We have some rather tragic news to report in the world of autonomous driving. Via a blog posting on its site, Tesla Motors reported that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary investigation into the company after a fatal crash involving a Model S EV that was operating semi-autonomously via
Source: Hot Hardware – Tesla Reports First Death With Autopilot Engaged As Model S Strikes Tractor Trailer
Monthly Archives: June 2016
Amazon's Second Annual Prime Day Is July 12: Here's Everything You Need To Know
You probably remember that Amazon invented their own holiday, Prime Day, last summer. You might also recall a whole lot of snarky articles and #PrimeDayFail
tweets highlighting the garage sale-like nature of some of the deals. We’re here to tell you that while that reputation wasn’t entirely unwarranted, the second iteration of the event on July 12 is absolutely still worth your attention.
Source: LifeHacker – Amazon’s Second Annual Prime Day Is July 12: Here’s Everything You Need To Know
Don't be blue; CREE introduces warm LED street lights
The warmer color and better light quality will let you sleep at night.
Source: TreeHugger – Don’t be blue; CREE introduces warm LED street lights
The Das Keyboard 5Q is for working smarter, not harder
Das Keyboard is behind some of the most impressive mechanical keyboards around. If you’re a keyboard snob, you’ve probably used one or two in your life. If you like customization and keyboards that do way more than just help you put words together, y…
Source: Engadget – The Das Keyboard 5Q is for working smarter, not harder
One Guy's Steam Level Just Broke 1,000
Last time we checked in
on renowned Steam demigod PalmDesert, he’d just pushed his Steam level to 600. At the time, he had the highest Steam level in the world. He still does, only now it’s broken 1,000.
Source: Kotaku – One Guy’s Steam Level Just Broke 1,000
BMW, Intel, Mobileye Partner On Self-Driving Cars, 'Turning Point For Automotive Industry': Reports
BMW, Intel, and Mobileye NV are working to develop autonomous-car technology, reports Bloomberg, citing multiple sources. Senior executives from each company will hold an event on Friday to discuss the driverless-vehicle initiative, the report adds. From the article:Jerusalem-based Mobileye has been an early leader in providing cameras, software and other components that allow vehicles to see the world around them. BMW has been a client of Mobileye, along with General Motors Co. and Tesla Motors Inc. As automakers and their suppliers race to create systems to replace human drivers, most companies are betting on some form of artificial intelligence, which requires powerful processing.Reuters, citing one source, reports the same thing. The announcement will be a “turning point for the automotive industry,” Amnon Shashua, the chairman and co-founder of Mobileye.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – BMW, Intel, Mobileye Partner On Self-Driving Cars, ‘Turning Point For Automotive Industry’: Reports
Seeing How Sex Dolls Are Made Is Hauntingly Eerie (NSFW)
Being inside a sex doll factory and watching all that plastic nakedness get shaped is much more haunting than it is titillating. It gets unsettling, like if you were trapped inside a scene from a horror movie and couldn’t get out. But it’s also somewhat intriguing, just to see the mixture of products and body parts that they put together in a puzzle to shape a doll.
Source: Gizmodo – Seeing How Sex Dolls Are Made Is Hauntingly Eerie (NSFW)
This Massive K'NEX Ball Machine Is Bigger Than My Apartment
As a kid, did you ever stop to wonder what you could build with K’NEX if you just kept playing with the toy for the next three years? Here’s the answer: a massive ball machine nicknamed the Citadel that fills an entire corner of a room and is made from more K’NEX than all the kids in your neighborhood have put together.
Source: Gizmodo – This Massive K’NEX Ball Machine Is Bigger Than My Apartment
Aquaman and Cyborg Get Their Close-Ups in These Batman v Superman Behind-the-Scenes Photos
The funniest comment I read about Batman v Superman was when someone said they loved the scene in the movie when Wonder Woman sat down and watched the trailer for Justice League. Thanks to that scene—and a new behind-the-scenes featurette—we finally have a closer look at Aquaman and Cyborg.
Source: Gizmodo – Aquaman and Cyborg Get Their Close-Ups in These Batman v Superman Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Can You Tell Which One of These Baseball Stories Was Written By a Robot?
It’s only a matter of time before robots replace all jobs, right? Well, today they’re coming for mine.
Source: Gizmodo – Can You Tell Which One of These Baseball Stories Was Written By a Robot?
Top Clinton aide was “frustrated” with her boss’s e-mail practices
Huma Abedin with Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail in 2008. Abedin was grilled about her boss’ email proclivities by a Judicial Watch attorney this week. (credit: http://www.flickr.com/people/41834437@N00)
We already knew that Hillary Clinton’s e-mail and mobile device issues were likely a pain for State Department employees—and some foreign governments as well. But new testimony recorded on Tuesday by one of Clinton’s top aides illuminates the extent of those headaches.
Huma Abedin is the vice-chair of Clinton’s presidential campaign and the former deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to Clinton during her stint as Secretary of State. She was deposed on June 28 by an attorney representing the conservative action group Judicial Watch as part of discovery for a lawsuit being brought against Clinton. Judicial Watch published the transcript of that deposition yesterday, and Abedin revealed what she knew about Clinton’s use of the mail server and how she was “frustrated” with the technical glitches caused by Clinton’s mobile device and e-mail travails.
Both Clinton and Abedin had accounts on the clintonemail.com server, which was originally set up at the Clinton residence by staffers of former president Bill Clinton prior to the family’s arrival at the State Department. (The server would later be managed by Platte River Networks, a managed IT services firm, with security provided by Datto.) Clinton had been using a BlackBerry mail account through AT&T during the 2008 presidential campaign, and she had been having “technical issues” with the account, according to Abedin. Clinton switched to the private server when she got a new device, and Abedin was given an account on the server after she lost access to her Senate e-mail account. Abedin said she used it primarily for personal business in addition to a personal Yahoo e-mail account (where she would later forward press clippings received from a State Department clipping service, she said).
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Source: Ars Technica – Top Clinton aide was “frustrated” with her boss’s e-mail practices
This Flight Case Toolbox and DIY Workstation Is Portable and Saves Space
Trying to DIY in a small space is always tricky
, but this combination workbench and toolbox from Instructables user Robb can help. Made from an old flight case, it’s portable, small enough to stash in a corner, and folds out onto a bench you can actually work at, with all your tools within reach.
Source: LifeHacker – This Flight Case Toolbox and DIY Workstation Is Portable and Saves Space
Verizon Wireless might offer rollover data and slow-speed “unlimited” data
Verizon’s rumored new offerings. (credit: Verizonguy12345)
Verizon Wireless says it has a big announcement coming next week, and rumors suggest the mobile carrier will start offering rollover data and a “safety mode” that lets customers use slower data without paying overage fees once their monthly high-speed data allotments run out.
The new plans are described in the above image, which was posted by a Reddit user and allegedly comes from a Verizon test site that occasionally leaks new offerings before they hit the main Verizon website. Verizon didn’t confirm or deny the new offerings, but the company vaguely told news sites that “We’re going to have some fireworks next week—stay tuned.”
The “Carryover Data” referenced in the Verizon leak would let customers roll unused data over to their next monthly allotment, similar to rollover plans introduced about 18 months ago by T-Mobile USA and AT&T.
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Source: Ars Technica – Verizon Wireless might offer rollover data and slow-speed “unlimited” data
Marijuana Shown to Protect Brain Cells From Alzheimer’s
A new study suggests that compounds found in marijuana can stave off the brain damaging effects of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a promising discovery, but claims that pot can prevent this age-related brain disorder are premature. Put the pipe away, man.
Source: Gizmodo – Marijuana Shown to Protect Brain Cells From Alzheimer’s
Nest seems to be working on a 'smart crib' loaded with sensors
The hyper-connected home of the future will come with an equally connected nursery. Nest, the company widely known for its WiFi enabled energy-saving thermostat and smart smoke alarm system, has filed a patent for a baby crib that could be “embedded…
Source: Engadget – Nest seems to be working on a ‘smart crib’ loaded with sensors
AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson 16.6.2 Drivers
AMD has now brought us their latest card in the Radeon RX 480. With new cards comes new drivers. We are also getting fixes and a list of new features moved into Radeon Settings. So let’s get into what this release contains.
To cover the resolved issues first, we can see that the RTG tackled flickering and stuttering issues found with Crossfire enabled in several games. Fixes are found for Hitman, Heroes of the Storm, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Star Wars Battlefront. With Elite Dangerous we are seeing a fix for minor stuttering issues in Crossfire. Unfortunately, the flickering in Crossfire remains for Need for Speed with some light sources in game.
Along with the appreciated fixes, we get the necessary support for the new Radeon RX 480 and a Crossfire profile for World of Tanks. We are also seeing a global Crossfire toggle, HDMI Scaling, Display Color Temperature, Desktop Color and the Vulkan version number report all move into Radeon Settings. This may be a motion to move away from the Radeon Additional Settings menu which currently houses a lot of options that don’t live in Radeon Settings as first class citizens. We’ll have to keep an eye out to see for sure. Alongside all these features is a new one with Radeon WattMan, which is a new utility built into Radeon Settings that allows more fine grained control of power and performance on a per game basis.
As always, those interested in reading more or installing the updated hotfix drivers for AMD’s desktop, mobile, and integrated GPUs can find them either under the driver update section in Radeon Settings or onAMDs Radeon Software Crimson Edition download page.
Source: AnandTech – AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson 16.6.2 Drivers
AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson 16.2.2 Drivers
AMD has now brought us their latest card in the Radeon RX 480. With new cards comes new drivers. We are also getting fixes and a list of new features moved into Radeon Settings. So let’s get into what this release contains.
To cover the resolved issues first, we can see that the RTG tackled flickering and stuttering issues found with Crossfire enabled in several games. Fixes are found for Hitman, Heroes of the Storm, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Star Wars Battlefront. With Elite Dangerous we are seeing a fix for minor stuttering issues in Crossfire. Unfortunately, the flickering in Crossfire remains for Need for Speed with some light sources in game.
Along with the appreciated fixes, we get the necessary support for the new Radeon RX 480 and a Crossfire profile for World of Tanks. We are also seeing a global Crossfire toggle, HDMI Scaling, Display Color Temperature, Desktop Color and the Vulkan version number report all move into Radeon Settings. This may be a motion to move away from the Radeon Additional Settings menu which currently houses a lot of options that don’t live in Radeon Settings as first class citizens. We’ll have to keep an eye out to see for sure. Alongside all these features is a new one with Radeon WattMan, which is a new utility built into Radeon Settings that allows more fine grained control of power and performance on a per game basis.
As always, those interested in reading more or installing the updated hotfix drivers for AMD’s desktop, mobile, and integrated GPUs can find them either under the driver update section in Radeon Settings or onAMDs Radeon Software Crimson Edition download page.
Source: AnandTech – AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson 16.2.2 Drivers
New Robot Mimics Vertebrate Motion
Don’t let this cute salamander robot fool you into thinking it’s not dangerous. Let that thing off the chain and it would go on a murderous robot rampage.
Comments
Source: [H]ardOCP – New Robot Mimics Vertebrate Motion
Fix and Forget This Easy Slow Cooker Queso Dip
Everybody loves a good queso dip, but when left out on a snack table, it can cool and congeal, which is frankly just unappetizing. The solution? Use a slow cooker, and keep your queso hot and dippable throughout your entire shindig.
Source: LifeHacker – Fix and Forget This Easy Slow Cooker Queso Dip
The Ozone Hole Is Finally Healing
Nearly thirty years after an international treaty banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons, the Antarctic ozone hole is finally starting to heal. By mid to late century, it should be fully recovered.
Source: Gizmodo – The Ozone Hole Is Finally Healing