free meals and even doctors’ offices onsite.

And at the employee level, workers frequently pride themselves on pushing past the 40-hour standard or neglecting to take time off from the workplace. In fact, according to an NPR poll, half of those who work 50-plus hours per week don’t take most or all of the vacation time available to them.

Employee health suffers due to the emphasis placed on work. One study showed an increased risk for middle-aged mental decline or dementia for those who work more than 55 hours per week. Another found that job strain can increase Type 2 diabetes risk by 45 percent. When it comes to productivity, a Stanford researcher found that employee productiving falls sharply after 55 hours of work in a week.

I could keep going, but you get the idea – too much work is unhealthy and counterproductive to the goal of increased productivity. But how does our reality compare to the workplace behaviors of Americans in the past? And how can we dial it back for our own good?

High expectations

In 1930, the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted his grandchildren’s generation would enjoy a 15-hour average workweek. We fell comically short of this prediction. But why was Keynes so far off? Where have our technologies and processes gone wrong?

According to a Nintex study, employees are regularly slowed down by broken processes – from HR duties to technology difficulties to onboarding new team members. When these more mindless processes are broken, employees spend precious work time running around trying to fix them so work can get moving again.

Some of the top culprits include equipment onboarding for new hires (43 percent believe their process to be broken), new hire paperwork (43 percent), document sharing (43 percent) and submitting expenses (28 percent).

The cumulative effort invested in these broken processes by workers of all levels creates a vast waste of time, setting back productivity. Beyond just wasted time, however, it also causes many employees to reconsider their futures in the organization.  

More than two-thirds of the study’s respondents say their company’s broken processes prevent them from maximizing their potential, with 25 percent strongly feeling that broken processes preclude them from achieving their potential. As a result, a full 53 percent of employees don’t see themselves staying at their current companies longer than five years

How do we stop spending so many work hours battling broken processes, only to bail on our employers? We automate low-level burdensome tasks that take away workers’ time from high-level, strategy-based initiatives. As it turns out, there are plenty of opportunities for improvement, specifically when it comes to process automation.

5 places we can free up human workers

Automation can be applied to countless processes to improve the workload of employees everywhere. From no-code automation to more advanced intelligent process automation, here are some key places organizations can start taking the burden off their employees.

1. Deprovision past employees. Deprovisioning employees who have left the company is a crucial step that organizations must take to prevent the consequences of data theft.However, depending on how many tools and privileges a former employee had access to, erasing their entire footprint can be a tough process. The good news is that this task can be automated to save the HR manager’s time so he can focus on strategy-centric projects.
2. Share and manage documents. In the era of the cloud, we’re accustomed to sharing limitless documents with multiple people in a moment.However, that gets trickier when it comes to documents that only exist in paper form – especially in a sensitive situation like a fraud investigation. Automation tools allow for organizations to digitize all their documents into a library and create customer workflows depending on the type of document.
3. Guide the contract process. Regardless of the type of deal they document, contracts are notorious for requiring many iterations. In a scenario with lengthy negotiations, the process can quickly descend into chaos and confusion.However, automating the process allows the computer to handle the workflow. With process automation, technology minimizes human interaction by learning who should receive documents and contract revisions.
4. Complete expense reports. Expense reports often involve detailed processes. Any internal accountant knows the headache that goes into tracking down each employee to ask them for missing details.Intelligent automation allows the computer to learn what kind of expense reports can be approved on the spot. For example, any expense report from a traveling sales reps which include a flight can be automatically approved, thanks to the system’s automated learning capabilities.
5. Prepare for audits. Any worker who has been on the receiving end of an audit can attest to how time-consuming and stressful they are. Annual compliance audits require a plethora of time and organization over the course of the year to ensure that all documentation is in the right place and filled out correctly.Once the audit starts, however, team members inevitably find themselves scrambling to meet the audit team’s document requests, while still managing their own daily job requirements. Process automation ensures that everything is in place ahead of time with deadlines and reminders from a system that understands what must be in place.

While our work culture normalizes long hours and little time off, these conditions don’t do any favors for employees or organizations. The working world can’t reach peak productivity until burdensome and mindless tasks are taken off workers’ plates.

Who knows? With the right technology, we might move a little closer to the world John Maynard Keynes had in mind.

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New Chromecast Shows Up at Best Buy Two Weeks Early – Droid Life

Another new surprise may have just been ruined from the upcoming Google hardware event on October 9. It sure looks like Google is also going to announce a new Chromecast device. Now, this could just be the Chromecast that went back through the FCC with Bluetooth, but the device itself has some exterior changes.

The images of the new Chromecast (3rd gen?) arrive via reddit, where a user said he walked into a Best Buy to pick-up a new Google dongle. As he went to checkout, the device wouldn’t ring up because it supposedly wasn’t in Best Buy’s system yet and was instead flagged as scheduled for release on October 9. They sold it to him anyway at the normal $35 Chromecast price and off he went. When the redditor got home, he noticed that the device was indeed different than others he owned.

As you can see here, the device is indeed different looking. It now has a matte finish and a “G” logo instead of the glossy finish with Chrome logo. It supposedly doesn’t have the magnetic clasp on its rear any longer, but is still microUSB. It’s a little thicker than the original too.

If you look closely at the box for the device, it has the same NC2-6A5 model number as the Chromecast (2015), which is why we think this might just be the Bluetooth-enabled model in a new case. There is also another Google number listed as GA00439, but references to that online just point to other Chromecast devices.

The redditor said he tried to setup the device and was not able to. Apparently, his Google Home app needs an update in order to allow that, but that update probably won’t arrive until October 9, when the device was supposed to be released.

Cheers Michael!

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Fox Delays ‘Dark Phoenix’, Will Now Be Released On June 7, 2019

Earlier this year Fox announced that Marvel’s Dark Phoenix movie would be delayed where instead of a release in 2018, it had been pushed to February 2019. The other day a trailer for the movie was released which seemed like everything was on track, or so we thought, but unfortunately that is no longer the case.

In a report from Deadline, it appears that Fox has decided to delay the Dark Phoenix movie again. Instead of being released in February, Fox has reportedly pushed the release to the 7th of June, 2019, making it a summer blockbuster release. Why the delay, you ask? Apparently because a summer release is a “better date”, plus it also gives the film a better chance at doing well in China.

It seems that the trailer for the movie managed to clock 44 million views over in China in the first 24 hours, indicating that the Chinese market is pretty excited for its release. It is unfortunate that the movie has been delayed again, and safe to say that the delays are building up a lot of hype which hopefully the movie will be able to deliver.

Dark Phoenix is expected to be the last Marvel movie by Fox following Disney’s acquisition of them, which will also see the return of several Marvel franchises back to Marvel. It was also previously reported that Marvel will be folding the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool in the MCU, which presumably could come in the form of a reboot of the franchises.

Filed in General. Read more about Entertainment, Marvel and Movies.

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2018 Mazda6 vs 2019 Ford Fusion vs 2019 Subaru Legacy: Midsize Sedan Showdown

This is going to be an interesting battle. The 2018 Mazda6 is fresh from a major facelift for the current model year. I personally love this car. I think it’s the best-looking midsize sedan in the market today, apart from the fact it is gifted with an athletic demeanor. However, I also like the 2019 Ford Fusion. This is not because it still resembles an Aston Martin at first glance, but it remains a true driver’s car while still remaining civilized for the daily drive.

On the other hand, I always admired the performance-oriented attitude of the Subaru Legacy. The 2019 Legacy is still a great car to drive and is the only one in this test equipped with standard all-wheel drive. The Ford Fusion can be optioned with a similar drivetrain, but the Mazda6 only comes in front-wheel drive.

All of our three contenders have a sub-$24k base price. If you are shopping in this category, both the 2018 models of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry are the top picks. But if both of those cars are too mainstream for your palate, then the 2018 Mazda6, 2019 Ford Fusion, and 2019 Subaru Legacy are certainly worthy of attention.

2018 Mazda6

I’ll give it to you outright: the Mazda6 drives like a dream, but only if you’re the sporty type of driver. This car has the agility and reflexes of the smaller Mazda3. Even the steering feel is better than in the new Mazda MX-5. I know it’s a bold claim, but it’s the truth. Live with it.

The 2018 Mazda6 can be driven hard and still ask for more. You can thrash this car the entire day without upsetting the magnificent balance of the chassis. It is a sporty midsize sedan and makes no qualms about it. The 2018 refresh gave the fascia a more refined look, but there’s no mistaking the aggressive face and the sensuous Kodo-inspired curves and body lines.

The fact is you can drive the Mazda6 like a hooligan, but you won’t. It is more than that. Previous models were still relatively comfortable despite the sporting apprehensions, and new 2018 model is no different. There is a firmness to the ride that can only be appreciated by those who have driven a Bentley Continental. The ride is smooth but taut, and that’s not a bad thing.

The base Sport trim starts at $23,000 and comes with 17-inch alloys, push-button start, a leather steering wheel, and a six-speed manual transmission. Power comes from a SKYACTIV 2.5-liter four-banger with 187-horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque. The motor can achieve 26/35 mpg, which is above average given the power output. Also standard is an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth connectivity and six speakers. You also get blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and a rearview camera.

All in all, not bad for a base model, right? But if you don’t like rowing the gears yourself, stepping up for the Touring trim is the better option. You get the same engine in base trim but it comes mated to a slick 6-speed automatic. The Touring version starts at around $25k but includes bigger 19-inch alloys, heated front seats, power controls for the driver seat, proximity keyless entry, and automatic high beams. Also standard is the i-Activsense safety package that includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure warning with lane keeping assist.

The Mazda6 Grand Touring is my personal bet. You get all the goodies in the Touring trim along with a more powerful turbocharged 2.5-liter motor with 250-horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. Despite the added horsepower, the engine can still return an impressive 23/32 mpg. The engine is mated to a six-speed auto and also comes with an 11-speaker audio system with satellite radio and standard navigation. The Grand Touring Reserve and Signature trim will hover around $31k to $34k and will add luxury features such as a heated steering wheel, memory settings for the driver seat, upgraded leather and interior trim, and LED lighting.

Like I said, the Mazda6 is a driver’s car, but it’s still comfortable and relatively practical. If you need a family sedan that drives like a sporty compact, nothing comes close to the 2018 Mazda6.

2019 Ford Fusion

The 2019 Ford Fusion is a different sort of animal. The driving experience is similar to the Mazda6, but the sportiness is toned down a bit to deliver more refinement. That’s not a bad thing to have in a midsize sedan. Older models were touted to be sportier and more responsive, but the new Fusion is still dynamically impressive despite the added refinement.

All I can say is this: the Ford Fusion is a better driver’s car than the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. It also comes with a luxurious interior and plenty of space for passengers and cargo. It may be a bit long in the tooth to be quite honest, but Ford managed to keep the Fusion fresh in the eyes of potential buyers.

That’s why it’s a bit sad that Ford will stop making cars and sedans in favor of crossovers, SUVs, and electric vehicles. It’s a shame because the second-generation Fusion (released in 2013) is one of the best-looking and best-handling sedans that Ford churned out in the last 15 years or so. The current-generation Fusion is also sold in hybrid and plug-in models, and they’re not bad in the world of eco-conscious vehicles, either.

But still, it’s glad to know the Fusion is still here. The base S model comes equipped with a 2.5-liter four-banger that churns out 173-horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque. The motor is a connected to a six-speed automatic. It’s important to note the base engine in the Fusion is short on power compared to the Mazda6, and you will feel it in the open road. But still, the base trim comes well-equipped with 16-inch steel wheels (nasty), automatic headlights, a 4.2-inch infotainment screen with four speakers, Bluetooth, and a rearview camera for less than $23k.

Oh and before I forget, Ford’s Co-Pilot360 Protect driver assist system is standard on the base S trim and includes blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assist, and forward collision mitigation. Higher trim models get an upgraded Ford Co-Pilot360 Assist system that adds dual-zone climate control, Ford Sync, adaptive cruise control, and a navigation system.

For the money, I would gladly upgrade to the Fusion SE that includes a more powerful turbocharged 1.5-liter four-banger with 181-horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque. It can still achieve 21/34 mpg which is slightly better than the 21/31 mpg of the base motor. For less than $24k you also get larger 17-inch wheels, power-adjustable front seats, a larger 8-inch touchscreen display with satellite radio and six speakers, and Apple CarPlay with Android Auto. The SE is also available in all-wheel drive. If you choose this option, Ford will throw in a lively 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that is good for 240-horsepower and 270-pound feet of torque.

The SEL and Titanium trim gets the revised 2.0-liter motor along with standard luxury features such as keyless ignition with remote ignition, heated mirrors, a more powerful audio system, larger 19-inch wheels, ambient lighting, and LED fog lights. Ford is also offering the Fusion in V6 Sport trim. You get a turbocharged 2.7-liter motor with 325-horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque, standard all-wheel drive, adjustable suspension, and a 12-speaker audio system.

But there’s a catch. The V6 Sport Trim is hovering dangerously close to $42,000. In my humble opinion, this is too much money for a midsize sedan, and I would rather fork over $28k or $34k for the Fusion SEL and Titanium, respectively. For the money, the Ford Fusion is still one of the best choices in the midsize segment. This is high praise given the presence of the perennial and updated Toyota Camry and magnificent Honda Accord. What the Mazda6 lacks in comfort, the Ford Fusion more than makes up for it.

2019 Subaru Legacy

I have to admit, the 2019 Subaru Legacy caters to a specific niche in the market. It is the only midsize sedan in this comparison that comes standard with all-wheel drive, and it’s a good one at that, if not the best in the market. The only thing that bothers me about the Legacy is the conservative and humdrum styling, especially in base and mid-level trim options.

Of course, looks are entirely subjective, but you see where I’m getting at, right? Compared to the sexy Mazda6 and elegant Ford Fusion, the Subaru Legacy sedan is a bit boring. From the side, it even resembles a previous-model Honda Accord. It seems the Subaru Legacy is filling the conservative niche that the new Toyota Camry previously abandoned, and that’s not surprising isn’t it?

But for a midsize family sedan that hack it over snow, mud, or rough roads, you can do no better than the Subaru Legacy. Like I said, even the base trim comes standard with symmetrical all-wheel drive and Subaru’s EyeSight driver assist technology that comes with lane keeping assist and sway warning, adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, and pre-collision throttle management.

The Legacy in base 2.5i trim comes with 17-inch wheels, a 6.5-inch infotainment touchscreen with four speakers, Bluetooth connectivity, and satellite radio. All trim models of the 2019 Subaru Legacy are also equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard equipment, and that’s nice. You get all of this for less than $23k. You also get a 2.5-liter Boxer motor that churns out 175-horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque, which is mated to a CVT transmission.

All of a sudden, the 2019 Subaru Legacy in base trim is starting to look like excellent value, right? The 2.5i Premium trim adds bigger 17-inch alloys, a 10-way power driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, a leather steering wheel, a larger 8-inch touchscreen interface, and six speakers for less than $25k. The Sport trim starts at less than $27k and adds 18-inch alloys, LED fog lights, and keyless ignition. The Sport model also gets rear cross-traffic alert and blind spot monitoring for added safety.

The Limited trim receives an upgraded suspension system along with full leather upholstery and a 12-speaker premium Harman Kardon audio system for less than $30k. Finally, the top-end 3.6R Limited will get you a bigger and throatier six-cylinder Boxer motor with 256-horsepower and 246 pound-feet of torque. With a starting price of around $31,000 the 3.6R Limited also comes with dual exhaust and turn-adapting LED headlights.

The base 2.5-liter Boxer motor may be quiet and smooth, but it feels a bit sluggish compared to the four-cylinder motors in the Mazda6 and Ford Fusion. But it can return 34/25 mpg while the six-cylinder Boxer can achieve 28/20 mpg. The CVT is also tame and slow to respond but it does have simulated shifts to make it feel like you’re piloting a proper six-speed auto.

When it comes to value, it is hard to ignore the 2019 Subaru Legacy. You will need to pay more money if you want an all-wheel drive Fusion, while the Mazda6 is only sold in front-wheel drive. The Legacy shines when you need it most, such as when faced with rough or demanding terrain.

Verdict

All of our three midsize sedan contenders are excellent alternatives to the Camry and Accord. The 2018 Mazda6 is the perfect choice for enthusiast drivers. The 2019 Ford Fusion is an excellent family hauler with decent levels of sportiness. The 2019 Subaru Legacy offers the best bang for the buck in this category. All things considered, though, it’s the Mazda6’s dynamics – and dynamic looks – that push it to the top of our list.

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Dead and Buried shows the arena potential for Oculus Quest

One of the most impressive VR technology demos we’ve ever seen is on display at Oculus Connect 5 in San Jose.

In a corner of the convention center The VOID brought Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, demonstrating publicly for the first time that the startup is using Oculus Rift inside its VR helmet to provide the visuals you see when visiting one of The VOID’s $30+ per ticket attractions. Right next to the demo there’s a 4,000 square foot arena setup for the Oculus Quest version of old west shooting game Dead and Buried.

While Oculus Rift powers some of the best VR attractions of 2017 and 2018, through this demonstration Facebook is showing that Oculus Quest may be able power the next generation of these experiences in 2019 and 2020 without any backpack or specialized external tracking hardware.

Quest could represent a big step forward in terms of convenience, cost and setup — though it also remains unclear whether the standalone hardware will be able to operate at the robust scale required by regular use at a VR installation. The cost came down last year to $1,500 per camera for OptiTrack-based setups, but the largest setups still require dozens of them to work.

If you could equip four people with headsets and controllers for practically the same cost as a single OptiTrack camera, though, the convenience and cost savings are going to be just too much to ignore. It could give rise to new kinds of arrangements for VR attractions built around the capabilities of this particular headset. After all, some installations are combining Gear VR with OptiTrack because the system uses a lower cost combination of computer and head-mounted display.

Which brings me to the demonstration at Oculus Connect 5 showing two teams of three wearing Oculus Quest and facing off against each other. The two teams hid behind boxes on either side of an old west train station while myself and a camera person stood in between the teams and watched the action unfold all around us through the screen of an iPad held up to view the action.

It isn’t the first time we’ve seen handheld phones or tablets able to peer into the virtual world of someone wearing a headset — but it is the first time we’ve seen it done at this scale with standalone headsets.

It is also worth noting Google just announced a new controller tracking technologywhich nobody has tested publicly, but if Oculus Quest’s controllers aren’t robust enough for this kind of use case at a commercial sale, there’s a chance Google’s upcoming standalone controller tracking technology might be up to the task instead.

This story originally appeared on Uploadvr.com. Copyright 2018

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Elon Musk’s SEC Settlement Could Have Gone So Much Worse

In early August, Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a fateful tweet: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” On Saturday, two days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Tesla CEO Elon Musk for “false and misleading” statements made on Twitter, Musk, Tesla, and the feds reached a compromise—a settlement.

According to documents filed in a New York federal court, Musk and Tesla will have to each write $20 million checks for the misadventure, which will be disbursed to investors harmed during the wild market swings that occurred after Musk’s tweets. (Tesla announced in late August, 17 days after the tweet, that it would remain public.) The electric carmaker will appoint two additional independent members to its board. The company will have to keep firm oversight over Musk’s communications with investors—including by tweet. Most critically: Musk will have to step down from his role as Tesla chairperson for at least three years. He will remain on as the company’s CEO and will retain a seat on its board.

In reaching a settlement with the federal enforcement agency, Musk and the company seem to have reversed course. Last week, Tesla had reportedly been on the cusp of a settlement with the SEC, before backing out.

Despite that waffling, legal experts say the result could have been much, much worse for Musk and his car company, where he has served as chairperson since 2004 and CEO since 2008. “Frankly, I view this as somewhat favorable to Musk,” says Stephen Diamond, a professor of securities law and corporate governance at the Santa Clara University School of Law. “He remains CEO, he’s still the dominant stockholder in the company, and he still remains in place on the board.” (Musk owns about 22 percent of Tesla shares.)

By relinquishing his role as chairperson, Musk does lose his ability to call board meetings, as well as set their agendas. His replacement in that role, whom the SEC demands be “independent,” will break Musk’s symbolic grip on the company, at least a bit. (Indeed, a cadre of the company’s investors have been calling for Tesla to formally separate the roles of CEO and chairperson for years now.) “This will serve as a kind of check on the runaway power of Musk,” says Diamond. As CEO, Musk will retain his control over day-to-day operations of Tesla.

A major question looms: Who will the new chairperson be? Will that pick be a truly independent check on the impulsive Musk, praised often for his marketing prowess and inventiveness, but whose actions have occasionally proved destructive and expensive? Observers have long grumbled that Tesla’s board members are not nearly independent enough. (Brother Kimbal Musk is currently on the board for both Tesla and Musk’s SpaceX venture. Antonio Gracias, a founder of Valor Equity Partners, is a longtime friend of Musk’s and has invested in PayPal and Solar City.)

“If the new chairperson is somebody who is extraordinarily strong and someone who will stand up to Elon, then it will be a change in his life,” says Erik Gordon, a lawyer who studies entrepreneurship at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. “If the person is as independent as the supposedly independent directors of Tesla, then it probably doesn’t change his life very much. He will dominate that chairperson in the way he has dominated his board.”

One big thing that will definitely change for Musk: The settlement instructs Tesla to “implement mandatory procedures and controls to oversee all of Elon Musk’s communications regarding the Company made in any format.” Including—you guessed it—Twitter. “The thing that will be both humiliating for Musk and good for him is that he will be the only CEO I have ever known who will have to get his communications approved before he makes them,” says Gordon. Expect this to be a particular bummer for Musk, who has built a reputation off his irreverent, goofy, startlingly transparent, and lawsuit-spurring social media posts. Professional tweet editors, polish up those resumes.

Not settling with the SEC could have led to a more dire outcome. The SEC’s initial suit sought to bar the CEO from becoming an officer or director for any public company, perhaps for life. A loss against the federal agency in court may have also made it difficult for Musk to raise money for his non-Tesla ventures: rocket-building SpaceX, neurotechnology company Neuralink, and infrastructure venture the Boring Company.

While the settlement neatly ties up Tesla’s current dealings with the SEC, the carmaker still has two more Twitter-related headaches. The first is the reported Department of Justice probe into the “funding secured” tweet, which is being investigated as a possible case of criminal fraud. The settlement here may not have any bearing on that investigation, legal experts say. The second is a series of class-action lawsuits filed by investors who say they lost big money in the market volatility following Musk’s August Twitter statements. Though the $40 million in fines will be used to mollify investors, legal experts expect the plaintiffs to push for even more funds. “Those lawsuits have always been the bigger risk to Musk and the company,” says Gordon.

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Department of Justice demands Facebook Decrypt Messenger

A U.S. District court has sided with Facebook in their standoff with the U. S. Department of Justice over the government’s attempts to wiretap voice calls in Messenger. In August, three unnamed sources confirmed to Reuters that the U.S. government was trying to force Facebook’s hand regarding the encryption on its Messenger app. The government wants the social media platform to make it possible for law enforcement agencies to listen in on a suspect’s conversation during criminal investigations. Facebook refused the demand and the case was set for trial over the summer. The case is sealed, so there are no public records available.

On August 14, the judge in the case heard opening arguments regarding the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to have Facebook held in contempt of court for refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

According to Reuters, which spoke to sources familiar with the sealed ruling, the courts have ruled in favor of Facebook. The reasoning of the judge’s decision has not been released, but the results are a clear win for Facebook.

The outcome of this case could have widespread ramifications regarding privacy on communication apps. If the courts had ruled in favor of the government, that could have allowed law enforcement agencies to make similar demands of other communication apps. For their part, some tech companies, despite the obvious privacy issues inherent in social media, have come to see themselves as guardians of privacy.

In a lot of ways, this case is similar to one that occurred in 2016 between the FBI and Apple regarding the contents of an iPhone belonging to a man involved in the murder of government employees in San Bernardino, California. In that case, Apple argued that the government was violating the company’s first amendment rights by attempting to force the issue. However, the case was never resolved as a third-party contractor helped the government obtain the information it sought from the phone.

This case could also have implications for how internet-based voice applications are viewed in regards to wiretapping. Currently, it is fairly easy for law enforcement to obtain warrants to tap traditional phone conversations, but that hasn’t been expanded to platforms such as Facebook Messenger or Google Hangouts.

While there are legal issues at stake here, the government’s request also runs into technical ones as well. Standard text messages sent within Messenger do not receive one-to-one encryption, but phone conversations do. Facebook is arguing that the government’s request is impossible without rewriting Messenger’s code, which would make it easier to listen in on anyone’s conversations.

Updated on September 29, 2018: Updated with the news that the judge has ruled in favor of Facebook.

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All-female termite societies exist in Japan. Where do I sign up?

Today in “that sounds nice,” a group of biologists studying termite colonies in southern Japan have discovered all-female colonies that function perfectly without even a single male termite being involved. 

The lady termites, which reproduce asexually, appear to have been descended from mixed sex colonies but at some point decided that enough was enough and branched out to create new colonies where it’s girls’ night every night. And day. Forever. 

Besides the obvious advantage of everyone remembering to put the toilet seat down and a presumed 100 percent reduction in man termites making decisions about woman termites’ bodies, the scientists noted that the uniform head shape of lady termites is an advantage when it comes to defending the colony from intruders. 

Strong, beautiful lady termites. Getting it done, kicking out men, and forming flawless Spartan phalanxes with their heads. Is it messed up that being a southern Japanese termite sounds awesome right about now?

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AR’s success depends on perfecting input methods

How will augmented reality (AR) glasses work for consumers? Specifically, what will be the user interface (UI) and/or user experience (UX) for the eyewear that will bring AR to the masses?

The user experience will be very important since we are talking about a change to the fundamental human and machine interface. Up until now, the interaction has been between humans and computers, personal computers, laptops, mobile devices, and tablets.

What we’re looking at over the next 10 years is a migration towards other yet-to-be-designed devices that are near-to-eye that will enable us to see the real world. But it will also have the ability to post digital content either floating loosely in the real world or within our view of the real world.

Need input on the inputs

It’s going to take something totally new to trigger a large-scale consumer response when it comes to augmented reality wearables. What’s going to lead the development of these devices? I think it will come down to decisions regarding the input. Those decisions are going to dictate what the UI and UX will become. This is instead of the opposite; the UX/UI dictating the inputs.

For example, input for a mobile phone means the ability to swipe, to use finger pinching, and the use of voice. These are all useful attributes in our current interaction with computers. Some of these will live on for AR wearables.  For example, voice may be combined with gesture recognition.

A camera embedded on the headset can notice where your hands are in relation to the visual content and in relation to how far it is away from your head. This is fundamental for “spatial computing” which is how companies like Magic Leap and Microsoft refer to the next man/machine interface.

Voice command or AI-powered personal assistants can also help control your graphic orientation, and decision-making environment. There’s also the likely inclusion of a controller as an input. This could take the form of a little mouse in your hand, very similar to some of the virtual reality (VR) headsets that utilize hand controllers.

Eye-tracking or gazing will also be a factor. Say I’m in a meeting, now I can’t really use my hands in front of my face. And I can’t really talk. So eye-tracking or gazing could be another way to navigate content, but not be noticeable to anyone else. This input will be critical in circumstances when neither voice or using your hands is an option.

So those are the four primary inputs: Eye-tracking (gazing), controllers, voice, and gesture recognition. The question still remains, what input is going to lead to what in terms of UI and UX? We don’t have the answers yet but I believe it’s going to be an amalgamation of all of those inputs. And the combination will have to be contextual.

Here’s what I mean. Say I put my smart glasses on in the morning just ahead when I’m about to start driving. The headset will have a gyro on it and it’ll know that it’s in motion. Once I achieve a speed of more than a  few miles per hour, I will no longer be able to use gesture recognition.

But I will be able to use voice recognition, and I’ll be able to use eye-tracking. So the device itself has to be smart enough to know where I am and what I’m doing, sort of what some smartphones can do now—such as disabling potentially distracting features when you are moving in a car.

How much is too much?

It is imperative to understand the importance of not overdoing the amount of digital content you throw at a user in a benign setting, and all the more so while he or she is driving. It is a dilemma that has to be solved no matter what. Many people believe a Waze-like application will be one of the first for AR eyeglasses. It makes sense and people should be excited about it. But it is going to take a very lightweight version of that kind of application.

But it is possible. You can have a very, very translucent graphic interface, like a blue line, that follows the road. And then in the corners of the glasses, it can show your speed or maybe the time until you arrive to your location. But nothing else. No little cartoon characters. No points. Very minimalistic.

But there is always a danger in overdoing it.  For the average person, the cognitive load one experiences when using AR glasses may prove too heavy. And users would always prefer less and not more. They want to see their view of the real world. But they also want to have only the information that they absolutely need when they need it. It won’t work to overwhelm people by throwing too much digital content and too many distractions into one’s view.

How cool will it be when it happens?

So there are some challenges in fitting augmented reality into an eyewear device and reworking the interaction between man and machine is only part of the challenge.

First, you have to get people to pay for and wear the glasses. How do you price it? How do I give enough value that someone might wear glasses that just had laser surgery? What’s too much input, or too much content?  What’s the right amount? These are the considerations industry insiders are obsessing on. But when it’s all figured out, it will be a major game changer. You are looking at a cultural shift that will even dwarf the autonomous automobile.

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Verizon is Doing Big Speed Things With…4G LTE – Droid Life

5G is right around the corner. In fact, Verizon’s home 5G broadband service kicks off its first day in service on October 1. But this week, Verizon is talking about 4G LTE and hitting wild Gbps speeds for some reason.

The wireless carrier announced yesterday that through work with Nokia and Qualcomm, they managed to reach a peak data speed of 1.45Gbps in a “live commercial environment.” Cool!

They used six channel carrier aggregation that was a combination of Verizon’s licensed PCS and AWS spectrum, as well as four carriers of License Assisted Access (LAA) spectrum. The test also used 256 QAM and 4×4 MIMO.

Verizon is talking about all of this by trying to tie it back into 5G and how this will help their work there. Sure. It just comes off a bit empty with these tests being done for Gigabit LTE as far back as October of last year, yet I’m not sure I can point to a time where I connected to Verizon’s network, even with a supported device, and saw anything near Gbps speeds (this guy did, though). Gigabit LTE is supposed to be available in up to 560 markets.

And while I’m well aware that this was in a controlled test environment where things are very theoretical, these bits of bragging just aren’t that impressive unless a customer can actually take advantage of them.

Happy Friday!

// Verizon

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Facebook Hacked, 50 Million Accounts Compromised

Facebook is the biggest social network in the world at the moment, and with millions of accounts on its platform, it does seem like a hacker’s dream come true to be able to mine all of these accounts for all kinds of personal information that could be used for other malicious purposes. Unfortunately for some, that’s exactly what happened.

In an announcement by Facebook, the company has revealed that on the 25th of September, their systems were compromised by hackers who exploited a security flaw, which in turn saw about 50 million or so accounts compromised. According to Facebook, the flaw was in the “View As” feature that lets users see what their profile might look like to another user.

Facebook says that the flaw “allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts. Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook so they don’t need to re-enter their password every time they use the app.”

Users who have been affected by this will see themselves logged out of their Facebook accounts and also services that they might have logged in with using Facebook. Upon logging back in, they will be greeted by the notification in the screenshot above that lets them know what happened.

Facebook concludes, “To protect people’s accounts, we’ve fixed the vulnerability. We have also reset the access tokens of the almost 50 million accounts we know were affected and we’ve also taken the precautionary step of resetting access tokens for another 40 million accounts that have been subject to a View As look-up in the last year. Finally, we’ve temporarily turned off the View As feature while we conduct a thorough security review.”

Filed in General. Read more about Facebook, Hack and Security.

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MoviePass forces some former users to opt out of new charges

MoviePass has angered former customers by notifying them of a new plan that involves resuming charges and forcing them to opt-out of being a renewed customer. Only “a select test group” is being forced back onto their plan without request, though an email indicates that MoviePass may expand this to cover more people in the future. Those who fail to opt out in the next week or so will be charged $9.95/month.

READ: MoviePass annual subscribers forced onto restricted monthly plans

Many former MoviePass customers abandoned the service following increasingly restrictive changes, those arising due to dwindling cash and lack of a sustainable business model. The days of unlimited movies are over…or at least they were, until now.

Some former customers who allowed their subscription to lapse have received an email pointing toward the new 3-movies-a-month plan for $9.95/month and the fact that they could have opted into this new opportunity. Customers who failed to opt-in lost their subscription.

That’s an effective way to stop being a MoviePass customer, or at least it seemed so. The company has decided to restore some of these subscriptions without permission, instead offering only a brief heads up. Users will have to opt-out of the new plan before 9PM EDT on October 4 to avoid being charged.

Because we really hope you being enjoying your MoviePass subscription again, we have chosen you to be part of a select test group, who beginning Friday, October 5th will be restored to unlimited movies (up to one new movie title per day based on existing inventory) — the same subscription you signed up for and you previously enjoyed …

To be clear, unless you opt out, your unlimited subscription will be restored and you will begin enjoying unlimited movies again … at $9.95 per month, and your credit card on file will be charged on a monthly basis beginning Friday, October 5th, 2018.

It’s an unfortunate decision that reeks of desperation, that following a massive service outage only a few months ago after the company ran out of cash. This isn’t the first time MoviePass has managed to anger its users, however — a few weeks ago, the company forced its annual subscribers who had been grandfathered into the unlimited plan onto the new highly restrictive version.

SOURCE: Twitter

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August 2018’s top 10 Minecraft Marketplace creations

The Minecraft Marketplace kept some of its momentum from launching on Switch and its first Summer Sale. The unified version of Minecraft served up 373,361 downloads across Windows 10, mobile, Xbox, and Switch. While that’s nowhere near the 669,795 downloads from July, it’s still a big number for a month without a massive sale.

August was a relatively quiet month for Minecraft. The block-building phenomenon’s Summer Sale happened in July. Also, the Switch version  launched in June. That introduced the Marketplace to an entirely new audience. As a result of the dearth of major events like those, you would expect a big decline. But downloads were only just below June’s 396,511.

But Minecraft has a lot going on right now. Target partnered with Microsoft and The Minecraft Team to bring a huge slate of new products to the retailer earlier this month. And this weekend, the global fan festival Minecon Earth is taking place. This is where the game’s biggest fanatics get together at Microsoft Stores around the world to celebrate the game. It’s also where Microsoft will have big new announcements.

That should keep interest high, and that could translate into Minecraft Marketplace sales.

Let’s get to the charts.

Top 10 most downloaded

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Here’s the list:

1. City Life
2. Millionaire Mansions
3. Mineville Highschool
4. Zombie Apocalypse
5. Prison Escape
6. Mineville University Roleplay
7. Dinosaur Park
8. Castles & Dragons
9. Construction City
10. Fright Night 13

Top 10 highest grossing

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Here’s the list:

1. City Life
2. Millionaire Mansions
3. Zombie Apocalypse
4. Prison Escape
5. Dinosaur Park
6. Castles & Dragons
7. Mineville Highschool
8. Construction City
9. City Builder Mash-up
10. Mutant Battle Arena

That’s the Marketplace report for the month. Check back in October for more!

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source http://allcameradriver.com/august-2018s-top-10-minecraft-marketplace-creations/

Trump’s Auto Emissions Plan Is Full of Faulty Logic

There was a time many years ago when cars guzzled gas like beer, teenagers raced them on Friday nights, and Detroit automakers boasted about their vehicles’ ever-increasing horsepower and speed. Since then, cars have become safer, cleaner and more efficient, mostly as a result of tougher standards from Washington.

A new Trump administration proposal might bring that half a century of vehicular progress screeching to a halt, some experts say, by shrugging its collective shoulders at the growing danger of climate change and the fuel-efficiency standards designed to combat it. The White House wants to freeze future auto emissions standards and ban California from making its own tougher rules for carbon emissions from vehicles.

First, a look at the numbers. A little-noticed report issued by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) predicts that the Earth’s temperature will rise a whopping 7° Fahrenheit (4° Celsius) by 2100, assuming that little or nothing is done to reverse emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The current Paris climate accords call for nations to pledge to keep warming below 3.6° F (2° C) by century’s end.

The Trump administration’s climate change scenario would likely entail catastrophic melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, causing rising sea levels that would flood low-lying coastal areas from Maine to Texas—not to mention warmer oceans that could spawn ever-stronger hurricanes alongside pockets of inland drought, and a collapse of agriculture in many areas.

The NHTSA report came up with these doomsday numbers to argue that automobile and truck tailpipe emissions after 2020 will have such a small global impact on overall greenhouse gases that it’s not worth tightening the screws on Detroit automakers. “What they are saying is we are going to hell anyhow, what difference does it make if we go a little faster,” says David Pettit, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “That’s their theory of how they are dealing with greenhouse gas emissions.”

Pettit and others say the NHTSA report and the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back future tailpipe emissions standards would allow Detroit to build bigger, thirstier cars than would have been permitted under President Obama-era rules. Pettit notes that he has gone from driving a 7-miles-per-gallon Chrysler in the late 1960s to a Chevy Bolt today, largely as the result of stricter federal standards that require automakers to sell clean cars alongside their SUVs and trucks.

In addition to throwing up its hands at climate change, the Trump administration also argues that continuing to increase fuel economy requirements will make the overall vehicle fleet less safe, because people will continue to drive older cars longer than they otherwise would. The argument is that the higher price tags on more fuel-efficient cars will deter consumers from buying new vehicles equipped with more advanced technology that also improves safety. But Giorgio Rizzoni, director of the Center for Automotive Research at Ohio State University, says the administration has it backwards. His study of the past 40 years concludes that safety and fuel efficiency have grown at the same time.

If the Trump administration rules are passed, American carbuyers might end up seeing vehicles with less advanced technology on the dealer lot than overseas buyers, says Austin Brown, executive director of the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy. “The cars would look the same on the outside, but they would burn more gasoline, cost more money and create more emissions,” he says. That’s because US cars with weaker fuel standards won’t be sold on worldwide markets, he adds.

The Trump administration held public meetings on the proposal this week in Fresno, California; Dearborn, Michigan; and Pittsburgh. The deadline for written comments is October 23.

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The best news apps on iPhone and Android

Are the days of traditional newspapers and broadcast news dwindling? With apps this good, maybe. Catch up on the latest headlines on any platform with the best news apps on iOS and Android.

The post The best news apps on iPhone and Android appeared first on Digital Trends.

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50 million accounts ‘directly affected’ by hack

A million hacked Facebook accounts isn’t cool. You know what’s even less cool? Fifty million hacked Facebook accounts.

A Friday morning press release from our connect-people-at-any-cost friends in Menlo Park detailed a potentially horrifying situation for the billions of people who use the social media service: Their accounts might have been hacked. Well, at least 50 million of them were “directly affected,” anyway. 

The so-called “security update” is light on specifics, but what it does include is extremely troubling. 

“We did see this attack being used at a fairly large scale.”

“On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 25, our engineering team discovered a security issue affecting almost 50 million accounts,” reads the statement. “[It’s] clear that attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted ‘View As’, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts.”

That’s right, almost 50 million accounts were vulnerable to this attack. As for how many were actually exploited? 

“Fifty million accounts were directly affected,” explained a Facebook exec on a Friday morning press call, “and we know the vulnerability was used against them.”

The statement provides additional information. 

“We did see this attack being used at a fairly large scale,” the same Facebook executive said. “The attackers could use the account as if they are the account holder.”

The statement itself didn’t provide much additional insight. 

“Since we’ve only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed,” continues the statement. “We also don’t know who’s behind these attacks or where they’re based.”

Facebook says it’s fixed the vulnerability, and that 90 million people may suddenly find themselves logged out of their accounts or various Facebooks apps as a result.  

So, yeah, this is big. 

“Security is an arms race,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dryly noted on the press call. 

Facebook is working with law enforcement, and, at least for now, says you don’t need to change your password. But maybe go ahead and log out of your account, everywhere, just to be safe. 

“[If] anyone wants to take the precautionary action of logging out of Facebook, they should visit the ‘Security and Login’ section in settings,” advises the warning. “It lists the places people are logged into Facebook with a one-click option to log out of them all.”

So yeah, click through that link and log out of your account on every service at once. After that, maybe think long and hard about whether it’s even worth logging back in. 

UPDATE: Sept. 28, 2018, 10:34 a.m. PDT This story has been updated with additional comments from a Facebook executive, and Mark Zuckerberg. 

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ShapeShift launches new cryptocurrency tracker (but it’s no CoinMarketCap)

In a blog posted yesterday, ShapeShift announced the relaunch of its cryptocurrency index, CoinCap.io. It’s built on entirely new code, but from a user perspective, it’s pretty much the same system as before – just a bit shinier.

The relaunched CoinCap does host some new features, though. It now includes real-time price updates, a new mobile-friendly design, and everyone’s favorite feature of the day, dark mode.

The real-time price updates are a cool feature, but it’s not perfect. Cryptocurrency tickers flash green for price increases, and red for price decreases – every, damn, second.

The incessant blinking can be turned off, so hopefully it won’t induce too many headaches.

Ignoring the blinking lights it’s a wonderfully simple tool. Top cryptocurrencies are easy to find, all the basic details are there, and it’s easy to dive deeper as your interest gets piqued by a particular coin or token.

But this is where CoinCap starts to fall short.

In terms of the details about individual coins and tokens, CoinCap doesn’t quite measure up to some its competitors.

I found myself going back to CoinMarketCap when I wanted to do a deeper dive on some coins. CoinCap only lists a coin’s website and block explorer. If you want Github, social links, or historical data, you’ll need to go to CoinMarketCap or another source.

While on first glances, CoinCap appears to provide – in my opinion at least – an easy to use quick snap shot of the market it’s undeniable that it does leave me wanting more.

But unlike CoinMarketCap, there are no banner ads. That’s because it’s practically an ad for its creator, ShapeShift.

CoinCap is ShapeShift

Indeed, the CoinCap relaunch comes only weeks after ShapeShift came under fire for enforcing new Know-Your-Customer (KYC) / Anti-Money-Laundering rules on its users.

For some, this (pardon the pun) shift spelled the end of the exchange platform. But it was vital that ShapeShift implement Know-Your-Customer measures to satisfy regulatory pressures. Otherwise it might have been the literal end for the platform (in some territories).

With ShapeShift sailing through rocky seas recently, its priorities must be with regaining trust and interest from potential investors. CoinCap is cool, but it’s unlikely it’ll do much for that.

If you’re interested in everything blockchain, chances are you’ll love Hard Fork Decentralized. Our blockchain and cryptocurrency event is coming up soon – join us to hear from experts about the industry’s future. Ticket sales are now open, check it out!

Published September 28, 2018 — 14:47 UTC

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Google Home Max, Which is Rarely Discounted, is $50 Off Right Now – Droid Life

Google’s biggest Home speaker, the Google Home Max, hasn’t been discounted many times since it launched at the end of last year. Sure, we’ve seen it discounted when bundled, but we don’t often see it with a straight price drop. Today at Best Buy and Google and various retailers, that’s what we’ve got!

Google Home Max is currently $50 off at retailers in both Chalk and Charcoal colorways. It also comes with a free month of TikiLIVE’s premium TV streaming service too ($29.99 value), if that matters to you.

Should you pull the trigger knowing that Google is about to show off a bunch of hardware on October 9? We aren’t currently expecting Google to show off a new Home Max, only a Home Hub, which likely won’t have the audio expertise of Max. So yeah, if you’ve been waiting for a discount to Google’s highest-end smart speaker, this is a good time.

Google Home Links:

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MMO WildStar Will Be Shutting Down For Good In November

Earlier this month, NCSoft announced that Carbine will be shutting down. For those who aren’t familiar, Carbine is the developer behind MMORPG WildStar, and was put together by former Blizzard employees. The shutting down of Carbine also meant that this marked the end of WildStar, but we did not have a date until now.

In a post on WildStar’s website, the developers have confirmed that the game will be shutting down for good come November 28, 2018. Gamers can also expect to be refunded their purchases that were made after the 1st of July, although with the game shutting down in the next couple of months, it probably doesn’t make sense for you to invest anymore into it.

To help wrap things up and allow players to experience the game in all of its glory one last time, Carbine announced that they will be “increasing the rotational speed of the planet Nexus (not really) to fast forward “ the time in the game so that players will be able to take part and enjoy some of the seasonal in-game events.

The developers also add, “We are truly grateful for the vibrant community that grew around WildStar, and for all of your support throughout the life of this game. Our hope is that in these last couple months we can all celebrate the great adventures you’ve had on Planet Nexus—and have some fun along the way.”

“Again, a most heartfelt thank you goes out from all of us to you for sharing this wild, intergalactic ride with us, and to helping make WildStar an experience that truly could not have been possible without you. Thank you.”

Filed in Gaming..

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PlayStation Vue livestreaming TV service adds dozens of local channels

Sony has expanded the number of local stations available on its live streaming television service PlayStation Vue. The platform has slowly added ABC, CBS, and similar local stations for customers throughout the United States, though many still lacked access to those options. That has changed for subscribers in some markets, however.

Local stations are the ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX networks available to people in any given region. These networks provide local news, weather, and sports, making them an important option for many customers. Though these networks are available in populated regions for free over-the-air via antennas, some people prefer to stream them for convenience and DVR.

Sony states it has added another 85 local channels to its streaming lineup, these providing customers with access to their city’s NBC, ABC, and similar networks. With these latest additions, Sony says it now offers more than 540 local channels across its service areas. The full list can be found here.

In addition to local channels, PlayStation Vue offers customers access to a large number of nationally available networks, including major ones like AMC, Animal Planet, ESPN and ESPN2, Disney Channel and Disney Junior, USA, WE, Travel Channel, Syfy, TBS, TNT, TLC, and more. Customers can choose one of four different channel package options, as well as add-ons like HBO and Showtime.

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Sight Diagnostics uses computer vision to analyze blood samples

A single device that can perform a slew of tests on a prick of blood was the promise of Theranos, a diagnostics startup that was found to have misled investors about its tech’s capabilities and whose founders were recently charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. But Sight Diagnostics is not Theranos.

Sight is the brainchild of cofounders Yossi Pollak, previously at Mobileye (an autonomous systems startup that Intel acquired for $15.3 billion in 2017), and Daniel Levner, a former scientist at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. They claim their first test to market, Parasight, which taps digital fluorescent microscopy and AI to detect malaria, is currently used in 25 countries.

The eight-year-old Tel Aviv medical company released something of a follow-up this summer in Olo, a desktop machine that analyzes blood from single-use cartridges. Sight says it can conduct “lab-grade” complete blood count (CBC) tests — tests that probe for a range of disorders including infection, anemia, and certain cancers — in 10 minutes from a finger prick or venous blood draw.

Typical CBC tests can take days.

“CBC is the most common test in the world,” Levner told VentureBeat in a phone interview. “The problem with it is that existing technologies don’t [provide a] full diagnostic result quickly.”

Olo, which is about the size of a toaster oven, leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to process scans. It first “digitizes” blood into colored microscope images, and then runs sophisticated computer vision algorithms (trained on half a petabyte of anonymized data from four years of clinical studies) that identify and count cell types in a sample.

Sight claims that Olo is easy enough for a layperson to operate, and that it’s robust enough to account for small inaccuracies and errors that might occur in slide preparation.

“The idea of digitizing blood has always been a difficult problem,” Levner said. “Creating a flat layer of millions of billions of cells on a glass slide has always been a difficult problem. We think that anyone should be able to run the test, so we tried to make it as simple as possible.”

Earlier this year, Olo completed a 287-person clinical trial at Israel’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, leading to a CE Mark registration from the European Union. Pitted against a Sysmex XN-Series lab hematology analyzer, Olo “surpassed … targets” for equivalency across 19 CBC parameters and a number of diagnostic flags.

It’s since been deployed in several European health care systems and is undergoing clinical trials in the U.S. at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital. Sight is aiming to recruit at least 500 participants for the stateside study, which is employing eight different Olo units.

“Previous blood analyzers aimed at in-office testing have involved clinical compromises and are difficult to operate or maintain,” Dr. Carlo Brugnara, the director of the Hematology Lab at the Boston Children’s Hospital, said earlier this year. “OLO has the potential to deliver on the promise of accurate, comprehensive blood testing at the doctor’s office, even with a finger prick sample.”

Sight Diagnostics has raised $25 million to date from former Google CEO and Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors. Pollak and Levner peg the CBC testing market at $30 billion worldwide.

The cofounders intend to obtain Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2019 — initially a 510(k) approval, which would allow Olo to operate in CLIA certified clinics, and subsequently a CLIA waiver, which would bring it to small clinics and private practices. They also plan to publish the results of the most recent clinical trial in a peer-reviewed journal.

As far as the next few years are concerned, Sight is experimenting with the idea of a cloud service that could facilitate remote scans. But it’s not committing to a rollout just yet.

“It’s true that when you digitize the images, you can process patients at point of care, which could lead to improved follow-up testing,” Levner said. “We’re contemplating these kinds of models, but we’re trying to be regimented about what we do.”

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