07.Self-Driving Cars Will Be in 30 U.S. Cities by the End of Next Year

There will be driverless buses and pods as well.

Read more at http://observer.com/2015/03/self-driving-cars-will-be-in-30-u-s-cities-by-the-end-of-next-year/#ixzz3TdIJ2I5a 
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One of the shuttles rolling out in Greenwich. (Photo: TRL GATEway Project)

Finally, we can put up our feet and let computers take the wheel.

Automated vehicle pilot projects will roll out in the U.K. and in six to 10 U.S. cities this year, with the first unveiling projected to be in Tampa, Florida as soon as late spring. The following year, trial programs will launch in 12 to 20 more U.S. locations, which means driverless cars will be on roads in up to 30 U.S. cities by the end of 2016. The trials will be run by Comet LLC, a consulting firm focused on automated vehicle commercialization.

“We’re looking at college campuses, theme parks, airports, downtown areas—places like that,” Corey Clothier, a strategist for automated transportation systems who runs the firm told, The Observer.

He explained that they’re focusing on semi-controlled areas and that the driverless vehicles will serve a number of different purposes—both public and private. The vehicles themselves—which are all developed by Veeo Systems—will even vary from two-seaters to full-size buses that can transport 70 people. At some locations, the vehicles will drive on their own paths, occasionally crossing vehicle and pedestrian traffic, while at others, the vehicles will be completely integrated with existing cars.

One of the early test sites will be the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina. There, small pod-like vehicles will transport wounded troops from their barracks to the nearby hospital for treatment and check-ups. The Comet team is also planning a pilot project at The United States Military Academy at West Point, although Mr. Clothier said this site has not been finalized.

An automated vehicle system will also be implemented at Stanford with its first purpose being to provide transportation around their SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory campus. Scientists and academics travel from all over the world to visit the center, and the first application of the automated vehicle system will be to transport visiting scientists to the accelerator.

At the first test site in Tampa, the plan is to start with public transit around the Museum of Science and Industry and eventually expand to the University of Southern Florida campus as well as the neighboring City of Temple Terrace. The Comet team is also planning trials in two other cities in Florida; Greenville, South Carolina and Seattle, Washington, where the 70-person buses will be used in public transit.

Source:
http://observer.com/2015/03/self-driving-cars-will-be-in-30-u-s-cities-by-the-end-of-next-year/

08.Samsung’s Latest Acquisition: Utah-Based Yesco Electronics

In the latest sign of its growing appetite for deals, Samsung Electronics said it has acquired a small U.S.-based manufacturer of light emitting diode displays.

Samsung is buying Utah-based YESCO Electronics, which focuses on making digital billboards and message signs, for an undisclosed amount.

Samsung, which makes a number of key components used it its electronic products, operates a display making unit that makes screens used in TVs and smartphones. A vast majority of the company’s liquid crystal display screens are lit by LED lights.






“Samsung will work with YESCO Electronics to deliver durable, long-lasting displays geared for varied and extreme conditions,” the South Korean company said in a statement.

The acquisition is the latest in a string of seemingly unrelated M&A deals by the South Korean technology giant in recent months.

In February, Samsung bought U.S. mobile payments startup LoopPay for an undisclosed sum to beef up software offerings in its flagship Galaxy S6 smartphone.

Just a week ago, its battery-making affiliate Samsung SDI said it will buy Magna International’s battery pack business based in Austria in a bid to strengthen its presence in the market for electric-car batteries. While financial terms for this deal weren’t disclosed, Samsung said it would acquire all of Magna’s 264 employees in the car-battery unit, production sites and existing contracts of the business.

Samsung also recently picked up printing-solutions company in Brazil called Simpress, saying that it aims to boost its enterprise business in the South American country through the acquisition.

At the end of December, Samsung had a cash reserve of $56 billion. Over the years, the conservative company has been more openly acquiring companies with technologies that could improve Samsung’s position in its key mobile and consumer electronics businesses.


Source:
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/05/samsungs-latest-acquisition-utah-based-yesco-electronics/

Apple: Fine, we admit it – MacBook Pros suffer wonky GPU crapness

Give it back and we'll fix it (for free, sigh)

Faced with a class-action lawsuit, Apple has agreed to fix MacBook Pros with knackered graphics electronics free of charge.

The iPhone giant said its expensive notebooks must be repaired to address faulty video hardware that causes frequent restarts, distorted graphics and blank screens. The crappy models are the 15in and 17in Macbook Pros manufactured in 2011, and in the 15in Macbook Pros with Retina made in 2012 and 2013.

Fans can take the laptops directly to Apple or to an authorized repair shop to have the work done. The repair service kicks off on February 20 in the US and Canada, and February 27 in other countries. Additionally, those who ponied up their own money for repairs on the covered models can obtain a refund from Apple.

The wonky video issues are at the center of an ongoing class-action lawsuit filed against Apple last year.

The complaint accuses the company of using a defective solder to connect the GPU chips in the notebooks, causing many units to fail. Apple says "a small percentage of MacBook Pro systems" are affected. The lawsuit, originally limited to California and Florida in the US, was expanded to include fanbois in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Vermont and Puerto Rico. ®

Source:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/20/hey_fanbois_stuck_with_a_busted_macbook_pro_apple_might_fix_it_for_free/

FCC raises broadband definition to 25Mbps, Chairman mocks ISPs

The FCC voted to greatly increase its definition of broadband service, from the previous definition of 4Mbit down and 1Mbit up to the new standard of 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up. According to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, this move reflects the tremendous growth in consumer data consumption, the growing popularity of services like Netflix, and the need to create a future-proof standard that won’t be obviated in a handful of years.






Wheeler also pointed out that consumer demand for 25Mbps service is robust, with 29% of Americans currently opting for that tier of service, up from 7% in 2011, and that many companies only certify lower-end plans as minimally effective or efficient for users. Netflix, for example, recommends a minimum of 5 Mbps for HD quality and 25MBps for 4K service. With VoIP services and 4K streaming coming on fast, US consumers are going to demand higher-end services for the foreseeable future.


Source:
http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/198583-fcc-raises-broadband-definition-to-25mbps-chairman-mocks-isps

In China, US tech firms turn to domestic rivals for survival

(Reuters) - U.S. technology companies in China are forming alliances with domestic firms, hoping that having a local partner will make it easier to operate in the increasingly tough environment for foreign businesses in the world's second-biggesteconomy.

China's government has been openly pushing for the use of more Chinese and less foreign-made technology, both to grow its own tech sector and as a response to former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's leaks about widespread U.S. cyber surveillance.

Simmering tensions over the issue spilled into public view on Wednesday, when U.S. business lobbies urged Beijing to postpone implementing new policies to make China's finance sector more dependent on domestic technology.

In a letter to China's Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs, chaired by President Xi Jinping, a group of U.S. business associations called for "urgent discussions" with China on worries that new government proposals are "discriminatory", require disclosure of sensitive information, and could isolate China's tech sector.


Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/us-china-tech-usa-idUSKBN0L21XF20150129

China likely to top US for Apple iPhone sales

The arrival of big-screen iPhones in the big China market promises a significant shift for the final quarter of 2014.

Apple's latest iPhones have proved popular in China. CNET
Apple's top iPhone market may no longer be the United States.






Set to announce its earnings for the December quarter on Tuesday, Apple could reveal that it sold more iPhones in China than in the US for the first time ever, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

Analysts at UBS predict that China captured 36 percent of all iPhone shipments last quarter, compared with 24 percent in the US. That's a huge change from the same period last year, when the US held 29 percent of iPhone shipments and China 22 percent.

Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin forecasts that Apple sold 2 million more iPhones in China than it did in North America.

Source:
http://www.cnet.com/news/china-likely-to-top-us-for-apple-iphone-sales/