Google has acquired North, the maker of Focals smart glasses
SCOOP: Smart-glasses maker @focalsbynorth, once one of Canada’s most high-profile startups, is being bought by Google/Alphabet for about $180-million, sources say. We've learned the company likely sold very, very few Focals and was running out of money. https://t.co/SbGYyBycqt
— josh o'kane (@joshokane) June 26, 2020
According to The Globe and Mail, the search giant paid approximately $180 million to buy the startup. Despite a $400 price cut at the start of 2019, North had reportedly sold very few of its Focals smart glasses to consumers, and the Globe says the company was running out of money before the deal came about. In April, North co-founder Stephen Lake teased that North was working on a second-generation model.
With Focals, North thought of a variety of clever solutions to some of the pain points that had come with earlier wearables like Google Glass. For instance, each pair of Focals came with a ring you would wear on your index finger. It featured a small joystick and D-pad to allow you to control the smart glasses without touching them and drawing attention to yourself.
No one could accuse you of being a “glasshole” because Focals were discrete in a way that Google Glass was not. The problem was that they were too expensive. Before North discounted them, a pair of Focals cost $1,000. You also had to get custom fitted for them at a physical retail store. All of those were significant issues for technology that did not feel indispensable.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/google-acquires-north-153625943.html
Life found a way with Google’s ‘Jurassic World’ AR models
Who wouldn’t want a dinosaur in their living room? If you search for one of ten species on Google, you can tap “View in 3D” on your mobile device to open up an augmented reality version of the beasts and have them superimposed -- at scale -- in your surroundings. Google partnered with the companies and studios behind Jurassic World to create this new feature. The models are pretty detailed, too -- you can zoom in to see different textures and other physiological characteristics. Google says that the AR dinosaurs are some of the most realistic renderings to date.
You’ll be able to bring some of the more well-known dinosaurs into your home or yard, including Velociraptor, Triceratops and, of course, Tyrannosaurus Rex. Ludia -- the developer that created the Jurassic World Alive game -- says that its team of artists thoroughly researched each species and consulted with paleontologists and the Jurassic World team to create the models.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/jurassic-world-ar-155400534.html
The best weather apps for Android
The best weather app for Android overall: AccuWeather
It’s the big name in weather prediction for a reason: Accuweather offers tons of data, including wind speed, UV and humidity. But the most valuable piece of info is its “RealFeel” index, which tells you how hot or cold you’ll feel based on those factors. The interface is clean and puts all the important info at the top, and there are live maps so you can track incoming storms. The ads aren’t terribly intrusive, but you can upgrade to the ad-free version for $3.99. For the record, this is the one weather app whose notifications I didn’t turn off.
Download Accuweather for Android
When you want something simpler: Shadow Weather
It’s a very clean-looking app that puts far less info up top than other programs — just the temperature and precipitation — but a quick scroll will get you to the other data you need. You can customize what metrics appear, as well as choose from four different color schemes. It pulls its weather reports from more than one source, so you’re likely to see some variation from other apps (or even the built-in temperature listed on your phone). The map in the free tier is small and pokey, so you’ll need to upgrade for access to the full-screen interactive version by either paying $5 a year or watching a short ad every day.
Download Shadow Weather for Android
The best looking (and best bargain): Overdrop
If you’re a fan of clean graphics, Overdrop is the weather app for you. The top banner is incredibly pleasing to the eye thanks to bright colors and subtle animations, and each weather metric has its own cute graphic. And remember widgets? Upgrading to the premium version for $9 grants access to plenty for your lock screen, from ones that will just give you time and temperature to ones that also track battery level. (You can also try it for just a month for $0.99, or a year at $2.49.) The premium level also unlocks more themes, though the free ones are nice enough that you might not need to upgrade.
For meteorology nerds: The Weather Channel
You won’t find the Weather Channel’s app lacking for info; in fact, its biggest flaw is that there might be too much going on. It’s seeded with news stories, and there’s even a separate tab for video (which autoplays, ugh). Once the ads are removed by subscribing for $0.99 a month or $9.99 a year though, the app becomes a lot easier to navigate, with more nitty-gritty info like air quality prominently displayed. Two interesting features that the Weather Channel offers are “health activities” and “outdoor conditions.” The former tells you whether it’s safe to take a boat out or go for a run, while the latter gives you an idea of what to expect — whether you need an umbrella, or to put on bug spray to ward off mosquitoes.
Download The Weather Channel for Android
The most fun: CARROT
There are quite a few apps that try to take a lighter approach to reporting the weather. CARROT is probably the best because it actually lets you customize its humor to your tastes. You decide if the in-app text takes a nasty or nice tone, and what political angle the jokes go with, including liberal, conservative or even communist. (You can also go apolitical.) But underneath the humor is a beautifully designed app that cleanly presents the hourly forecast with the weekly just a tap away. The premium option removes ads, but they weren’t that obtrusive in the first place so you don’t really need to dish out the $3.99 a year — but the upgrade will add widgets, allow you to see historical weather data and uh, apparently save a poor defenseless kitten from bring murdered by the developers. (I believe that last one is a joke, but do you really want to take that chance?)
If you’re just going to ignore all my above suggestions: Google
The built-in weather app on your phone is actually decent. But you remember that Apple commercial with Zooey Deschanel where she asks, “Siri, is that rain?” I used to make fun of that ad, because she could just look outside. But then I actually started doing it myself, because I couldn’t be bothered to open a window. And sadly, it’ll tell me “no” even as I hear drops hitting my air conditioner and see them rolling down the glass. Google falls down hard when you need information for a specific location. But for general weather reports it’s fine. Plus, the mobile version has adorable frog graphics.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/best-weather-apps-android-160001238.html
Nintendo makes vague apology for Joy-Con drift issues
The lawsuit, filed in California, alleges that steel brushes inside Joy-Cons rub away soft carbon material that make up a pad surface inside the controller. “Extensive wear,” according to the lawsuit, is what ultimately causes the drift issue -- which at the time of the 2019 filing Nintendo had not addressed. Customers had to pay Nintendo to repair the controllers, the lawsuit said, and the fixes weren’t always adequate.
The lawsuit accuses Nintendo of violating California’s fraud laws as well as state- and federal-level warranty laws. The lawsuit proposes a few measures for relief, including that Nintendo pay monetary damages to the complainants and offer free replacement of the devices.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-president-apologizes-joy-con-drift-161644217.html
House Democrats’ climate plan calls for 100 percent EV sales by 2035
To power those electric vehicles, the plan pushes for 100 percent clean energy, which could create as many as 530,000 new jobs annually. Federal solar and wind tax credits would be extended through 2025, The Washington Post notes, and there would be additional support for RD around clean energy technologies, especially energy storage.
According to Gizmodo, the plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 37 percent below 2010 levels by 2030, and 88 percent below 2010 levels by 2050. Other key measures include developing carbon removal technology, investing in green manufacturing and construction, improving labor standards, advancing environmental justice, managing climate risks to public health, investing in resilient agriculture and creating a “green bank.”
Some argue that the plan could be more ambitious. While it borrows from the Green New Deal, it isn’t as aggressive. There’s also little chance that the plan will become law while Republicans control the Senate and President Trump is in the White House. That said, this is an election year, and the political balance could shift by 2021, at which point, the plan may have more of a chance.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/climate-plan-house-democrats-ev-sales-clean-energy-162935442.html
Niantic and Punchdrunk will bring immersive theater experiences to AR
Niantic makes augmented reality games like Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. These games allow players to venture around the real world and interact with superimposed characters and items. The company is now teaming up with theater group Punchdrunk to bring its technology to the stage. By adding AR to immersive drama, the two hope to create a new type of narrative experience.
Punchdrunk is the company behind Sleep No More, a retelling of Macbeth that doesn’t take a traditional approach to theater. Instead, the audience is immersed in a set featuring multiple rooms in which they can examine props, eavesdrop on actors and put the narrative pieces together for themselves. While Niantic hasn’t provided any details on how its AR technology could be integrated into this type of production, it sounds like Punchdrunk would be able to create virtual props, characters and settings that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to include in a play, either due to cost or size issues.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/niantic-punchdrunk-partnership-170118310.html
Shareable electric scooters will be trialed in the UK from July 4th
Providers, meanwhile, will need to ensure they have an insurance policy that covers all of their vehicles. Electric scooters will also need to be capped at 15.5 MPH (25 KMH), matching pedal-assisted e-bikes in the UK.
Until now, electric scooters have been classed as ‘motor vehicles’ by law. Most of them don’t meet the design standards of a conventional car or motorcycle and were, therefore, illegal to use on public roads. It's long been possible, however, to buy an electric scooter from high street retailers such as Halfords, and the number of people riding on roads and sidewalks has slowly risen over the last few years. Today's announcement doesn't affect private ownership, though the government has expressed broad interest in legalizing micromobility vehicles including electric skateboards.
"[Electric] scooters may offer the potential for convenient, clean and cost-effective travel that may also help ease the burden on the transport network, provide another green alternative to get around and allow for social distancing," Rachel Maclean, the UK's transport minister said. "The trials will allow us to test whether they do these things."
The UK appears to be taking a slow and cautious approach to the so-called "last mile" solution. And with good reason: electric scooters were a chaotic mess when they first appeared in the US. Rentable scooters flooded San Francisco in March 2018, before spreading to countless other cities including Miami and New Orleans. They were incredibly popular, but some users rode them dangerously and the sheer number of vehicles led to cluttered sidewalks that were difficult for wheelchair users to navigate.
The following month, San Francisco officials sent cease-and-desist orders to scooter companies operating in the area and forced them to apply for a one-year pilot program instead. Skip and Scoot were awarded permits later that summer, but many other companies including Uber and Lyft weren't so lucky. The following year, the city kicked out Skip, re-approved Scoot and allowed Jump and Lime to join the fray. Rentable scooters are still divisive, however the level of debate and discontent appears to have cooled off as more US cities understand and regulate the industry.
Electric scooters can be unlocked and ridden in many European cities, too, including Paris, Rome, Berlin and Copenhagen. Just like the US, though, they’ve faced a fair amount of criticism.
Rentable scooters are still divisive.
The UK, meanwhile, has barely dabbled with the technology. A small batch of Bird scooters were offered temporarily at London's Olympic Park in 2018. As Wired reports, the area is technically private land, which meant that the company didn't need any special permission from the government.
The situation changed when the UK's Department for Transportation published a policy paper called ‘Future of mobility: urban strategy’ in March 2019. The 78-page document explained some basic principles that will guide its future decision making and suggested that a “flexible regulatory framework“ was needed for 'last mile' electric vehicles. The following year, the government announced a £90 million fund to trial new forms of transportation in four ‘Future Transport Zones’ across the UK.
It also kicked off a consultation on electric scooters with a public call for evidence that runs until July 3rd.
That same month, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a partial lockdown which banned non-essential travel and limited residents to one form of outdoor exercise each day. It was a temporary measure, though, and everyone knew there would be a need for electric bicycles, scooters and other single-person vehicles once the restrictions were relaxed and more people started commuting to work again.
So, on May 9th, the government announced a £2 billon (roughly $2.4 billion) fund that would support walking, cycling and other “alternative ways to travel” that could reduce the number of people taking buses, trains and subway systems like the London Underground. As part of that announcement, the government said it would bring e-scooter trials forward “from next year to next month.” Legislators also revealed that the electric vehicles would be “offered to all local areas across the country,” rather than four Future Transport Zone sites.
All of that work has culminated in today's announcement. It's not clear how the rules will be enforced and what the punishment will be for riders and scooter providers that break them. The measures announced today don't address the 'pavement clutter' issue, either. "Where a dockless operating model is being used, local authorities should ensure that e-scooters do not become obstructive to other road users and pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities," the guidance simply reads.
The pressure is on scooter companies, therefore, to prove that they've learned from other markets and the UK bike-sharing schemes that were so divisive a couple of years ago. If there's a public backlash, it could affect how electric scooters are seen and regulated in the future. That's because the government's "Future of mobility" review -- the one with a consultation that ends in July -- is still ongoing and could influence any laws that are drafted or changed following the 12-month pilots.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/shareable-electric-scooters-legal-pilot-july-4-171550748.html
Microsoft is offering low-cost certifications to job seekers
Microsoft believes that one of the best ways to help the economy rebound and reduce the staggering rate of unemployment is to help workers learn new digital skills. Today, it announced an initiative designed to train 25 million people worldwide by the end of the year. The initiative will blend new and existing resources from LinkedIn, GitHub and Microsoft, and it will provide low-cost Microsoft Certifications.
LinkedIn Learning “paths” aligned with tech roles like software developer, project manager, IT administrator and data analyst will be free of charge through the end of March 2021. Those include video content available in English, French, Spanish and German. Microsoft Learn will be available for free, and job seekers pursuing developer roles can access GitHub Learning Lab.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-certifications-training-digital-skills-173611492.html
YouTube TV costs $65 a month after yet another price increase
That “rising cost of content” seems related to the addition of eight more ViacomCBS channels to the YouTube TV lineup starting today: BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1. So, you can watch the likes of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, RuPaul’s Drag Race and SpongeBob SquarePants on YouTube TV. BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr., NickToons and TeenNick will be added later.
Still, YouTube TV is creeping into traditional cable pricing territory. It’s now more expensive than Hulu with Live TV (50+), ATT Now Plus (45+) and the base FuboTV plan (as many as 109 or so, depending on where you live), all of which cost $55/month.
The increase is somewhat understandable, since YouTube is looking to expand the features and number of channels available on the service. It now hosts more than 70 channels. But the hike may make the monthly cost a little too steep for many people, including those who cut the cord with their cable provider to embrace streaming TV.
There might be a tiered subscription model on the way, however. “As the streaming industry continues to evolve, we are working to build new flexible models for YouTube TV users, so we can continue to provide a robust and innovative experience for everyone in your household without the commitments of traditional TV,” Oestlien wrote.
As for new features, YouTube TV is rolling out one that’ll let you skip to different segments in some news programs. It’s a bit similar to the key plays option for sports. The feature is available on TV setups now, and it’ll arrive on mobile in the next few weeks. The service also refreshed its Live Guide on desktop to include details on what’s currently airing and what’ll be available to watch within the next seven days.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/youtube-tv-price-increase-more-channels-175322450.html
Polar’s new fitness smartwatch is geared toward beginners
Polar makes wearables for hardcore athletes, but the company announced today that it’s hoping to bring beginners into the fold, too -- and gyms across the US still closed, now may be an ideal time for a product like the new Polar Unite. The smartwatch guides users who are trying to get back in shape with personalized workouts based on factors like fitness level, sleep quality and recovery time.
To help you get back on track, animated instructions show what a particular exercise looks like, so you don’t have to second-guess yourself or take yourself out of the moment to look up a video. Vibrations, additional instructions and timers keep you apprised of where you are in your workout, so you don’t have to keep stopping to check your watch. The Unite also has real-time training stats and visualizations, which can keep you motivated -- as well as make sure you’re not overworking yourself. The standard metrics that come with most fitness trackers apply here, including heart rate, calories burned and cardiovascular activity.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/polar-unite-fitness-watch-180932796.html