Volvo's Concept 26 could transform commuting time
Concept 26 is not a pretentious farm-to-table restaurant that changes its menu every two weeks, though its ideals are as lofty. The name of Volvo’s new take on autonomous driving refers to the soul-sucking 26 minutes that the average US commuter spends on limited-access highways or in other unchallenging driving conditions — time that Volvo wants to give back to you.
Boring driving is ideal for autonomous driving, since lanes are well marked, pedestrians and bikes (and kangaroos) are absent, and speed and space between cars is fairly predictable. Highway time also seems to be when we humans are most happy to give up the wheel, because really, what is death compared to an hour on the Turnpike?
Concept 26 is a cockpit design that responds to three distinct operational modes: “Drive,” in which you do just that; “Create,” in which the car takes over and you may work, surf the web, or watch a movie; and “Relax,” in which the driver’s seat reclines into a chaiselike position, and which is assiduously never called “Nap mode” in official communiqués. As you switch among modes (this being Volvo, there are all sorts of safety warnings and foolproof handshakes as driving responsibilities change), a large screen rotates out of the passenger dash, a footrest rises from beneath the driver’s seat, and a tray table deploys as the steering wheel recedes. Changing up the interior is not a new trick —Nissan’s IDS concept was unveiled a few weeks ago in Tokyo — but here it not only looks polished, but plausible.
The interior can handle all of this presto-change-o because Concept 26 is built upon Volvo’s Scalable Project Architecture, an in-production modular platform that gives engineers a toybox of structural and electrical components with which to create cars. In May at Auto Shanghai, Volvo showed off an SPA-based XC90 SUV — normally a seven-seater — built as a Maybachian three-seater, with reclining back seats, a refrigerator, and a big-screen entertainment system built into an ottoman where a passenger seat would normally reside. When not in use, the entertainment system flips into an elegant footrest, placed so that your chauffeur may polish your shoes at stoplights (or soon, in Create mode).
For all the sleek showiness of Volvo’s forays into autonomy and aristocratic luxury, the Swedish stalwart still seems to be making each step toward the future a deliberate and well considered one. In 2017, the company will be leading the first large-scale test of autonomous driving, as 100 drivers surrender the wheel to IntelliSafe Autopilot-equipped XC90s for commutes in and around Gothenburg. We hope they enjoy their extra hour of sleep (unofficially).
Source-BBC
LeBron James and Nike Sign Lifetime Contract
LeBron James has signed a deal with Nike that will last through his lifetime.
According to ESPN, the Cleveland Cavaliers forward and basketball star's agreement with the athletic company could be the largest single-athlete guarantee in company history.
So far no word on how much the deal is, but according to ESPN a source said the deal "easily surpasses" Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant's Nike deal for $300 million over 10 years signed last summer.
"It's been an unbelievable time for myself and my family, and I'm just grateful that Nike and [Nike founder] Phil Knight and everyone over there just believed in a skinny-old, skinny 18-year-old kid from Akron, Ohio, and I'm happy to be a part of such a great company," James said to reporters after practice Monday.
Source-ABC
Jeff Samardzija Agrees to 5-Year, $90 Million Deal with Giants
Free agent pitcher Jeff Samardzija has agreed to a 5-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, ESPN reports.
The deal is worth $90 million, a source told ESPN.
The team said Saturday that an announcement will be made after Samardzija passes his physical exam, which is scheduled for Tuesday. Samardzija previously played for the Chicago White Sox.
Source-ABC
Barry Bonds Joins Miami Marlins as Hitting Coach
Baseball legend Barry Bonds has a new job.
The Miami Marlins announced Friday that Bonds was hired as the team's new hitting coach.
Despite a controversial steroids scandal, Bonds, a seven-time National League MVP, holds the record for the most career home runs at 762.
Oscar Pistorius granted bail after murder conviction
South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail while he awaits sentence for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Judges changed his conviction from manslaughter to murder last week. He has already served one year in prison.
Pistorius now faces a minimum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment, if he fails in a bid to overturn his conviction.
He intends to mount an appeal at the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court.
Source-BBC
Mercedes takes action against engineer
Mercedes are taking legal action against an engineer who allegedly took confidential information as he prepared to join Formula 1 rivals Ferrari.
Benjamin Hoyle, who works for engine manufacturers Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, is alleged to have searched and saved race data.
Hoyle was set to leave Mercedes at the end of 2015.
"The company has taken the appropriate legal steps to protect its intellectual property," said a team spokesperson.
According to Bloomberg, Mercedes wants the return of all documents and information, payment of its legal fees, and is seeking to block Hoyle from joining Ferrari or any other F1 rival until after the 2016 season.
The Mercedes team won the 2015 constructors' championship by 275 points from Ferrari.
Source-BBC
Tiny chip that powers itself from radio waves
Dutch scientists have developed a tiny sensor powered by the radio waves it uses to communicate information.
Such sensors could help advance the nascent Internet of Things industry, researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology said.
Increasingly tiny chips that measure temperature, light, and air pollution are being deployed around cities and in smart homes and offices.
One the biggest hurdles is to make these sensors battery-free.
"We don't want hundreds of these sensors around our homes if we have to go around swapping the batteries all the time," said lead researcher Prof Peter Baltus.
The sensor developed by his team measures temperature but similar sensors that measure light, movement and humidity could also be developed, he told the BBC.
The sensor measures just 2 sq mm and weighs 1.6mg.
The sensor contains an antenna that captures energy from a wireless router. It stores the energy and, once there is enough, is able to measure the temperature and send a signal to the router.
Currently the chip has a tiny range - just 2.5cm but the researchers are confident that this can be extended to 1m.
"Theoretically it can work up to 5m," said Prof Baltus.
The sensor can operate beneath a layer of paint, plastic or concrete - making it ideal for incorporation into buildings.
It is also cheap and, according to Prof Baltus, the cost of an individual chip would be around 20 cents.
According to Gartner, the Internet of Things market is set to explode. It predicts that cities will have 1.6 billion connected things, smart buildings, 518 million and homes, one billion, in 2016.
Source-BBC
Europe agrees response to cyber-attacks
Technology firms and those running critical services will have to report cyber-breaches, under new rules proposed by MEPs.
The rules will also establish minimum standards of cybersecurity for banks, energy and water firms.
It is the first time Europe has created EU-wide rules on cybersecurity.
It comes in the wake of concerns that key infrastructure, such as airports or power stations, could be targeted by hackers.
The proposed laws - agreed by MEPs and ministers from the 28 EU countries - will also apply to some tech firms. The details of this have yet to be worked out but the rules are likely to include online marketplaces, such as eBay and Amazon, and search engines such as Google.
The Network and Information Security directive is an attempt to deal with the emerging threat of cyber-attacks.
Currently there is no common approach in Europe to digital network breaches, whether they are the result of human error, technical failures or malicious attacks.
The European Agency for Network and Information Security (Enisa) estimates that such breaches result in annual losses in the range of €260bn to €340bn (£188bn to £246bn).
Under the new rules, member states would have to co-operate more on cybersecurity, exchanging information about breaches, offering best practice and assisting member states in securing their infrastructures.
MEP Vicky Ford, who chaired the final round of talks, said that it was "a hugely complex piece of legislation".
"We have set up a network which will enable experts from each of the 28 countries in the EU to share and develop best practice in network security, whilst not compromising any individual member state's own national security measures."
The deal still needs approval from the European Parliament and national governments. The vote is expected to take place in the spring, after which member states would have around two years to put the measures in place.
Source-BBC
Snapchat suffers major worldwide outages after problems with posts loading
Snapchat users around the world are reporting problems with the service.
In a tweet, the social media company says it's team "is aware of the problem and working on a fix" but doesn't say when the issue will be sorted out.
Many users say they're having problems with pages loading, signing in or out and sending videos, although others say their app is working fine.
The problems seem to have started on Tuesday morning and are still continuing in some areas.
The website Down Detector, which tracks website outages, shows more than 4,000 people were reporting issues at around 12pm UK time although that figure has dropped.
Source-BBC
US agent jailed over bitcoin theft
A former US Secret Service agent has been jailed for six years for stealing electronic currency while investigating the Silk Road online marketplace, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Shaun Bridges took $820,000 (£546,000) in bitcoin after accessing Silk Road.
He admitted money laundering and obstruction charges in August.
US District Judge Richard Seeborg said Bridges' behaviour was a "shocking and reprehensible abandonment of his public duty".
Passing sentence on Monday, the judge said "This, to me, is an extremely serious crime consisting of the betrayal of public trust by a federal law enforcement agent," the AP reported.
"And from everything I see, it was motivated entirely by greed."
As a member of the US Secret Service, Bridges was part of a task force investigating the Silk Road marketplace, which was used by some to trade illegal items. It was closed in 2013 following raids by the FBI and other agencies
Having gained access to the online bazaar, Bridges stole the online currency and tried to pin it on a witness who was cooperating with the investigation, prompting Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht to take out hits on the witness' life, prosecutors said at Monday's hearing.
The judge said it was "inexcusable" for a federal agent to put a cooperating witness at risk in that way. Bridges told the judge before his sentencing that he had accepted responsibility for his crime and had not spent any of the money he took.
"I obviously have lost a lot, a very illustrious career," he said. His lawyer sought a three-year sentence, but the judge gave him a jail term of five years and 11 months, the AP reported.
Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in May after he was convicted over his operation of the website for nearly three years from 2011 until his 2013 arrest.
Prosecutors said he collected $18m in bitcoin through commissions on tens of thousands of drug sales while operating the site using the alias, "Dread Pirate Roberts," an apparent reference to a main character in "The Princess Bride," the 1987 comedy film based on a novel of the same name.
A Drug Enforcement Administration agent on the Silk Road task force, Carl Force, was charged separately with selling information about the investigation and pleaded guilty to extortion and other charges. He was sentenced to six years in prison in October.
Source-BBC