Dominique Luchart's Blog, page 666
March 29, 2021
Samsung’s Tab A7 Lite leaks with budget looks,
Images of Samsung’s unannounced Tab A7 Lite tablet have leaked, courtesy of Evan Blass on Voice. The images show a decidedly budget-looking device, with a single rear camera and no flash. Internally the tablet is said to be running a modest MediaTek Helio P22T processor paired with 3GB of RAM and a 5,100 mAh battery.
The Tab A7 Lite is one of two “Lite” tablets Samsung is expected to launch in June, if a February leak from WalkingCat is to be believed. The other is the Galaxy Tab S7 Lite, which features a bigger 12.4-inch display compared to 8.7-inches on the A7 Lite, according to WalkingCat. GalaxyClub.nl previously reported the S7 Lite may be available with 5G or Wi-Fi-only connectivity, and that it could be powered by a Snapdragon 750G processor with 4GB of RAM. Available colors are said to include pink, green, black, and silver.
— WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_)
The two Lite tablets follow their full-fat counterparts from last year. Both the Tab S7 and the Tab A7 benefited from great displays and speakers, making them excellent for general media consumption. While neither were as well-suited to productivity tasks, that might not matter for the upcoming tablets if they’re priced affordably enough.
The post Samsung’s Tab A7 Lite leaks with budget looks, appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
March 28, 2021
Today I learned BMW charges extra for a ‘don’t blind other people’ software update,
When you typically think of luxury car features, do you envision rich leather seating and extravagant trim? Advanced cruise control and intelligent self-parking? Whatever you’re imagining, I’m betting “dim my headlights so I don’t blind other people” isn’t it.
But not only has BMW used its “High Beam Assistant” as an upsell for well over a decade, it’s also charging drivers extra to unlock the safety feature that’s already built into their cars — by buying it as an over-the-air software update.
Apparently, this has been going on for nearly two years, but Car Magazine editor Jake Groves brought it to my attention for the first time this week in this viral tweet:
For reference, this is the original pop up message I got on the system – couldn’t snap it last night as I was mid-drive. BMW store says it’s GBP160 for “unlimited” use… pic.twitter.com/zLbkuktEwV
— Jake Groves (@_jakegroves)
Let’s forget the price for a moment, because that’s not what infuriates me. (In the grand scheme of things, GBP160 isn’t a huge amount for your average BMW buyer to spend.) It’s that the rest of us are depending on BMW drivers being such good citizens that they’ll spend their own money to avoid showing off the power of their blazing headlights, all because a car company locked a perfectly good public safety feature behind a digital paywall.
Perhaps there should be a law about this? Don’t expect the US to move on that anytime soon, though; adaptive beam headlights are actually still illegal in the United States, while we wait for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a final decision on whether to even allow them, much less encourage their use. That ruling was supposed to come last year. I’ve asked the NHTSA whether there’s been any movement, and I’ll let you know what I hear.
The post Today I learned BMW charges extra for a ‘don’t blind other people’ software update, appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
This Microsoft Flight Simulator mod features the cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal,
The massive cargo ship Ever Given has been stuck for nearly a week in the Suez Canal, captivating the internet and frustrating the teams responsible for dislodging it and the governments hardest hit by the shutdown of the maritime trade route.
The ship (and its trademark “Evergreen” lettering painted on the side) has become so iconic, in fact, that it’s become a destination within Microsoft Flight Simulator, at least for one virtual pilot who appears to have created a mod that places the grounded vessel within the virtual Earth of the game, via GeekWire.
Twitter user Mat Velloso shared a video from TikTok, originally captured and uploaded by user “donut_enforcement,” showing off the the flyby of the cargo ship to a convincing-sounding pilot narration as the boat sits stuck between the banks of the canal. The scene looks shockingly realistic, which is a testament to the quality of the mod and also just the demanding visuals of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Cargo ship stuck in Microsoft Flight Simulator pic.twitter.com/SczumWI5mD
— Mat Velloso (@matvelloso)
Of course, there’s nothing stopping developer Asobo from updating the game with newer satellite imagery to include the ship for all players — there’s plenty of such photographs having been taken over the last six days. But considering the game sources its imagery from Bing Maps and doesn’t always refresh in a timely manner, that means your game won’t have the Ever Given in it unless you’re able to mod it like in the video above.
There is currently no concrete timeline for freeing the ship from its unfortunately angled predicament, so it’s certainly possible.
The post This Microsoft Flight Simulator mod features the cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal, appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
New Trailers: Stowaway, Made for Love, The Suicide Squad, and more,
I had to take a break from streaming Hannibal because I’m about halfway through season 3 and I don’t want it to end (also it’s just too intense for a binge watch, let’s be real). But I just watched the first episode of The Irregulars — loosely based on the Baker Street Irregulars from the Sherlock Holmes books— and so far it’s really good, especially if you are like me and appreciate seeing an established story retold from the point of view of another character (or in this case characters).
A good batch of trailers this week, with that James Gunn movie everyone’s talking about and a Netflix flick about a group of astronauts headed to Mars who — surprise!– have an extra person aboard their ship.
The Suicide SquadFrom the horribly beautiful mind of @JamesGunn. Watch #TheSuicideSquad full trailer online now. In theaters and streaming on @HBOMax August 2021.
*Available on @HBOMax in the US only, for 31 days, at no extra cost to subscribers. pic.twitter.com/6wQNTtwDN8
— HBO Max (@hbomax)
Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Viola Davis, and Sylvester Stallone (seriously the cast is huge) star in The Suicide Squad. The trailer is age-restricted (and the blank screen looked weird as an embed, which was why I went with a tweet of the video above instead) since the movie is rated R, so you’ll have to watch on YouTube after you verify you are old enough to watch a violent super villain movie trailer with a Steely Dan song playing in the background (which got the very old song trending). The much-ballyhooed, heavily anticipated The Suicide Squad comes to theaters and HBO Max on August 6th.
[embedded content]StowawayThe three-person crew of a spaceship headed to Mars discovers an engineer unexpectedly (and unintentionally) has joined them. That’s problem one. Problem two: the ship’s life support system has been badly damaged and there’s only enough oxygen for three people. Dilemma! Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Toni Collette, and Shamier Anderson star in this space thriller (a bona fide genre now) that hits Netflix April 22nd.
[embedded content]Made for LoveThis adaptation of Alissa Nutting’s novel tells the story of Hazel Green, whose controlling, creepy tech billionaire husband implanted a chip in her brain that lets him track her movements, feelings, and thoughts. Yes, I too shuddered to think how not-unlikely this scenario may be soon enough. Cristen Milioti stars as Hazel, and Billy Magnussen is husband Bryan, and (I guess for some comic levity?) Ray Romano plays Hazel’s father. Made for Love premieres April 1st on HBO Max.
[embedded content]The NeversThis is the first full trailer of the HBO Max series about a group of women in Victoria-era England who suddenly have unexpected super powers. If you’ve heard of it but aren’t sure why, it may be the off-screen problems with creator Joss Whedon. He stepped away from the project six episodes in citing exhaustion (however, in addition to accusations of “abusive” behavior from actor Ray Fisher on the set of Justice League, several actresses from Buffy the Vampire Slayer have since come forward saying Whedon created a toxic work environment on that show). HBO opted to move forward with at least the first six episodes under a new showrunner and executive producer. The Nevers will debut April 11th on HBO Max.
The post New Trailers: Stowaway, Made for Love, The Suicide Squad, and more, appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
March 27, 2021
Earth Hour 2021: Turn off your lights, use COVID lessons to heal planet – CNET, Edward Moyer
The annual night rite asks folks to kill the lights for an hour to promote environmental awareness. This year, it’s also asking us to put lessons from the pandemic to good use.
The post Earth Hour 2021: Turn off your lights, use COVID lessons to heal planet – CNET, Edward Moyer appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
Amazon faces lawsuit over missed lunch breaks,
A lawsuit that claims one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers in California failed to provide required meal breaks for employees has moved to federal court, as attorneys seek class-action status. First filed in San Francisco County Superior Court in February, the case was removed to US District Court California, Northern District on Friday.
Lovenia Scott, a former employee of the Vacaville, California warehouse, alleges that the company didn’t schedule the required 30-minute meal breaks for workers. When they did get their meal breaks, workers were expected to monitor their walkie-talkies in case of any problems on the floor, which sometimes cut into their break time, the suit claims.
The matter of paying workers for time they spend waiting for employers while off the clock has come up in other cases as well. The Supreme Court decided in 2014 that Amazon workers at a Nevada warehouse weren’t entitled to pay for the time they spent waiting to have their bags searched after clocking out but before leaving the building.
Earlier this month in a separate case, Amazon and an independent contractor it worked with in California were fined $6.4 million for wage theft by the California Labor Commission’s Office. The state investigation in that case found that Green Messengers, the subcontractor for Amazon, underpaid drivers, scheduling them 10-hour days but with a workload that forced drivers to skip meal and rest breaks.
Due to the way the meal breaks were organized in Vacaville, Scott claims, many workers took their breaks at the same time. Lines would form at the computer system where employees swiped their badges to clock out for their break time, meaning those at the end of the line saw their breaks shortened as they waited their turn. Scott’s lawsuit also says shifts were “chronically understaffed,” which left some employees unable to take short 10-minute rest breaks in order to finish their work on time.
In addition, workers were not compensated for using their personal cell phones to perform work tasks, the lawsuit claims. Scott, who worked at the Vacaville warehouse from October 2016 to January 2019, also says Amazon failed to timely pay her final wages.
Amazon has been bickering with US senators on Twitter the past few days via its @AmazonNews account, questioning– among other things– the accuracy of reports that some of its delivery drivers are so overworked that they had to pee in bottles because they didn’t have time to take restroom breaks. Numerous news reports support this claim, however. And Monday is the deadline for workers at Amazon’s plant in Bessemer, Alabama to vote whether to form the first-ever Amazon union in the US.
Amazon did not reply to a request for comment Saturday.
The post Amazon faces lawsuit over missed lunch breaks, appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
Inside BitClout, the controversial service that tokenizes Twitter personalities, mostly without permission, and has $170M worth of BTC raised from a16z, others (Jeff John Roberts/Decrypt)
The post Inside BitClout, the controversial service that tokenizes Twitter personalities, mostly without permission, and has $170M worth of BTC raised from a16z, others (Jeff John Roberts/Decrypt) appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
Jeep plans to install EV charging stations at US off-road trailheads over the next year,
Jeep will install EV charging stations at off-road trailheads across the US as part of a partnership with Electrify America, the company announced. Chargers on the Jeep 4xe Charging Network will either be solar powered or connected to a power grid.
The first of the stations will open this spring in Moab, Utah; the Rubicon Trail in Pollock Pines, California; and Big Bear, California. The chargers will have Level 2 (240 volt) charging, which Jeep notes will fully recharge the 17-kWh battery pack in its Wrangler 4xe in about two hours and provide 49 MPGe and 21 miles of electric range. The chargers will be available free to Jeep 4xe owners via a mobile app, and will be compatible with its future EVs.
Over the next year, additional chargers will be added at Jeep Badge of Honor off-road trails across the US. The announcement comes a few days after Jeep unveiled its concept for an all-electric Wrangler, called the Magneto. Its design is based on the 2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, with an electric motor offering up to 273 pound-feet of torque and 285 horsepower, with an 800-volt system spread across four battery packs, according to Jeep.
Rivian, the Amazon-backed electric vehicle startup, said last week it plans to install 10,000 fast EV chargers across the US and Canada by 2023.
The post Jeep plans to install EV charging stations at US off-road trailheads over the next year, appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
China-based Q&A service Zhihu closed down 11% in its US trading debut on Friday, after raising $522.5M in an IPO; Zhihu had 75.7M MAUs in Q4 2020, up 33% YoY (Julia Fioretti/Bloomberg)
The post China-based Q&A service Zhihu closed down 11% in its US trading debut on Friday, after raising $522.5M in an IPO; Zhihu had 75.7M MAUs in Q4 2020, up 33% YoY (Julia Fioretti/Bloomberg) appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
Hulu’s Android TV app finally gets bumped from 720p to 1080p, at least on some devices,
Hulu’s Android TV apps can finally stream in 1080p on new Nvidia Shield TV set-top-boxes and Sony Bravia TVs, as spotted by users on Reddit, and written up by Gizmodo, Android Central, and 9to5Google.
Users first noticed the change in the “App & Device Info” page in the Hulu app. After updating, the app lists the new max video resolution as “1920 x 1080”. It’s sort of a sneaky way to make the change. Looking at the update description on the Play Store, there’s no mention of it, so it’s possible something changed on Hulu’s server side as well.
Hulu’s App & Device Info screen that shows the new max resolution.Image: 9to5GoogleGizmodo says it was able to confirm that at least the Nvidia Shield from 2019 and Bravia TVs received the 1080p bump on March 23rd, but the change hasn’t been reflected in Hulu’s support pages, which were last updated in February. Hulu doesn’t seem to specifically list which devices stream in each resolution (outside of Live TV streaming) on its support site, but it does provide minimum bitrates for each:
Standard Definition (SD): 1.5 MbpsHigh Definition (HD) 720p: 3 MbpsHigh Definition (HD) 1080p: 6 Mbps4K Ultra HD: 16 MbpsFor the newer Chromecast with Google TV, which runs a skinned version of Android TV, it’s not clear when 1080p Hulu support was added, or if it launched with it. I was able to check on my own Chromecast’s Hulu app and it does currently support 1080p. We’ve reached out to Hulu to confirm which other Android TV devices might have been affected by this update.
4K streaming is even more limited on Hulu. 4K content is primarily limited to Hulu’s original shows and movies, and according to Hulu’s likely out-of-date list, the devices that can actually stream in 4K are the 5th generation Apple TV, the Chromecast Ultra, Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, LG UHD TVs from 2017 onwards, Roku devices, Vizio TVs with SmartCast, and the Xbox One S and X.
It’s nice that more devices could theoretically stream in a higher resolution, especially for folks who’ve shelled out money for higher resolution displays. I do think it’s worth mentioning, however, that some of the Redditors who first found this change had no idea they’d been streaming in 720p all this time.
The post Hulu’s Android TV app finally gets bumped from 720p to 1080p, at least on some devices, appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
