Category: Articles

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Tesla Brings Auto-Pilot and All Wheel Drive to the Model S Electric Sedan

Tesla has been known for pushing the envelope, producing electric cars with incredible range and fantastic performance. The Model S has been no exception, and thankfully arrived with luxury car style instead of the Jetsons funkiness normally reserved for other EV’s and Hybrids.

Announced this morning, CEO Elon Musk revealed the newest updates coming to the Model S. The new ‘D’ model will feature dual electric motors for all wheel drive. In the most powerful version of the car, it now rivals the performance of the McLaren S1, and the new “Insane” performance mode will launch a 3.2 second zero to 60 time.

tesla dual motors model sAs the motors aren’t connected by drive shafts, they should be able to feed power to wheels faster than mechanical all wheel drive systems can, keeping weight low and improving handling.

Of course this was the expected announcement, and the innernets have been awash with rumors, now confirmed, of an AWD system arriving. Tesla also announced Auto-Pilot. Tesla has been able to ramp up development ahead of their original release estimates.

Tesla Auto Pilot SensorsUsing forward scanning radar (which is able to scan through most weather conditions), a forward scanning camera, 360 degree sonar, all combined with GPS and real-time traffic scanning. The Model S can self park, provide lane guidance, use advanced automatic cruise control, and emergency breaking.  On private property, the car can even be summoned to roll from garage to your location, and this can be combined with your calendar so your Model S can be waiting for you with your music playing and the AC on when it’s time to leave.

As a surprise bonus, all Teslas produced over the last two weeks already have the systems installed, and will be activated via software.

A major step forward for both EV’s and for the future of self-driving automobiles. You can watch Elon Musk’s announcement of the new Model S below!

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Nokia Here Maps BETA on Samsung (and Other Androids if You Like to Tinker)

***Updated: See HERE Maps in action on video at the end of this post!***

First off, a little shoutout to the fanbois and “I don’t like things which are different than I currently use” crowd. If you have to ask

“Why would I want this on my Android?”

I’m going to counter with “You must not be very good with tech stuff”. You sound like Tomtom users did back when Google started developing their own mapping app. Stop it. You’re better than that.

Nokia recently made the announcement that they would be slowing development of their HERE mapping suite on Windows Phone to focus on supporting Android. We’re now starting to see the fruits of this labor with a really solid BETA effort soon available on Samsung handsets through Samsung’s proprietary app store. Of course in AndroidLand (and dealing with the more open nature of the OS) apps can leak, and it’s pretty easy to side load an app without the aid of an official app store. Such is the case with the HERE Maps BETA APK, and of course, just to be a snarky butt, I installed in on an LG G3. W?BIC!

Continue reading “Nokia Here Maps BETA on Samsung (and Other Androids if You Like to Tinker)”

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Thoughts on the HTC Desire Eye and the Rise of the Selfie Phone…

HTC-Desire-EYE-Press-Images-2Yesterday HTC took the wraps off of the Desire Eye, a phone similar to the flagship One M8, but made out of plastic, and featuring a 13MP front facing camera with dual LED flash. We’ve seen other companies touting the true “Selfie Phone” from the Lumia 735 to Apple’s new Facetime camera on the iPhone 6. Now HTC is pushing more megapixels into the conversation with the Eye.

It’s not such a crazy idea. The way we create content, and the fact that we don’t often walk around photographers capturing our happy moments. If you own a “nice” camera, chances are pretty good you rarely show up in photos of fun events as you’re usually the one operating the camera.

HTC is banking on the popularity of the selfie, the growing market for video chat applications, and are experimenting with their phone design. It’s not a radical experiment though. Putting more megapixels on a camera doesn’t mean you get better stills or video. It’s an easy headline: “UNBELIEVABLE THIRTEEN MEGAPICKLE FFC WOWZ!” Continue reading “Thoughts on the HTC Desire Eye and the Rise of the Selfie Phone…”

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AT&T Confirms HTC Desire EYE Will Arrive in Time For Holidays

HTC-Desire-EYE-Press-Images-2If you were looking to shop a selfie phone for yourself or a loved one, but were concerned the HTC Desire EYE might not make in time for your holiday Selftivities, fret not.

The Desire EYE, and its 13MP front facing camera with dual LED flash, will be an exclusive on Big Blue, and while AT&T does not have a firm release date or pricing info yet, they are confirming that it will be available and shipping before the holidays end. You can catch AT&T’s full PR below for more info! Continue reading “AT&T Confirms HTC Desire EYE Will Arrive in Time For Holidays”

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FCC Puts Comcast + Time Warner Merger Review on Hold

Comcast-LogoIn a public open letter to Comcast and Time Warner, the FCC announced they will be hitting pause on their 180 day review of proposed merger between the two largest cable companies in the United States.

Only 85 days into the review process, both Comcast and TWC failed to meet deadlines on information requests in September. The FCC also responds to claims that the Comcast NBC Universal merger did not affect pricing, and that there was a substantial amount of data contradicting that claim needing examination. The FCC will resume their review process October 29th, allowing more time for the public to file comments and responses to the merger.

FCCPublic reaction to the merger has largely been negative, with many fearing the affects of what one super-large cable company will do to pricing and competition for services. It’s also become a cornerstone talking point in the ongoing net neutrality debate, as companies like Netflix have been forced to engage in negotiations and paying higher data transfer fees to prevent their services being throttled. It’s also given rise to a cottage industry of people recording poor customer service experiences with Comcast, and posting those recordings online.

You can read the FCC’s public letter here: Letter to Comcast, TW, and Charter regarding stopping clock

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Straight Talk Starts BYOD Program for GSM Enabled Tablets

straight talk bring your own tablet byotLow cost carrier sweetheart Straight Talk is now starting up a Bring Your Own Device program for GSM enabled tablets.

Announced via their blog, users can BYOT and sign up for monthly data plans starting at $15 a month for 1GB of GSM data with support for LTE where available. Plans top out at $50 a month for 5GB of data. Not a bad way to keep your mobile data habit fed.

You can hit http://www.straighttalkbyot.com/ for more info or to sign up and grab a SIM card.

 

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HP to Split into Separate Business and Consumer Companies, Laying Off 55,000 Employees

HP logoIn a filing with the SEC, HP today confirmed their intentions to divide their company. They’ll retain the traditional HP name for consumer electronics like Laptops and Printers. A new organization named “Hewlett-Packard Enterprise” will retain their corporate solutions.

It would seem HP has had difficulties in selling off under-performing divisions, and now the company is revisiting the strategy laid out by Leo Apotheker back in 2011 before he was ousted as CEO.

This move also comes with the news that layoffs will increase from the expected 45,000 to 55,000 employees now expected to get cut during this transition.

Current CEO Meg Whitman will make the move to the new Hewlett-Packard  Enterprise, while EVP of Personal  Systems and Printing Dion Weisler will take over as the new head of HP.

 

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One Terrible Day Without a Smartwatch…

qualcomm toq activity tracker update smartwatch

It wasn’t something that I planned to do. In fact the problem was I didn’t plan as much as I should have before a shoot, and I left my house in a scattered flurry. Arriving at the studio after an hour on the 405, I checked my phone to see an assault of tweets, G+ messages, Youtube comments, emails, and a new survey for the Google Opinion Rewards app.

Why hadn’t my amazing wearable data device alerted me to all of this digital activity? Because I had carelessly left it on its charging dock at home.

It was an opportunity to see if smartwatches really did provide a benefit beyond just being cool techy gadgety things. For the last couple months, between a Pebble, a Toq, a Martian, and a Gear 2, there really haven’t been any days where I haven’t been wearing something on my wrist. Like my favorite traditional timepieces, I often wondered if they were more of a fashion statement than actual productivity devices. Continue reading “One Terrible Day Without a Smartwatch…”

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