Category: News

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Tesla Returns to New Jersey After Year-Long Ban

Almost exactly one year ago, Governor Christie’s administration, working with the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, put forth a proposal which prevented direct auto sales to consumers. Instead of addressing this issue in a public forum or through New Jersey’s legislature, the proposal was approved behind closed doors with almost no opportunity for public discourse.

Now, one year later, Governor Christie is rolling back that proposal, signing a bill which would allow Tesla to resume retail operations in the Garden State. This new law will allow manufacturers of zero emissions vehicles to construct up to four direct sale dealerships, so long as they also operate one dedicated service location, which Tesla already runs in Paramus.

The law goes into effect immediately and benefits not only Tesla, but any company working on EV’s and zero emission vehicles. Conceivably, Nissan could open up a quartet of showrooms specifically built around the Leaf to also sell directly to consumers in New Jersey.

This is a significant PR victory for Tesla, as the company continues to fight similar direct sales bans around the country.

You can read the details of New Jersey State Assembly Bill A3216 here.

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Google Play to Use ESRB Ratings for Smartphone and Tablet Games

ESRB_EMobile gaming is often derided as “casual” gaming by console and PC gamers, but we’ve witnessed a turn in smartphone and tablet gaming, introducing sophisticated game mechanics and console quality graphics. In this age, it’s also far more likely that a kid’s first gaming experience likely won’t be on a dedicated gaming machine, but on a parent’s multipurpose phone or tablet.

In a move which further legitimizes this market, Google has announced they will be using ESRB ratings for the titles available on Google Play, to better help inform parents about what content they and their children are consuming. It’s not particularly difficult to find very mature content, and while there are age restrictions built into Google’s app store, it can sometimes take a bit of digging to find information on age appropriate material and game content. A zombie game, for instance, might feature cute cartoon walkers or rotting-flesh nightmare-inducing gore.

Using the same tags that console and PC games require is excellent for consistency, and should aid consumers in making purchasing decisions. You can read the ESRB’s full press announcement below.

Continue reading “Google Play to Use ESRB Ratings for Smartphone and Tablet Games”

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Youtube Now Supports 360 Degree Video in Android and Chrome!

youtube panorama video 360 degree demoWe’re on the edge of a whole new generation of consumer produced immersive and interactive content. After playing with cameras like the Kodak PixPro SP360, which can shoot panorama video, we’ll soon be sharing immersive experiences that put people in the middle of a memory.

Activated on Youtube, when watching special panoramic videos through the chrome browser you’ll be able to “look around” a scene with side mounted controls. When viewed through the Android app, your phone’s accelerometer will allow you to tilt your phone screen around to see whats happening all around you.

This is a really exciting move, as it positions Youtube as an early resource for user generated 360 degree and virtual reality content. You can see an example video from MY OFFICE below.

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Microsoft to Bring Cortana Digital Assistant to iOS and Android This Year

Microsoft revealed more information on plans to move their personal digital assistant, named Cortana, to iOS and Android devices.

A competitor to Google Now and Apple’s Siri, Cortana is one of the most popular features found on Windows Phones, a voice search with a personality, capable of some fairly sophisticated actions when using casual speech commands. I’m a huge fan of person and location based reminders. Microsoft says we’ll see standalone Cortana apps for other phone platforms this Autumn.

“This kind of technology, which can read and understand email, will play a central role in the next roll out of Cortana, which we are working on now for the fall time frame,” said Eric Horvitz, managing director of Microsoft Research.

It’s a smart move which plays to Microsoft’s strengths in delivering services with as broad a reach as possible, converting consumers using competitor’s hardware into customers through software and apps. I’ll always be a fan of more competition, especially when you can go cross platform. Maybe someday I’ll even get that IBM Watson app I’ve been wanting…

We’ll learn more about Microsoft’s strategy later this year.

(via Reuters)

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PS4 User Account Hacked, Sony Refuses to Refund $600 in Fraudulent Charges

sony ps4I really want to jump into a pages-long, old-man tirade about what video gaming was like when I was a kid. When the “bits” of a console were single digit. When playing a game meant punching in a cartridge and pressing the power button. Where instead of waiting for updates to download, the worst “tech support” we’d need to perform was blowing out some dust from the tray. But I digress…

Redditor Kadjar posted yesterday about an infuriating aspect of modern day gaming, the fact that we don’t own our games in quite the same way we used to with cartridges and discs. Instead we have an account, and our games are attached to that account. Kadjar’s Playstation Network account was compromised, and he woke up to $600 in fraudulent charges and the discovery that his PS4 was no longer attached to his account. Someone else had all his stuff and racked up some huge bills.

Worse, upon discovering the hijack, and contacting Sony, he got some bad news. Sony would only reverse $150 of the charges. If he used his credit card company’s ability to dispute the charges, Sony would ban his account and wipe out any and all record of any game attached to his account, even those not in dispute and purchased legally. Continue reading “PS4 User Account Hacked, Sony Refuses to Refund $600 in Fraudulent Charges”

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FCC Publishes 400 Page Document Detailing Net Neutrality Rules and Objections

FCCThe FCC’s announcement that they would be reclassifying the Internet and regulating it as a utility came with a five page summary detailing the commission’s plans.

Yesterday the FCC quietly released the full set of rules to the public, and including the dissenting opinions from the Republican members, the document is 400 pages long.

We’re currently reading through the rules now to see if there are any surprises, but so far no red flags or severe changes from the initial summary. The rules seem focused on preventing ISP’s from throttling services, and blocking any actions towards creating a tiered internet with “fastlanes”.

There’s also a pretty healthy section on Forbearance, detailing all the things that the FCC wont be enforcing like public utility pricing. Still, even though this resembles the situation we found ourselves in when the cell phone industry was reclassified, which ultimately provided for more competition and better consumer experiences, we can expect the ISP’s and carriers to start mounting an attack now that the rules are available.

You can read the rules for yourself, instead of just accepting pundit’s opinions, at the link below.

In the Matter of Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet

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Android 5.1 Brings Better Device Protection for Lost or Stolen Phones and Tablets

Android Lollipop ForestTrying to steal a few headlines from Apple today, Google officially and publicly announced Android Lollipop 5.1.

Alongside bug fixes and performance improvements, Android 5.1 brings a much improved security with Device Protection. We’ve detailed Device Manager in the past, which can be used to locate a missing phone or wipe it clean in the event it’s stolen.

Device Protection now includes the ability to lock a device to your Google ID. Even after wiping and hard resetting a phone, Android will require you to enter in your Google account password before the phone can be used again. This follows recent state legislation in California and Minnesota mandating a “Kill Switch” on phones. The idea being a stolen phone will be far less valuable if it’s essentially a brick without the victim’s password. Continue reading “Android 5.1 Brings Better Device Protection for Lost or Stolen Phones and Tablets”

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Android 5.0 “Lollipop” Update Rolling Out to LG G3 on AT&T

Google’s newest phone operating system has only made it to around 5% of the Android handsets out in the ecosystem, but that’s set to improve soon as the Lollipop update is starting to roll out to AT&T LG G3’s.

The update brings the slick new Material Design, and the ability to use USB Audio hardware, which I just tested on my G3 with a Zoom H4n. Pretty exciting to use professional grade recording equipment with my smartphone.

As with most rollouts, expect it to be delivered in stages, so fret not if you go into your settings and you don’t have an update ready to install. It should be on its way soon.

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