UK to allow driverless cars on roads

UK to allow driverless cars on roads

BBC News

The UK government has announced that driverless cars will be allowed on public roads from January next year.
It also invited cities to compete to host one of three trials of the tech, which would start at the same time.
In addition, ministers ordered a review of the UK's road regulations to provide appropriate guidelines.
The Department for Transport had originally pledged to let self-driving cars be trialled on public roads by the end of 2013.

Business Secretary Vince Cable revealed the details of the new plan at a research facility belonging to Mira, an automotive engineering firm based in the Midlands.
"Today's announcement will see driverless cars take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the forefront of this transformational technology and opening up new opportunities for our economy and society," he said.

UK engineers, including a group at the University of Oxford, have been experimenting with driverless cars. But, concerns about legal and insurance issues have so far restricted the machines to private roads.
Other countries have, however, been swifter to provide access to public routes.
The US States of California, Nevada and Florida have all approved tests of the vehicles. In California alone, Google's driverless car has done more than 300,000 miles on the open road.
In 2013, Nissan carried out Japan's first public road test of an autonomous vehicle on a highway.
And in Europe, the Swedish city of Gothenburg has given Volvo permission to test 1,000 driverless cars - although that trial is not scheduled to occur until 2017.
Competition cash

UK cities wanting to host one of the trials have until the start of October to declare their interest.
The tests are then intended to run for between 18 to 36 months.
A £10m fund has been created to cover their costs, with the sum to be divided between the three winners.
Meanwhile, civil servants have been given until the end of this year to publish a review of road regulations.
This will cover the need for self-drive vehicles to comply with safety and traffic laws, and involve changes to the Highway Code, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales.
Two area will be examined by the review: how the rules should apply to vehicles in which the driver can take back control at short notice, and how they should apply to vehicles in which there is no driver.
How do driverless cars work?

The label "driverless vehicle" actually covers a lot of different premises.
Indeed, the cruise control, automatic braking, anti-lane drift and self-parking functions already built into many vehicles offer a certain degree of autonomy.

But the term is generally used to refer to vehicles that take charge of steering, accelerating, indicating and braking during most if not all of a journey between two points, much in the same way aeroplanes can be set to autopilot.

Unlike the skies, however, the roads are much more crowded, and a range of technologies are being developed to tackle the problem.

One of the leading innovations is Lidar (light detection and ranging), a system that measures how lasers bounce off reflective surfaces to capture capture information about millions of small points surrounding the vehicle every second. The technology is already used to create the online maps used by Google and Nokia.

Another complimentary technique is "computer vision" - the use of software to make sense of 360-degree images captured by cameras attached to the vehicle, which can warn of pedestrians, cyclists, roadworks and other objects that might be in the vehicle's path.
Autonomous vehicles can also make use of global-positioning system (GPS) location data from satellites; radar; ultrasonic sensors to detect objects close to the car; and further sensors to accurately measure the vehicle's orientation and the rotation of its wheels, to help it understand its exact location.

The debate now is whether to allow cars, like the prototype unveiled by Google in May, to abandon controls including a steering wheel and pedals and rely on the vehicle's computer.
Or whether, instead, to allow the machine to drive, but insist a passenger be ready to wrest back control at a moment's notice.

International rivals
In May, Google unveiled plans to manufacture 100 self-driving vehicles.
The search-giant exhibited a prototype which has no steering wheel or pedals - just a stop-go button.
Google has also put its autonomous driving technology in cars built by other companies, including Toyota, Audi and Lexus.

Other major manufacturers, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and General Motors, are developing their own models.
Most recently, the Chinese search engine Baidu also declared an interest, saying its research labs were at an "early stage of development" on a driverless car project.

But concerns about the safety of driverless cars have been raised by politicians in the US and elsewhere.
Earlier this month, the FBI warned that driverless cars could be used as lethal weapons, predicting that the vehicles "will have a high impact on transforming what both law enforcement and its adversaries can operationally do with a car".

Read More

Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 (GDR1)

Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 (GDR1)

by Vlad Dudau

Neowin 

Microsoft has just officially announced the first update to Windows Phone 8.1, called Update 1. Though this isn’t a major update, it does bring some new features that users will definitely enjoy. And it also brings Cortana to new markets which, judging by everyone’s enthusiasm, is a great thing for Windows Phone.
Update 1, or GDR1 as it’s also called, is the first official update launching for Windows Phone 8.1. It’s launching next week for folks running Preview software, with general availability to follow soon after.

The first and probably most obvious feature bundled in GDR1 is native folders. Microsoft calls these “Live Folders” and we’ve known about them for quite a while thanks to a previous leak. Users will now be able to organize their apps into folders on the Start Screen, while still maintaining their Live Tiles.

Folders works pretty much as you’d expect. By dragging and dropping tiles on top of each other they’ll form a folder which users can rename and move around. The fact that apps still have their Live Tiles gives users the best of both worlds.

The next feature coming through GDR1 is an improved Xbox Music experience. We’re constantly getting Xbox Music updates in an effort to bring the app up to users’ standards and this update will definitely help. According to Microsoft app loading, scrolling and general performance are all improved once this update is applied.

Futhermore Xbox Music is finally getting a Live Tile, the type we used to have before Windows Phone 8.1, and it’s also available in Kid’s Corner.

A completely new feature coming to Windows Phones via this update is named “Apps Corner”. Through this, users will be able to display apps in a sandbox mode. It’s mainly aimed at businesses or retailers using the phones for display purposes. The whole idea is to offer the user access to select apps in certain scenarios.

There are also a number of smaller features coming to your device with this update. Users will now be able to select and manage multiple texts in the SMS app. Privacy and security are improved with Update 1 through features such as VPN on public Wi-fi. The Store app will be getting a new Live Tile that display interesting new apps - the same as the one in Windows 8.1.

GDR1, or Update 1, will become available next week to folks using the Preview program. There’s no info on when this will hit general availability, but considering most users have yet to receive Windows Phone 8.1, and we’re already getting  the next update it’s obvious Microsoft is doing their best to push their release cycle.

Read More

Carnage at U.N. school as Israel pounds Gaza refugee camp

Carnage at U.N. school as Israel pounds Gaza refugee camp

A Palestinian girl cries while receiving treatment for her injuries caused by an Israeli strike at a U.N. school in Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.

Israel killed at least 19 Palestinians sheltering in a school in Gaza's biggest refugee camp on Wednesday Some 3,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, were taking refuge in the building in Jebalya refugee camp when it came under fire around dawn, Khalil al-Halabi, director of northern Gaza operations for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said.

"There were five shells - Israeli tank shells - which struck the people and killed many of them as they slept. Those people came to the school because it a designated U.N. shelter," he said.

Read More

Microsoft gives employees sneak peek at new 'selfie' phone

Microsoft gives employees sneak peek at new 'selfie' phone

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's hardware chief gave employees a sneak peek at a 'selfie' phone featuring a 5 megapixel forward-facing camera at an internal meeting this week, a source at the company said on Tuesday.

Stephen Elop, the former Nokia CEO who now runs Microsoft's devices business, showed off the phone in front of thousands at the company's annual employee meeting in Seattle on Monday.
The 4.7 inch (11.9 cm) screen 'selfie' phone, plus another high-end Windows Phone, are expected to launch soon, according to tech news site The Verge, which first reported the news.

The 5 megapixel camera on the front of the device is much more powerful than Apple Inc's iPhone 5, with a 1.2 megapixel front camera, and the Microsoft phone's screen is larger, making it better-suited for users who want to take pictures of themselves.

Microsoft is jumping on the selfie bandwagon after rival Samsung launched the Galaxy K Zoom earlier this year.

The 'selfie' craze, or taking a picture of yourself and friends, hit its peak earlier this year when Ellen DeGeneres posted a shot of Hollywood luminaries at the Academy Awards which became the most popular message ever on Twitter. Oxford Dictionaries named 'selfie' its word of the year in 2013.

(This version of the story corrects spelling of peek in headline and first paragraph)

Read More

Physicist concocts ice cream that changes color when you lick it

Physicist concocts ice cream that changes color when you lick it

Mariella Moon

Engadget 

What happens when a physicist decides to become a chef? If they're anything like Manuel Linares, then you can expect a fusion of food and science to come out of their kitchen. For instance, one of the Spaniard's masterpieces is an ice cream that changes colors when you lick it. He calls it the Xamaleón, a play on the Spanish word for chameleon, and it originally starts as a periwinkle blue frozen treat until it's spritzed with Linares' "love elixir," a super secret mixture he concocted himself. This mixture reacts to changes in temperature and saliva, causing the tutti-frutti-flavored ice cream to turn into purple, then into pink as you lick.

As unusual as it sounds, this is just the beginning of Linares' foray into the color-changing ice cream business: he also plans to whip up ice cream that turns from white to pink, and another one that glows under ultraviolet light. You can only get a scoop of this chameleon ice cream from one the creator's shops in Spain right now, but he's looking to export it to other countries, according to The Mirror. Until that happens, you can check out this video that shows how the yummy dessert transitions from purple to pink.

Read More

Privacy advocates want regulators to go after Facebook

Privacy advocates want regulators to go after Facebook

Robert Faturechi

Los Angeles Times 

REPORTING FROM SAN FRANCISCO — Privacy advocates Tuesday called for government regulators to investigate Facebook's tracking of users even when they're on third-party sites, saying the change might violate a previous privacy agreement Facebook made with the government.

Last month, the social networking site announced that, like many other sites, it would track not just what users do on Facebook but also on many other sites to better tailor advertising to users' interests.
Members of two advocacy organizations, the European Consumer Organization and the U.S.-based Center for Digital Democracy, called for the Federal Trade Commission to halt the practice.

They also want the FTC to investigate whether the shift by Facebook violates an agreement the company made with FTC to better inform users about changes to their privacy and how their content would be used.
Facebook had been accused of telling its users they could keep their information private while repeatedly allowing that information to be shared and made public. Facebook and the FTC came to an agreement in 2012 that the company would improve how it notified users about changes to data privacy; Facebook also agreed to gain users' consent before sharing their information.

Though Facebook got heat from privacy advocates last month for tracking its users offsite, the announcement was paired with other changes that were welcomed by its critics. Users, the company announced, would have more control about what advertisers knew about them.
"If you don't want us to use the websites and apps you use to show you more relevant ads, we won't. You can opt out," the company said at the time.

In a letter to government regulators, the privacy advocates expressed "deep alarm" about the new tracking.
"Facebook's data collection practices involve a closely woven relationship among Facebook, its advertising partners, data-broker companies, and various marketing applications services," the letter read. " The extent of this complex network of data collection practices is not immediately obvious to consumers; in fact, users must click through several different parts of the Facebook website to discover the existence of many of Facebook's data partners."

Facebook defended its changes in a statement: "The level of control people have over advertising on Facebook exceeds industry standards. Anyone can opt out of advertising based on the websites they visit and apps they use, and we offer ad preferences, a way for people to add and remove interest categories to improve the ads they see on Facebook."

Read More

Gadget Watch: PadFone novel as phone-tablet hybrid

Gadget Watch: PadFone novel as phone-tablet hybrid

ANICK JESDANUN

Associated Press 

NEW YORK — Companies often blend old products to give you something new.

This summer, AsusTek Computer Inc. claims you don't need both a phone and a tablet — as long as you get its new PadFone X. The PadFone works like any other phone and has a screen that measures 5 inches diagonally. When you want a tablet experience, you simply slip the phone into a slot on the back of the tablet display, which is included. All the apps on the phone now work on the 9-inch tablet. The phone is what runs the tablet. Asus is bringing this concept to the U.S. for the first time.

In some cases, apps switch to the tablet screen automatically, so you don't have to restart the video or reopen the mail app. In other cases, you'll have to close the app and reopen it after attaching the phone to the tablet screen.

For apps that have been optimized for tablets, the layout on the PadFone rearranges automatically to use the extra space. Yet it's fundamentally a phone. You can make calls in tablet mode, using earphones or the device's speakerphones.

— NICE PRICE: It's like buying a phone and getting a tablet for free. Available only through AT&T, the PadFone costs $550 without a contract, or about $100 cheaper than Apple's iPhone 5s and Samsung's Galaxy S5. With a two-year service contract, it's the usual $200 that most carriers charge for a high-end phone.

— ADVANTAGES: Because the two parts count as one device, you don't need a second data plan, which typically runs $10 a month for a tablet under AT&T's sharing plans. This setup also ensures that the tablet has cellular connectivity. Many other tablets work only with Wi-Fi.
In addition, you don't need to install apps twice. Whatever you get on your phone automatically appears on the tablet. You just pick up where you left off whenever you switch, with no need to sync data or settings.

— COMPROMISES: The phone on the back adds bulk to the tablet. It's about three-quarters of an inch at the center, where the phone slot is located. It's also heavy. The combination weighs nearly 1.5 pounds, compared with a pound for the iPad Air.

— DO YOU NEED IT? I'm typically a fan of having multiple devices for different circumstances. Here, you're getting extra thickness and weight in fusing the two gadgets.
There's a case for the PadFone, though, if you're someone who uses a tablet only at home. You can carry the phone with you during the day and attach it to the tablet screen when you get home. You don't have to worry about what apps and data are on which device.
Asus could have gone further, though, making a range of tablet screens available. You might want a 7-inch screen for reading, but a 12-inch screen for video. Why not offer choices to mix and match?

Read More

Mozilla makes interim CEO's job permanent

Mozilla makes interim CEO's job permanent

Nicole Lee

Engadget 

Mozilla must've really liked Chris Beard during his time as interim CEO because he is now the real, actual CEO of the company, "interim" prefix not required. Beard took over the reins of the firm in April after former CEO Brendan Eich stepped down amidst political backlash -- Eich had made contributions to an anti-same sex marriage bill in California. Though it's only been a few months, Beard appears to have proved himself worthy of the CEO role. As with Eich, Mozilla's current focus is to further its efforts on mobile. According to a recent blog post by Executive Chairwoman Mitchell Baker, "Chris has a keen sense of where Mozilla has been -- and where we're headed [...] There's simply no better person to lead Mozilla as we extend our impact from Firefox on the desktop to the worlds of mobile devices and services

Read More

Android ID flaw exposes smartphones

Android ID flaw exposes smartphones

By Leo Kelion

BBC News

An Android flaw has been uncovered that lets malware insert malicious code into other apps, gain access to the user's credit card data and take control of the device's settings.
BlueBox Labs said it was particularly concerning as phone and tablet owners did not need to grant the malware special permissions for it to act.
The company added it had alerted Google to the problem in advance to allow it to mend its operating system.

Google confirmed it had created a fix.

"We appreciate BlueBox responsibly reporting this vulnerability to us. Third-party research is one of the ways Android is made stronger for users," said a spokeswoman.
"After receiving word of this vulnerability, we quickly issued a patch that was distributed to Android partners, as well as to the Android Open Source Project."

However, the many thousands of devices still running versions of the operating system ranging from Android 2.1 to Android 4.3 and have not been sent the fix by relevant network operators and manufacturers remain vulnerable if they download apps from outside the Google Play store.
Forged signatures
BlueBox has dubbed the vulnerability Fake ID, because it exploits a problem with the way Android handles the digital IDs - known as certification signatures - used to verify that certain apps are what they appear to be.

The issue is that while Android checks an app has the right ID before granting it special privileges, it fails to double-check that the certification signature involved was properly issued and not forged.
Jeff Forristal, chief technology officer of BlueBox, likened the issue to a tradesman arriving at a building, presenting his ID to a security guard and being given special access to its infrastructure without a phone call being made to the tradesman's employer to check he is really on its books.
"That missing link of confirmation is really where this problem stems," he told the BBC.
"The fundamental problem is simply that Android doesn't verify any claims regarding if one identity is related to another identity."
To make matters worse, he added, a single app can carry several fake identities at once, allowing it to carry out multiple attacks.

Mr Forristal gave three examples of how a faked certification signature might be used to cause harm:
The app pretends to be created by Adobe Systems - Adobe is granted the privilege of being able to add code to other apps in order to support their use of its Flash media-player plug-in. The malware can take advantage of this to install Trojan horse malware into otherwise authentic programs

The app uses the same ID used by Google Wallet - the search firm's mobile payment software is usually the only app allowed to communicate with the secure hardware used to make credit card transactions via a phone's tap-to-pay NFC (near field communication) chip. By exploiting this, the malware can obtain financial and payment data that would otherwise be protected
The app impersonates 3LM software - many manufacturers add their own skins to Android to customise their devices' user interfaces and functions. In the past, HTC, Sony, Sharp, Motorola and others did this by using extensions created by a now defunct business called 3LM. By masquerading as 3LM's software, malware could take full control of the relevant devices and both uninstall their existing software as well as adding spyware, viruses and other damaging content of its own

BlueBox made headlines last July when it revealed the Master Key bug - a coding loophole that could allow hackers to take control of Android devices. Cybercriminals were later spotted using the technique to target users in China.

Mr Forristal said he believed that the Fake ID flaw had the potential to be a bigger problem.
"Master Key did allow a whole device to be taken over... but the user had to be duped into a couple of decisions before the malware would be able to achieve its goal," he explained.
"Fake ID unfortunately occurs in a manner that is hidden to the user - there's no prompts, no notifications, no need for special permissions.

"The user can actually be told the app doesn't want any special permissions at all, which most people would think makes it relatively safe. But once Fake ID is installed it's 'game over' instantly."
Google Play scan

Dr Steven Murdoch, a security expert at the University of Cambridge's computer laboratory agreed this was a serious flaw. But he added that most device owners should still be able to avoid being affected.
"Google will be looking for people who are exploiting this vulnerability in applications being distributed through its own Google Play store," he said.

"So, if that's the only place that you get apps from, you are in a relatively good position.
"But if you download applications from other sources you will be putting yourself at risk."
A spokeswoman from Google confirmed that the company had scanned all the applications in its own store as well as some of those elsewhere.

"We have seen no evidence of attempted exploitation of this vulnerability," she added.
BlueBox is releasing an Android app of its own that will check whether the host device has been patched.

Read More

Most Stylish Selfie of the Week Star

Most Stylish Selfie of the Week Star

Credit: Instagram
Austin Mahone looked cool in a new pic he shared on his Instagram page. Fans love how his purple cap and stylish chain dress up his crisp white t-shirt.

Credit: Instagram
Birthday girl Cher Lloyd shared the prettiest close-up selfie on her Instagram page! We were blown away by the singer's gorgeous sparkly eyes, glowing natural makeup, and cute gold hoop earrings.

Credit: Twitter
Demi Lovato's hair is shorter than ever! After playing around with her hair length a bit, Demi decided to style her summer chop even shorter, and showed off an amazing pic of her choppy bob! We love that she still left some of her cool purple ombre in her new look.

Credit: Instagram
Peyton List looked so cool in a pretty selfie she shared on her Instagram page. We love her shiny hair, oversized sunglasses, and crisp white mani in the stylish pic!

Credit: Instagram
"Hi cutie"  Bella Thorne showed off an adorable new selfie on her Instagram page where she showcases her wispy hair and glowing makeup! Fans also love her layered dainty necklaces and her floral top.

Credit: Twitter
Demi Lovato looked so stunning rocking a stylish hat, cool shades, and a floral top in a new Twitpic she posted. In her photo, she was enjoying a yummy green smoothie as a delicious way to eat her vegetables!

Credit: Twitter
Demi Lovato shared a selfie on Twitter showcasing her new haircut, and fans are totally obsessed with her layered, shoulder-length 'do. Her purple ombre is still going strong, but she added some major texture and volume to her bangs and shorter strands.

Credit: Instagram
Fifth Harmony's Camila Cabello looked so funny showing off a silly face selfie on Instagram! fans love her gorgeous powder blue shirt with its crochet detailed sleeves, and her hair and makeup are perfect too!

Credit: Instagram
Little Mix's Perrie Edwards showcased her glossy makeup perfectly in a cool black and white selfie. Even without color in the photo, Perrie's  lipstick and eye makeup are highlighted in the shot, which also features pretty rays of sunlight.

Credit: Twitter

Can a baby be the most stylish star of the day? He can if he's Niall Horan's nephew Theo Horan! We decided to dedicate the day's stylish selfie title to Theo in honor of his first birthday today.

Credit: Instagram

Bella Thorne looked absolutely cool in new selfie she shared while at an oceanside photo shoot.

Credit: Instagram

Harry Styles looked cool rocking a printed shirt and wearing a turban-style headband to keep back his messy hair in a new photo posted on One Direction's Instagram page!

Credit: Instagram 

Ariana Grande's latest Instagram pic has us seeing double!

Credit: Instagram 

Did Taylor Swift get a whole new hairstyle? She showed off a cool new Instagram pic where her hair looks green on top and fiery red ombre at the ends! Tay explained in the photo's caption that it was actually the beautiful sunset making her hair look so colorful

Read More

Elle Fanning Doesn't Ask Her Sister Dakota For Acting Advice!

We have been super impressed lately with how Elle Fanning has garnered just as much fame and film work as her older sister Dakota. So we obviously assumed that Elle was turning to her sister to get plenty of advice, right? However, as it turns out, Elle has been taking charge of her career all on her own! 

Speaking with Teen Vogue, Dakota opened up about Elle's career, saying, "[Elle's] never asked me whether she should do a movie or not. I always know what she's filming and where she is and who she's working with, but I don't give her advice on it." 

Wow! We definitely like that Elle can take her own initiative and that Dakota has faith in her sister's choices! Dakota continued, saying, "We both have our own paths that we're confident in, so she's never asked me. Of course I'd tell her if she wanted me to, but I also think that choosing the films that you want to do is really a personal thing - it's kind of just a feeling that you get and you're the only person who understands it." 

That totally makes sense! Plus, we are sure Elle can always go to Dakota if she ever wants another opinion. 

Read More

Holographic politicians could soon become a normal thing in the US

Holographic politicians could soon become a normal thing in the US

Josh Lowensohn

The Verge 

Earlier this year, India's prime minister Narendra Modi was campaigning for reelection and used a rather unusual method for being in many different places at once: he became a hologram. Not biologically, but with the help of a company called NChant3D that broadcast his nearly hour-long speech in 53 different locations. Now a US company called HologramUSA has the rights to use that technology in the US, and has just hired a lobbyist in Washington, DC to push the Democrats and Republicans into using holograms in the upcoming 2016 presidential election, reports Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Here come America's Founding Fathers as holograms

The result could be long-dead politicians from America's Founding Fathers, to more recent and beloved party figureheads like Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. Politicians might also use it to do the same thing as Modi, and be in two places (or more) at once, stretching "in person" appearances on the campaign trail.
HologramUSA's technology is effectively a modern version of an old stage illusion called Pepper's Ghost, which projects images onto a transparent sheet. In this case, it's a lightweight foil instead of plastic film. The company licensed it from Uwe Maass, whose work has led to projections at museums, plays, and concerts. More recently that's been at Coachella, where long-deceased rapper Tupac Shakur performed on stage, as well as a Mariah Carey performance at five different European venues, both of which were done by UK-based projection company Musion.

Read More