Dominique Luchart's Blog, page 576
July 5, 2021
Best travel coffee mugs for 2021 – CNET, Chowhound Staff
If you’re a coffee drinker, the last thing you want to do is skip your morning caffeine ritual. And when you’re on the go, you still want to enjoy your morning cuppa — and keep it hot — without being wasteful by using a disposable paper cup. That’s where a handy travel mug comes in. A reusable, portable coffee mug is the environmentally conscious way for regular coffee drinkers to partake without sacrificing any of the function or pleasure. Bonus: A lot of coffee shops will give you a discount for bringing your own coffee cup.
Like a lot of people, you’ve probably already made the switch to a reusable water bottle, so a reusable coffee mug is the next logical step. But are you in the market for a stainless steel mug? For a ceramic travel mug with a flip lid? There are many options.
That’s why we’ve tested out all the leading brands to determine the best travel coffee mug for you. Whether you’re looking for something that fits into a standard cup holder or an accessory with modern flair, these stylish travel mugs will keep your tea and coffee hot for hours, and an iced drink chilled for just as long.
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Best insulated travel coffee mugYeti Rambler tumbler
Amazon
Coffee drinkers rejoice! Imagine the amazing insulated power of a Yeti cooler — they’re the standard for fishermen and people who like the outdoors — but as an insulated mug in the palm of your hand. This double-walled vacuum insulation stainless tumbler has great insulation. It keeps your morning coffee piping hot and safe well into the afternoon and the genius magnet sliding lid comes apart when it’s time to throw it all in the dishwasher to clean (yes, this baby is dishwasher safe), should that be an option. This insulated coffee mug is also the perfect size for most car cup holders when you’re driving through the great outdoors — or just, um, to the office. Also available in a standard mug size with handle.
$30 at Yeti
Best designed travel coffee mugKinto travel tumbler
Amazon
If you’re picky about your coffee, you probably have opinions on reusable coffee mugs, too. This durable super-chic to-go mug comes in neutral shades and has a stainless steel insulated cup that keeps coffee or tea safe at the same temp for up to six hours. Yasssss. The lid spins off to reveal an opening that you can sip from at any angle and the sleek design on this coffee travel mug is totally museum-worthy.
$30 at Amazon
Best leak-proof travel coffee mugContigo West Loop stainless steel travel mug
Amazon
No shame if you’re the coffee drinker who gets more coffee on your clothes than in your mouth whenever you’re carrying a cup on the go. Thankfully, this one has a spill proof lid. (Maybe you’ve heard of Contigo’s Autoseal technology? It’s good. Real good.) This reusable coffee canteen, which holds 16 ounces of your favorite brew, will keep your coffee safe and leak proof. It’s also slim enough to fit in a car cup holder, which means even the bumpiest of rides won’t threaten the heat of your morning joe. You can practically take this cup of coffee with you anywhere.
$12 at Amazon
Best lid-free travel coffee mugS’well tumbler
Amazon
This attractive 18-ounce insulated tumbler comes in a ton of amazing shades and designs, but it’s not just a pretty face: This insulated travel mug is made from durable stainless steel and is triple-walled with insulation so that you’ll never get condensation on your hands. But also, did we mention that it’s p-r-e-e-e-e-e-t-t-y? Use this gorgeous and reusable coffee cup around the house to drink hot or cold beverages and find one that matches your decor (yes, that’s a thing). Heads up, you have to purchase the lid separately if you want to take this one on the go.
$30 at S’Well
Best collapsible travel coffee mugStojo silicone collapsible cup
Amazon
This is the travel mug for when your work bag is already loaded with notebooks, an iPad, your laptop and a million random receipts from heaven knows where. Made out of super-light, leak-proof BPA-free silicone, this travel coffee cup collapses to just 2.5 inches thick, meaning you can tote it practically anywhere without adding bulk to your bag. Plus, when your beverage needs a heat, it’s microwave-safe. Hot tip: This Stojo collapsible cup also comes with a straw for when the iced coffee season hits and you want to swap a piping hot drink like hot java to a cold drink like cold brew, cold coffee or iced latte.
$15 at Amazon
Best glass travel coffee mugKeepCup reusable coffee cup
Amazon
This stylish sipper holds 12 ounces of your beverage of choice and is made in the USA from soda-lime glass, which means it’s easily recyclable when you’re done with it eventually. It’s safe to microwave, in case you want your beverage piping hot and even though it’s glass, it’s lightweight enough to carry with you on your morning coffee run. Thankfully, the cork band keeps your hands safe from burning and the BPA-free lid and plug are dishwasher-safe.
$26 at Amazon
This article was written by Julie Vadnal. It was originally published earlier, but has been updated.
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Today I learned about Karateka’s 37-year-old easter egg, Allison Johnson
Karateka, an early martial arts side-scroller published in the US by Broderbund in 1984, was a little before my time. It was created by Jordan Mechner before he went on to make Prince of Persia — a game I do remember thanks to the horror of sending that character to a bloody, pixelated death on a bed of spikes. Karateka however was an early hit, with later iterations making it to NES and Game Boy. And the original Apple II version included a delightful little easter egg from the early days of PC gaming — putting in the floppy disk upside down would boot up the game upside down.
This isn’t new exactly — people have been trying this trick for more than 35 years — but it was new to me, and I got a quick refresher today thanks to the magic of YouTube. YouTuber Geek with Social Skills was demoing the game, and got a note that he should try inserting the game disk upside-down. You can see for yourself what happened when he gave it a try — the title screen, intro, and game all display upside down. It’s a delightfully simple joke, and it took a surprising amount of coding to make it work.
According to Mechner, the game’s developers hoped that a few people would discover it by accident, and think their game was defective. “When that person called tech support, that tech support rep would once in a blue moon have the sublime joy of saying, ‘Well sir, you put the disk in upside-down,'” Mechner was quoted as saying in a recent profile, “and that person would think for the rest of their life that’s how software works.”
Developers, we now know, have had a weird sense of humor forever.
Mechner says that he didn’t think Broderbund would sign off on it because it would require a change to the assembly line. But the company did, and a little hidden gem of gaming history was made because the president of a software company had a sense of humor, too. I, for one, am grateful for that.
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NASA launches ‘Mission Equity’ to evaluate barriers for underserved communities, ,
In a new initiative that runs until July 12, NASA is inviting the public to share ideas and comments about how the space agency can be inclusive and more representative of the public at large.
On June 15, the space agency announced the program, dubbed Mission Equity, and released a request for information (RFI) called “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities in NASA Programs, Contracts and Grants.”
The goal of the RFI is to determine what roadblocks the agency is currently ignoring that prevent underserved and underrepresented communities from joining the space agency. It’s part of one of the several executive orders that President Joe Biden signed on his first day in office, Jan. 20. You can read the full RFI here.
Related: New documentary explores ‘Star Trek,’ Nichelle Nichols and NASA’s 1970s astronaut search
A NASA press release detailing the RFI defines underrepresented communities as, “Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.”
The public feedback from the RFI will help NASA conduct a thorough review of its programs, practices, and policies, NASA officials wrote in the statement.
People can leave comments via regulations.gov; if the website is a little intimidating, this video helps guide you through the commenting process. Early comments are encouraged, and suggestions received after July 12 will be considered for future outreach efforts, NASA representatives wrote.
[image error]
Bill Spetch (left), the Manager of NASA’s ISS Transportation Integration Office, and Courtney Beasley, a NASA Public Affairs Officer, look out the window of an AN-26 aircraft as they fly from Karaganda to Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan to prepare for the Soyuz MS-17 landing of Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos on April 16, 2021. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls/Flickr)The RFI outlines dozens of questions that NASA wants answered. They include, in the agency’s words:
Does your institution offer any formal training to internship/work-based learning mentors around biases, anti-racism or general DEIA [diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility]? What strategies should NASA consider to ensure opportunity and accessibility to particular groups, such as individuals with disabilities or limited English proficient individuals?How can NASA better collaborate with other federal, state, local, regional and Tribal authorities to advance environmental justice; support rural, urban and coastal communities; and address equity challenges facing underserved communities?Is there a specific NASA regulation, policy or requirement that presents barriers to individuals and institutions that are part of underserved communities from identifying or applying for NASA financial assistance opportunities or implementing a financial assistance award?According to the RFI, this effort assists in the execution of the President’s Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” signed on Inauguration Day. “Agencies were asked to ‘assess whether, and to what extent, its programs and policies perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups,'” according to the RFI.
The RFI goes on to say that “these efforts will help foster NASA’s vision to benefit the quality of life for all on Earth; NASA’s mission to explore, use and enable the development of space for human enterprise through research, development and transfer of advanced aeronautics, space and related technologies, Economic Growth and Security, and Educational Excellence; and NASA’s goal to enrich our Nation’s society and economy with a fair and equitable approach.”
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Earth’s cryosphere loses enough ice to cover Lake Superior every year, ,
Earth is losing ice at a rapid rate, with a frozen area the size of Lake Superior melting every year.
It’s no surprise that the planet is melting, of course. Researchers have been documenting losses in the polar ice sheets, in glaciers and in seasonal snow cover for years. They’ve also found that ice on rivers and lakes is melting earlier in the spring as temperatures warm, driven by climate change. But a new study out May 16 in the open-access journal Earth’s Future is the first to put all the frozen bits of Earth together and measure their melting in one fell swoop. The collective ice on the planet is known as the cryosphere.
Led by Xiaoqing Peng, a geographer at Lanzhou University in China, the new study finds that the planet has lost about 33,000 square miles (87,000 square kilometers) of ice cover each year since 1979.
Related: Images of melt: Earth’s vanishing ice
“The cryosphere is one of the most sensitive climate indicators and the first one to demonstrate a changing world,” Peng said in a statement. “Its change in size represents a major global change, rather than a regional or local issue.”
The researchers pulled together data on snow cover, sea-ice extent and frozen soil, which includes the extent of the ice sheets in polar regions. Many of the measurements were made by satellite and collected by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). For snow cover, the researchers used data on snow depths from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. They then validated these datasets by comparing the numbers to data from 28,000 local weather stations around the globe.
They found that the Northern Hemisphere dominated the ice loss, with coverage shrinking by 39,300 square miles (102,000 square km) a year. This ice loss was slightly offset by smaller gains in the Southern Hemisphere of 5,400 square miles (14,000 square km). Most of that gain was in sea ice on the Ross Sea in Antarctica, which likely grew due to freshwater runoff from the continent, which can change ocean current patterns in complex ways, and also changes in wind patterns, according to the researchers.
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The researchers also found evidence of a shorter frozen season each year. The first freeze of winter now occurs 3.6 days later on average than it did in 1979, and the first thaw of spring happens 5.7 days earlier.
The cryosphere holds three-quarters of the world’s fresh water, and the loss of ice is affecting water supplies in many mountainous regions that depend on snowmelt each spring to fill rivers and reservoirs. The researchers next want to use the global cryosphere data to learn how ice changes alter ecosystems. They also want to use the data to compare peak brightness, or albedo, to seasonal and long-term climate change, Shawn Marshall, a glaciologist at the University of Calgary in Canada, who was not involved in the research, said in the statement. Bright white snow and ice reflect sunlight away from Earth’s surface, helping to cool it; when melt exposes darker ground that absorbs heat more readily, it can exacerbate warming.
“This kind of analysis is a nice idea for a global index or indicator of climate change,” Marshall said.
Originally published on Live Science
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
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The Windows 11 app store is already more useful after just a week, Tom Warren
Microsoft’s dysfunctional app store for Windows, the Microsoft Store, is finally improving under Windows 11. While there’s a UI overhaul and some speed improvements, the key change is allowing more apps into the store. In just the past week alone, some popular apps have started to appear in the Microsoft Store on Windows 11, making it more useful than before.
OBS Studio, Zoom, Canva, WinZip, and Adobe Acrobat Reader have all made their way to the Microsoft Store in the past week, alongside Microsoft Edge browser extensions. These early additions, during a beta period for Windows 11, are a promising start.
The Microsoft Store is changing on Windows 11, and eventually Windows 10, to include any traditional desktop apps. Microsoft previously restricted developers to its Universal Windows Apps, before then allowing some desktop apps that were packaged to use its store for updates. Now any app can be part of the store, a move that aligns with the Windows Package Manager Microsoft released last year.
Zoom is now part of the Microsoft Store.Microsoft’s Windows Package Manager quickly became better than the Windows store in less than 24 hours, offering apps like Zoom and WinRAR that were missing from the main store. The package manager has been growing steadily over the past year, and now includes Discord, Google Chrome, Firefox, and many other popular apps. There’s even a great third-party web interface you can use with it.
The Microsoft Store is essentially now a frontend for the Windows Package Manager and the WinGet command that’s used to install apps from Microsoft’s repository. That should mean we’ll see even more apps appear in the store in the coming weeks. Mozilla, for example, has hinted that Firefox will be available soon.
We may even eventually see rival app stores in the Microsoft Store, like Steam or the Epic Games Store. Windows chief Panos Panay said the company is open to having Steam or the Epic Games Store in the Microsoft Store, and it would likely work as a way to link out to apps and games available elsewhere.
Microsoft still has a lot of work to do on the store.Part of the new store’s appeal for developers is allowing apps with their own update systems, but also a change by Microsoft to let developers keep 100 percent of the revenue from apps if they use alternative payment platforms. This change doesn’t apply to games, however. It will take some time until we see just how well Microsoft’s reduced cut of game revenues, from 30 to 12 percent starting on August 1st, will impact the store.
While these new app additions are useful, there’s still much work to be done. The store is full of junk apps, with many fake apps, guides, and crapware still showing up in search results. It’s going to take Microsoft some time to clean this part of the store up, particularly because developers have abandoned the Microsoft Store for so long that many of these junk apps are now in the top free apps section.
Either way, the Microsoft Store is definitely heading in the right direction, after a decade of being largely ignored. If it can get to the point of having every useful and popular app listed, then that’s a great improvement for Windows users who will no longer have to search around the web to find a trusted installer for their favorite apps.
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Lynk & Co will make you rethink outdated ideas of car ownership, Thomas Ricker
A new day is coming.Photo by Nguyen Tran“This is not a car, this is different” is how Lynk & Co, a company spawned by Volvo and Geely, is positioning the launch of its 01 plug-in hybrid, a compact SUV built from the ground up to share. The more you share its digital key the less you pay each month, possibly even turning a profit.
It’s a bold experiment that I was able to preview in a test vehicle in Amsterdam, where Lynk & Co is staging its first salvo against a century of car ownership mentality.
Lynk & Co first announced its ambitious approach to car sharing five years ago in its home city of Gothenburg, Sweden, emboldened by studies that say cars sit unused 96 percent of the time. That’s valuable real estate that could otherwise be returned to people. So it’s with some anticipation that I set out for my week with a production 01 PHEV running pre-production sharing software.
A VW Up from Geenwheels next to the Lynk & Co 01 PHEV in Amsterdam.Amsterdam was chosen as Lynk & Co’s launch city for a variety of reasons, chief among them is its multi-modal inhabitants’ intimacy with car-sharing services. My Dutch family, for example, has never owned a car, nor do most of my friends. Instead we use fleet sharing services like Greenwheels, Mywheels, or Share Now. Otherwise we use a personal car-sharing service like Snappcar when looking for something more interesting to drive. As much as we love our electric bicycles, a car is often needed when an e-scooter, taxi, bus, or train just won’t do.
After a week of testing I’ve come away increasingly optimistic about Lynk & Co’s chances, not only to achieve its revenue goals but also its broader societal goal of making people realize that traditional ideas of car ownership, especially in densely populated cities, are woefully outdated. My optimism is fueled by three things: the company’s early success in attracting members, driving the 01 for a few hundred kilometers, and testing an early beta version of the sharing service.
Memberships are off to an aggressive start.A PROMISING STARTYou can buy a Lynk & Co 01 outright for EUR39,000, but most people are opting for memberships that cost EUR500 each month. That’s about what you’d pay each month on a four-year lease for a comparable Volvo XC40 which is built upon the same platform as the 01. Only with Lynk & Co you can cancel the agreement at any time. Better yet, you can divide the monthly fee with family and friends, or reduce it further by lending the car out to a general pool of neighbors and tourists at an hourly or daily rate, all of which Lynk & Co will facilitate (more on that later).
Membership includes 1,250km (777 miles) of driving per month with each extra kilometer costing EUR0.15, with unused kilometers carrying over to the next month. The EUR500/month fee covers insurance, warranty repairs, roadside assistance, and maintenance by Volvo’s dealer network. And because the 01 uses a digital key, Volvo can pick up your car, service it, and return it while you go about your activities. (You get a loaner vehicle if service needs more than a day.) The monthly fee doesn’t cover damage out of warranty, fuel costs, charging fees, or any costs associated with parking.
Lynk & Co’s manager of press relations, Cecilia Hedlund, tells me that only about 10 percent of paying customers actually buy the car, with the rest signing up for the EUR500 monthly memberships. So far they’ve attracted almost double the number of paying month-to-month members as expected for all of 2021, and we’re only six months into the year. Of the 9,000 memberships expected, Hedlund says it already has 16,000 members signed up to pay monthly subscriptions for a car, with most residing in Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Belgium. That number is important because Lynk & Co’s financial success stems from selling memberships, not from the small transaction fees it gets from facilitating each car share. The company is now busy ramping up deliveries with about 300 cars delivered so far.
Lynk & Co has sold a non-shareable 01 model in China since 2017. The 01 I’ve been testing has been thoroughly updated for Europe, both inside and out, with sharing made possible through the implementation of Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud.
The company has almost double the number of paying members expected.THE CARI’m not a car guy, but I am a car sharing guy, having used a multitude of sharing services since at least 2014. The 01 is far nicer than any of the fleet cars available to share in Amsterdam, though I do wish it was fully electric. (An EV is coming, but not any time soon, I’m told.) The cars from fleet sharing services tend to be exceedingly boring base models like the VW Up! or Citroen C1 that come slathered in external advertising. Every 01 ships without ads and comes fully equipped to restore some dignity to using a shared vehicle. All 01s are the same — the only option for members is the choice of blue or black.
Because it’s Volvo, the 01 comes standard with most modern safety features like adaptive cruise control, emergency braking and forward collision warnings, automatic LED lights and rain sensors, driver alertness control, blind spot detection, a camera for backing up, security alarm, and more. Thankfully, sensors on the front, rear, and sides of the compact SUV enable a semi-autonomous parking feature which is very useful for the tiny parking spots available in dense European cities.
It’s also loaded with conveniences like a powered driver seat with memory presets, large panoramic sunroof, powered tailgate, heated seats, automatic AC with zone control, a punchy ten speaker Infinity sound system, and a built-in hands-free voice assistant named Frank (at least on my car).
The 01 is fitted with two large displays. There’s a 12.7 inch touchscreen display on the center console with support for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. But the built-in turn-by-turn navigation provided by Here Technologies on the 12.3 inch instrument cluster in front of the driver proved superior to both Google and Apple Maps for navigating Dutch roads.
To keep your devices charged there’s a wireless charging pad between the driver- and front-passenger seats. Otherwise, your devices can be juiced from any of four USB jacks (two front, two rear), or two 12V outlets (front and in the rear cargo area). You can also save on your phone’s data plan when connected to the car’s Wi-Fi hotspot thanks to Lynk & Co’s built-in 4G data. It’s limited to 5GB a month but that can be extended with a call to Lynk & Co’s engagement center under a fair-use policy (borrowers can not use the car’s hotspot). Hell, there’s even an integrated dashcam with 64GB of storage and a second in-car selfie camera for god knows what reason.
The interior surfaces look and feel good to the touch, including the eco-friendly textile coverings on the seats made from recycled fishing nets. The Econyl fabric easily withstood my dog’s claws and resisted the grime we tracked in while kitesurfing the muddy shores of Dutch waterways. The seats remained comfortable on chilly mornings and hot afternoons, even against bare thighs.
And because it’s built to share, the 01 has a number of useful remote monitoring features. For example, I could see the status of the climate control system, if the windows were up, or if a door was left open or unlocked from the comfort of my home. I could even lock or unlock the doors. The Lynk & Co app also informed me of the fuel remaining and charge on the battery, any service warnings, and current location of the vehicle.
It really was a joy to drive around in something so modern and high-spec after years of drudgery spent inside entry-level automobiles. The 261hp provided by the 01 was thrilling compared to the 60hp we’re used to from fleet sharing vehicles. And the 70km range on battery was enough to reach the beach and back, and for my wife to drive to work where she could easily charge the car from a standard power outlet before her journey home.
A preview of the Lynk & Co app shown here in beta.SHARINGLynk & Co’s sharing model allows paying members to lend their cars to free members who sign up just to borrow. Signing up isn’t exactly frictionless though, as you have to upload a valid driver’s license and photo, enter payment details, and pass both credit and identity checks. Standard stuff for car-sharing services and traditional rental car companies alike.
To be successful, car-sharing companies must maintain a magic ratio of vehicles-to-borrows. Too many vehicles and expenses will outpace revenue. Not enough vehicles and frustrated borrowers will jump to a competitor. In my neighborhood alone, I have four Greenwheels sitting in dedicated city-allocated parking spots within a two-block radius, for example.
It’s hard to imagine Lynk & Co achieving that kind of density anytime soon. In fact, Lynk & Co’s head of car sharing, Adam Broadbent, tells me that the company won’t meet its target ratio of ten borrowers (free members) to every vehicle at launch of the sharing service in Q3. Nevertheless, it knows that most paying members are keen to become lenders in order to bring down their monthly payments and maximize vehicle use.
To compensate for this lack of borrower-to-lender density, later this year, but soon after launch, the company will add a friends and family lending option. Paying members will be able to share digital keys with a small group of trusted people who agree to share the monthly fee. One person, however, will still be on the hook to sign up and pay for the EUR500/month membership, I’m told. How Lynk & Co will facilitate this to ensure everyone is paying their fair share for usage is still unclear. The beta software I tested didn’t include a friends and family sharing option.
Lynk & Co let me preview a beta version of the Lynk & Co app launching in Q3. Sharing is straightforward, allowing lenders (paying members with cars) to set the time, location, price, and conditions of borrowing. Once shared, the car appears on a map showing its availability to free members. Members with cars can also initiate sharing from the car’s display, though I wasn’t able to test that.
Borrowing a car is as simple as agreeing to the terms set by the lender. Once agreed, a digital key is sent to the borrower which can be used to unlock the car via the Lynk & Co app (using Bluetooth). Lenders and borrowers have star ratings, and cars can be filtered by time and location, and any additional equipment like roof rack, tow hook, or child seat. Importantly, kilometers used by borrowers do not apply to the monthly cap of the lender.
The digital key exchange means the borrower and lender never have to meet in person. But Lynk & Co offers lenders some additional protection from creeps by withholding the exact location of the car until 30 minutes before the booking starts, giving the lender time to park the car within the advertised start / end locations, and as far away from their home or business as desired.
I was able to test a lender / borrower scenario using two developer phones (one setup as the lender, the other the borrower) provided by Lynk & Co. In my live test, the borrower phone connected to the lender’s car when I was about five feet (1.5 meters) from it, prompting me to submit a condition report, including five photos taken from around the car at various angles. Only after uploading the photos did the digital key become active on the borrower phone, allowing me to unlock the car. Once inside, the borrower can log into their profile on the center console to download all their preferences. Both the phone and in-car console apps will guide the borrower through the sharing experience, with a countdown timer and reminder to drop-off the lender’s car at the agreed upon time, fuel level, and destination area. I wasn’t able to test these borrower features, however.
When the lending period is over, the borrower must again upload five photos to confirm the external condition. Only then can the borrower complete the booking, notifying the lender that the car has been returned. (A booking can be extended by up to two additional hours with approval from the lender.) Lynk & Co checks the fuel level at the start and end of the booking and uses the delta to either add or take money off the final price. The car must also be at least as clean as the borrower found it, otherwise penalties could be incurred. Lynk & Co says it adds a EUR100 buffer to every reservation to cover costs of booking extensions, late returns, and fuel costs, and will provide lenders with all information needed to challenge any traffic tickets incurred by a borrower.
Lynk & Co’s Broadbent anticipates sharing prices to be around EUR5 to EUR10 per hour, and EUR50 to EUR100 to borrow it for a day. For comparison, owners of nearby Volvo SUVs on the Snappcar sharing service list their cars for between EUR65 and EUR110 per day. If you only need your Lynk & Co 01 during the week, for example, you can see how quickly sharing can offset that EUR500/mth membership fee. Broadbent says that a recommended pricing feature is coming to help members with cars maximize profits when sharing.
Right now there’s no ability for a lender to schedule a car’s availability only on weekends or a set number of days during the week in the beta app I tested, but that’s coming, says Broadbent. I work from home so I could easily share the car Monday through Friday and block it out for my personal use on weekends. In such a scenario, I could even turn a profit once enough borrowers were vying for my car.
Airport sharing is another feature that’s coming. Members with cars can drive to the airport and travelers flying in would get precise directions along with a digital key to use the car while you’re out of town. At the moment, Lynk & Co only accepts category B drivers licenses from a list of 30 European countries.
Sometimes a car is the only mode of transportation that will work.Photo by Nguyen TranFor what it’s worth, I asked around my own social circle to see who’d be interested in sharing an 01. Two out of four of my friends already using sharing services responded positively with what I’d describe as keen interest, while the other two said it sounded promising but wanted more information. For example, how will friends and family sharing be facilitated, and how will monthly bills be calculated so that fuel / energy costs and usage are all factored in fairly? Understandably, the person who orders a Jack and Coke at the bar doesn’t want to subsidize someone else’s Pappy Van Winkle.
When I look at my own car-sharing bill for the last year, I see months where I’ve paid over EUR400 and others that cost me less than EUR50 (including the gas). It averages out to about EUR200/mth over the long term. While I’m willing to pay more for a more luxurious car that’s better suited to my active family of five (plus dog), and one that’s shared with a limited trusted group that won’t leave McDonalds bags in the footwells, I also think I’d want to share with at least two other parties to keep costs down.
“Owning” a Lynk & Co 01 really does have the potential to be different. The fact that I’m actively considering paying EUR500 a month to become a member says a lot about my experience with the car ahead of its official Q3 sharing launch.
All photos by Thomas Ricker / The Verge unless otherwise credited
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July 4, 2021
Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra is getting an ultra-limited release in India, Sam Byford
Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra is finally going on sale in India in limited quantities. The company had announced its latest flagship smartphone all the way back in March, but it’s been near-impossible to buy one outside of China ever since. The phone sold out instantly in the UK in May, suggesting very limited stock, and last month Xiaomi said the Indian launch would be delayed “due to circumstances beyond our control.”
Now, Xiaomi has announced details of how people in India will actually be able to buy one, as long as they’re willing to jump through a few hoops. Customers will need to buy an “ultra gift card” for Rs. 1,999 (~$27) on the Mi.com website, which can later be redeemed against the price of the Mi 11 Ultra and includes some bonuses like two free screen replacements.
Register for the first sale by purchasing the ultra gift card, get guaranteed access to sale & other benefits
2 Free Screen Replacements
Ultra Merchandise Superfan Box
Times Prime Annual Membership
Extra F-codeKnow more: https://t.co/GGbHaZvU2d pic.twitter.com/61x4jYCREP
— Mi India (@XiaomiIndia)
The Mi 11 Ultra itself starts at Rs. 69,999 (~$940) in India. Xiaomi hasn’t said how long the gift cards will be available for, how many phones it’ll make available for purchase, or when they’ll ship, but it’s describing the release as a “limited-quantity sale.”
Xiaomi’s key selling point for the Mi 11 Ultra over its (very good) non-ultra sibling is an all-new camera system. The main camera has a large 1/1.12-inch 50-megapixel sensor, and there are also 48-megapixel ultrawide and telephoto modules. All of this is housed in a gigantic camera bump complete with a secondary OLED screen that can serve as a viewfinder.
I’ve been using the Mi 11 Ultra for a while now — stay tuned for our review.
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New Trailers: The Many Saints of Newark, Foundation, Beckett, and more, Kim Lyons
The Good Fight returned to its very weird and funny roots this week and introduced Mandy Patinkin as a — let’s say “unconventional” judge, and it’s as if my favorite character from Homeland got a new job. I know everyone is probably maxed out on how many streaming channels they can/want to subscribe to, but The Good Fight is reason enough to at least check out Paramount Plus. And I have no idea what’s going to happen on the next episode of Loki but (mild spoiler ahead!) I can’t imagine the two characters who got pruned will stay pruned.
This week we finally get a first look at the prequel to The Sopranos and a new look at the new Masters of the Universe show.
[embedded content]The Many Saints of NewarkIn this prequel to The Sopranos, Michael Gandolfini plays Tony Soprano, the iconic role that won his father James multiple awards. Michael is a young Tony in what director Alan Taylor says is the story of Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola)– father of The Sopranos‘ Christopher– the man who made Tony into who he became. We get a glimpse of Vera Farmiga as Livia, who looks like she plays the matriarch as ice cold as the late, great Nancy Marchand did. Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, and Ray Liotta also star in The Many Saints of Newark, which comes to theaters and HBO Max October 1st.
[embedded content]BeckettAn American tourist vacationing in Greece gets into a car accident, and when he wakes up, he’s embroiled in a conspiracy and people are shooting at him. Mr. Beckett does not appear to have the same skill set as Jason Bourne, however, which will probably make things a bit more difficult as he tries to figure out what the hell is going on and attempts to get to the US Embassy. John David Washington and Alicia Vikander star in Beckett, which hits Netflix August 13th.
[embedded content]FoundationThe second teaser trailer for Foundation finally gives us a release date for this long-awaited series based on the Isaac Asimov novels. The downfall of the Galactic Empire has been predicted by Hari Seldon (Jared Harris), so it has to build a foundation to preserve mankind’s knowledge. Along with Harris, Lee Pace stars as Brother Day, and Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick. Foundation premieres September 24th on Apple TV Plus, with new episodes every Friday.
[embedded content]Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 1We got a teaser of the Kevin Smith revival of He-Man’s adventures in June, and now we get the full trailer. It’s not a retelling of the He-Man story, but rather picks up where the original TV show concluded in 1985. Chris Wood, Mark Hamill, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lena Headley, and Mark Hamill (as Skeletor) voice characters in Masters of the Universe, which debuts on Netflix July 23rd.
[embedded content]JoltThis trailer has Kate Beckinsale kicking things and beating people up but she isn’t a vampire; instead she has a rare disorder that makes her rage out if she doesn’t get regular shock treatments from Stanley Tucci. Naturally she meets a guy who doesn’t freak out at her shocking condition (sorry) and of course he gets killed and the cops think she did it so then she has to do some revenge-kicking. Bobby Cannavale, Jai Courtney, Laverne Cox, and Susan Sarandon also star in Jolt which comes to Amazon Prime Video July 23rd.
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‘Apex Legends’ hackers interrupt games with messages about ‘Titanfall’ hacking, Richard Lawler
Respawn Entertainment’s battle royale shooter Apex Legends has proven to be a hit, with over 100 million unique players, and counted over 300,000 people playing on Steam at one time in May. But an issue bubbling over from its earlier Titanfall games is now having an impact on Apex, as reports across social media show players running into messages from people hacking the game with a “Save Titanfall” message.
Respawn acknowledged the issues on Twitter, saying “We are aware of and actively investigating issues impacting @PlayApex playlists that are preventing players from getting into matches.” In a follow-up tweet at 7 PM, the developer said these attacks don’t put the personal information of players at risk, and that the team is testing a fix.
We’re testing a fix now and will update when we have more confidence. Additional updates may be required.
In the meantime, we’ve determined that this attack–while disruptive–has not put players’ personal information or accounts at risk. More updates to come as we make progress.
— Respawn (@Respawn)
The issue has been going on for hours, and when players are affected, they can’t queue for new games at the same time that Apex is hosting a special event drawing players back to the original versions of its first two maps (including divisive areas like Skulltown, pictured above). As PC Gamer and Kotaku report, the messages have been appearing for players on PC and PS4. I joined a game on PC and when the match was over, I was greeted with the following message pointing to a “Save Titanfall” website.
It appears that whoever is behind this attack is doing it because of similar issues that have affected the Titanfall games going back years. A problem attributed to a single person kicked players out of Titanfall 1 sessions on PC and inundated them with racist messages, making the multiplayer-only title largely unplayable, in an issue dating back to 2019.
In recent months Respawn has tweeted that “help is coming ASAP” and “the team is investigating” problems like DDOS attacks on the Titanfall series, but the issues continue. With hacking becoming a game-stopping problem for a franchise that EA is counting on to provide over $750 million in net bookings during its 2022 financial year, solutions can’t wait much longer.
Apex Legends is one of the most successful games in the market today. We now have more than 100 million unique players in the game on console and PC, with player engagement growing globally at incredible levels throughout the last year — and we are forecasting continued growth…We are forecasting close to 20% year-over-year growth to $750 million in net bookings for Apex Legends in FY22, with significant potential for upside this year and beyond as we launch the mobile game. — Andrew Wilson, EA CEO (PDF)
Players affected by the hack are unable to queue for any other game mode.
The website accuses EA of “fraud” for selling Titanfall while it’s “unplayable.”
(Clip via @YungLucianOG) pic.twitter.com/4MqZi2UBh9
— Apex Legends News (@alphaINTEL)
Update July 4th, 7:38PM ET: Added 7PM update from Respawn.
The post ‘Apex Legends’ hackers interrupt games with messages about ‘Titanfall’ hacking, Richard Lawler appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
Apex Legends hackers interrupt games with messages about Titanfall hacking, Richard Lawler
Respawn Entertainment’s battle royale shooter Apex Legends has proven to be a hit, with over 100 million unique players, and counted over 300,000 people playing on Steam at one time in May. But an issue bubbling over from its earlier Titanfall games is now having an impact on Apex, as reports across social media show players running into messages from people hacking the game with a “Save Titanfall” message.
Respawn acknowledged the issues on Twitter, saying “We are aware of and actively investigating issues impacting @PlayApex playlists that are preventing players from getting into matches.” In a follow-up tweet at 7PM, the developer said these attacks don’t put the personal information of players at risk, and that the team is testing a fix. As of 10:15PM, the developer appeared confident that problems for Apex Legends are resolved
We’re testing a fix now and will update when we have more confidence. Additional updates may be required.
In the meantime, we’ve determined that this attack–while disruptive–has not put players’ personal information or accounts at risk. More updates to come as we make progress.
— Respawn (@Respawn)
We’ve confirmed that matchmaking has been restored. We’re keeping an eye on things but believe the issue to be resolved.
Thanks for your patience, Legends.
— Respawn (@Respawn)
The issue went on for hours, and when players were affected, they couldn’t queue for new games. All of this happened at the same time that Apex is hosting a special event drawing players back to the original versions of its first two maps (including divisive areas like Skulltown, pictured above). As PC Gamer and Kotaku report, the messages have been appearing for players on PC, Xbox One and PS4. I joined a game on PC and when the match was over, I was greeted with the following message pointing to a “Save Titanfall” website. After Respawn indicated the problems were over, I managed to play a few matches without any odd messages or matchmaking problems beyond the usual ones, like not getting paired with enough/any teammates.
It appears that whoever is behind this attack is doing it because of similar issues that have affected the Titanfall games going back years. A problem attributed to a single person kicked players out of Titanfall 1 sessions on PC and inundated them with racist messages, making the multiplayer-only title largely unplayable, in an issue dating back to 2019.
In recent months Respawn has tweeted that “help is coming ASAP” and “the team is investigating” problems like DDOS attacks on the Titanfall series, but the issues continue. With hacking becoming a game-stopping problem for a franchise that EA is counting on to provide over $750 million in net bookings during its 2022 financial year, solutions can’t wait much longer.
Apex Legends is one of the most successful games in the market today. We now have more than 100 million unique players in the game on console and PC, with player engagement growing globally at incredible levels throughout the last year — and we are forecasting continued growth…We are forecasting close to 20% year-over-year growth to $750 million in net bookings for Apex Legends in FY22, with significant potential for upside this year and beyond as we launch the mobile game. — Andrew Wilson, EA CEO (PDF)
Players affected by the hack are unable to queue for any other game mode.
The website accuses EA of “fraud” for selling Titanfall while it’s “unplayable.”
(Clip via @YungLucianOG) pic.twitter.com/4MqZi2UBh9
— Apex Legends News (@alphaINTEL)
Update July 4th, 7:38PM ET: Added 7PM update from Respawn.
Update July 4th, 10:38PM ET: Added note from Respawn that the issues appear to be resolved.
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